The performances by both OSU quarterbacks in yesterday's sporting competition up there got me to thinking about the dreaded quarterback controversy and its antithesis, the exemplar of quarterback recruitment, development, preparation and usage.
Game announcers and analysts are fond of telling us that when a program has two quarterbacks, it has no quarterback. This obviously refers to situations where a program cannot decide on a clear order of starter and reserves, with the result being a controversial, and too often counterproductive situation that extends well into a season. Some might say that TOSU itself was subject to this pitfall during the 2015 season, notwithstanding that it suffered but a single loss that year, given how loaded the roster was with talent and that it was defending its Natty. But as you shall see if bother to read the rest of this, that was an aberration - the exception that proves the rule as far as TOSU's management of quarterbacks is concerned.
We are also reminded constantly, when the CFP committee begins releasing its team ratings, that some losses may be discounted in cases where a team had an injury to key personnel, especially the QB, that removed that player from that game. Likewise, injuries to key players, again, especially to quarterbacks, that occur near season's end can be a factor that influences the committee's ratings when it is required to "slice thin" between comparable teams.
But this discourse is not about any of that. It is not about QB controversy or the playoffs. It is about QB depth and the right way to recruit, manage, prepare and utilize the stable of quarterbacks in a program.
What we saw yesterday was an ideal example of a program in operation that does this enormously difficult thing consistently and successfully. And it is not the first time TOSU has put this paradigm on national display.
Case Study No. 1
The year is 2011 and OSU is under the guidance of interim head coach Luke Fickell. Joe Bauserman is the starting QB, although both he and true freshman Braxton Miller played in the season opener against Akron. Bauserman started against Toledo in the next game and Miami in the third, where he struggled noticeably. Backup QB Braxton Miller came off the bench with just over five minutes remaining in the third quarter with Miami leading 17-6. While he was unable to erase the deficit in the time remaining in the game, with OSU falling 24-7 by the final whistle, he went on to finish the season as OSU's starting QB. In that truncated season as a starter, he threw for a total of 1,159 yards and 13 touchdowns, led the team in rushing with 715 yards and seven touchdowns and he gained valuable experience for the future.
Case Study No. 2
The following year, with Braxton now well established as the starter, and junior Kenny Guiton serving as backup, saw Miller suffer an injury in the eighth game of the season against Purdue, on October 20, 2012. When Brax went down, Ohio State trailed Purdue, 22-14, with 47 seconds to play and the ball on the Ohio State 31 yard line. An undefeated season was at stake. Kenny Guiton stepped in and completed passes of 39 yards to Devin Smith and 8 yards to Evan Spencer, advancing the ball to the Purdue 11 yard line. With a mere eight seconds remaining in regulation he hit Chris Fields for a two-yard TD pass to make the score 22-20. He then executed a two-point conversion on a toss to Jeff Heuerman, knotting the score at 22-22. In OT he finished off Purdue with a five-play, game-winning touchdown drive.
Case Study No. 3
We are now at the 2013 season. Braxton Miller is still the starter with Kenny Guiton still sitting right behind him on the depth chart. Brax started the first game against Buffalo, but Coach Meyer provided extensive playing time to Kenny Guiton.
The following game, against San Diego State, saw Brax exit the game after the first drive with a knee injury. Among Kenny's heroics during this contest were a touchdown pass to Corey Brown, a Guiton score on a forty-four yard run and yet another touchdown pass to Corey Brown. Ohio State finished with a 42–7 victory.
Kenny G started the third game of that season, against Cal, with Brax still recovering from his injury. The good guys took a 21–0 lead following 90 and 47-yard touchdown passes from the G-Man to Devin Smith, followed shortly thereafter by a 1-yard touchdown pass from G Money to Chris Fields. OSU led 31-20 at the half. In the third quarter, the G Father tossed a 6-yard touchdown to Corey Brown. Following that game, G Fabulous was recognized as the Walter Camp National Offensive Player of the Week, as well as the B1G Offensive Player of the Week, on the merits of his 276 passing yards with four TDs.
G-Licious was named starter for the last non-conference game of the season against Florida A&M. Kenny "GeeGolly" Guiton threw six touchdown passes in the first half. In the second half, he relaxed on the pines with most of the other starters while Cardale Jones took over and eventually ended the game's scoring with a 10-yard TD scamper. For the second straight week, G Normous was recognized as the B1G Offensive Player of the Week, on the strength of his six touchdown passes.
