Captains
Sonny Styles will wear the Block O; Caleb Downs, Brandon Inniss and Austin Siereveld join him as captains.
When J.T. Barrett took the field at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center on Sunday, he did so without having to worry about a quarterback competition.
Barrett is Ohio State's leader and one of its most experienced players, the unquestioned starting quarterback for the Buckeyes.
As a result, the program tabbed him as the lone player to meet with the media following the team's first workout of fall camp.
NOTES:
- Barrett admitted things are not the same as they were a year ago: "It is different because my boy 12 isn't here for sure."
- However, Barrett's mindset for the first day didn't change at all. He focused on staying back in the pocket while he throws and keep proper depth.
- On "The Edge," Barrett said it hits home with him because he thinks everybody can be pushed to a certain point, even though it is different for everyone: "A lot of times you don't do it for yourself. You do it for your teammates, a bigger cause ... When that point comes, you have to be ready."
- A big part of his focus right now in camp is to make sure all the young guys can learn about what is essential.
- The wide receivers are talented, so it is on Barrett to get the ball out on time in order "to see what they can do with it."
- No one really stood out the first day at wide receiver, but he was happy to see Noah Brown back on the practice field after his injury last fall.
- Barrett wouldn't admit wide receiver injuries prevented the passing game from reaching its full potential in 2015, but having them back in the fold is a nice luxury: "We like that we can play faster."
- On the running game, Barrett said it is nice to have weapons like Curtis Samuel and Dontre Wilson thrown into the equation along with Mike Weber.
- Weber is a very hard runner and is difficult to get down because his center of gravity is so low: "He has a motor." Barrett added Weber took "a ton of things" from Ezekiel Elliott last year.
- Barrett misses Cardale Jones because the latter made the quarterback room much more lively: "Now I gotta get Joe Burrow to smile."
- Barrett plans to FaceTime Jones Sunday evening to see what he is doing. The two talk often and he believe they will remain close: "He's one of those people that always had my back. When you compete against somebody, people might not like each other. With me and Cardale, it wasn't like that at all."
- Barrett believes Michael Jordan will improve greatly with more and more reps: "He plays hard, that's for sure."
- Overall, Barrett feels comfortable with the offensive line in front of him: "All of those guys, Coach Stud is going to do a great job of getting them ready to go."
- On the youth and inexperience around him, Barrett said things don't "feel crazy different" than last year because the approach and goals were the same.
- "Everybody came out juiced up and ready to go, it was just different numbers and faces."
