ESPN with a nice piece on everything that went on behind the scenes with both the post-surgery treatment and when the team knew what. A few tidbits:
“How’s the knee?” asked redshirt freshman Dwayne Haskins, who had just led a comeback win against the Wolverines in Barrett’s place after the starter needed to be helped to the locker room in the third quarter.
“I’ll be back next week,” Barrett replied
On the prospects of recovering in enough in time for the B1G championship:
“There was a sliver of light that I could go out there,” said Barrett, who less than an hour after hoisting the Big Ten trophy added: “Last time I got us to the party, but I wasn’t let in. So this time, there was opportunity for me to play in this game. I was going to do whatever it takes.”
The Nov. 26 surgery went off without a hitch. The enemy now was swelling. If they could keep the knee from swelling, Barrett could stay active enough to return to action.
Rigorous regimen:
Barrett spent Sunday night sleeping at the house of Ohio State athletic trainer Adam Stewart. The sleepover gave Stewart the chance to continue cold treatments overnight during the crucial first 24 hours after surgery, when swelling was most likely to start him down the path of a setback.
...
By Tuesday, Barrett had his own designated corner of the training room. Stewart set him up with a place to watch film and study the game plan. He could do both while completing small exercises to keep his quad muscles strong. When Barrett needed to join the other quarterbacks in their meeting room, Stewart came along to monitor the ice and other treatments that were keeping the blood from gathering around the joint.
Barrett putting in the hours:
Wednesday’s practice was Barrett’s first chance to throw again. Haskins took all of Barrett’s reps with the offense, and the veteran helped the rookie get ready for a worst-case scenario. Haskins said he tried to get to the team facility as early as possible during the week in case he was needed on Saturday, but no matter when he showed up, there already was a white pickup truck (Barrett's) in the parking lot
When everyone learned Barrett would start:
On Thursday, Barrett ran with the team and took about half of the offensive reps in practice. On Friday, he planted and cut on his right leg before boarding the bus to Indianapolis. On Saturday morning, Barrett took control of the team’s game-day walk-through as he has done more than 40 times in his college career. That’s when his teammates and coaches officially learned that Barrett would be on the field for the first snaps at Lucas Oil Stadium with a conference championship at stake.
“From the moment the procedure was done right up until game time,” Buckeyes quarterbacks coach Ryan Day said, “there wasn’t a minute wasted.”
Nice read in full. Talk about commitment/discipline/toughness. Sounds like the training staff deserves a day off, too.