Brax was back to start the next four games against Wiscy, Northwestern, Iowa, and PSU, with G Madness making only a limited appearance in the blow-out 63-14 win over PSU, in mop-up duty beginning in the third quarter. He scored on a 2-yard touchdown run and again at the end of a 79 yard drive early in the fourth quarter.
Next up is Purdue, who the good guys shut out 56-0. The G Train made good use of his limited opportunities, scoring on two short runs and one short pass, which essentially was the end of his playing time for the season.
G Great, a backup QB, was one of five seniors named team captain in 2013 and he completed the season leading the B1G in passing efficiency with a 165.2 rating.
Case Study No. 4
The 2014 season. Now pay attention here, because I know that many of you know nothing about this and are just dying to hear what happened.
Nothing happened this year worth mentioning. The Buckeyes were awful and never scored a point the entire season.
Okay, but seriously . . . what follows is absolutely true, notwithstanding that the plot line is so far-fetched, corn-pone contrived and unbelievable that it would have embarrassed Clair Bee to come up with it in one of his Chip Hilton novels.
Nary a game had been played in the 2014 season when Brax went down with a re-injury to his throwing shoulder. This forced Head Coach Urban Meyer to name as the starter a freshman, who last played an organized football game over one year prior, in high school.
Enter backup QB, now starter, J.T. Barrett. Just past midway through the 2014 season, but well after the OSU hiccup that was Va Tech, this guy's name begins turning up in Heisman discussions. Many cannot fathom why, although by the time his season ended, he had gone 11-1 as the starting quarterback, including an 8-0 record in Big Ten starts, had set 19 offensive records (two Big Ten and 17 Ohio State), had amassed 3,772 total yards including 2,834 passing yards and 938 rushing yards, and had been responsible for a B1G record 45 total touchdowns. He was named the B1G's Griese-Brees Quarterback of the Year, its Thompson-Randle El Freshman of the Year, the first-team All B1G quarterback, was named a second-team All-American by The Sporting News, and was named a freshman All-American by USA Today, Athlon's and Scout.com.
But wait, that's not all there is to the saga of the Buckeyes and JT Barrett, who was forced to shoulder the responsibility of starting QB as a freshman.
In the final regular season game against ttun, he goes and gets his ankle shattered in the third quarter. What possibly can Urban Meyer do now? His most experienced starter went down before the season began. His freshman replacement, who had received nearly all the game reps during the year, is now out with a season-ending injury. How can he possibly preserve this victory over ttun and eke out a W over mighty, mighty Wisconsin in the upcoming B1G Championship game now?
Enter the Chip Hilton of the new millennium, sophomore third-string, I mean second string, I mean starting, QB Cardale Jones, seasoned veteran of fewer than eighty mop-up plays over six previous games.
All this cat does is step in stone cold, lead the Buckeyes to a score over ttun to seal the 42-28 W, and then move on to the post-season, where:
The following week, in his first collegiate start, and playing for the B1G Championship, he goes twelve for 17 for 257 yards and three TDs in TOSU's Playoff Statement Making 59-0 Smackdown of Wiscy and its No. 2 in the FBS ranked defense;
One month later he gets Alabama and its No. 11 in the FBS ranked defense in the Sugar Bowl, whereupon he is 18 for 35 for 243 yards, one pick and one TD, and emerges victorious in the 42-35 upset over invulnerable 'Bama;
And, finally, a mere week later he finds himself facing off against the Mighty Ducks of Oregon and their Heisman gunslinger Marcus Mariotta, for all the marbles, whereupon he goes 16 of 23 for 242 yards and one touchdown in TOSU's 42-20 seizure of the FIRST EVER CFP CHAMPIONSHIP.
In his little three game post-season run, season beginning third-string quarterback Dolodale threw for 742 yards and five touchdowns, and rushed for 90 yards and one score.
Case Study No. 5
November 25, 2017. JT gets dinged, second-string, red-shirt freshman, Dwayne "The Rocket" Haskins steps in and . . .
. . . does what the back-up QB, in an elite program that has demonstrated consistently its excellence at recruiting, managing and preparing its players to play, was recruited, trained and prepared to do. He executes and performs at the highest level in the face of adversity.
Six times over seven years TOSU has required the services of young and inexperienced backup quarterbacks, some for extended periods of time, once having to go three deep in the roster in a single season, and they have all delivered.
