2015-16 Ohio State Quarterback Discussion

[Buckeyeskickbuttocks]

I agree. The question is not whether he can unseat JT but rather whether he can moonlight as the best wildcat qb in america. If he can, that casts a serious doubt over Cardale's ability to get quality reps if he is not the starter.

Yeah, I'd suppose so. Frankly, I think people should be advising him to learn how to run routes. Even if Brax was still 100% I'm not sure he's an NFL QB, if I'm being honest. I mean, he has the tools, but accuracy has been an issue his entire career at Ohio State. Improved, but not there, in my IMO. He, as we all know, is great with his legs, tho - getting him the ball in space (thanks Herbie!) and he's even deadlier, I think.

All in all, I'm glad this isn't my decision to make. I have a real hard time saying JT shouldn't be the starter in 2015 considering how he ran the offense this season and the progress he made as a QB. But, then.. taking the ball out of Cardale's hands seems foolish considering what he's accomplished. And.. then... if Brax IS healthy and able to throw at the level necessary... It's an impossible choice. Meyer's earning his paycheck, that's for sure.

 

[Jaxbuck]

My 02 as we sit here today;

-I have said from jump street that Braxton ever throwing the football well again is not a foregone conclusion. You cannot simply just mentally plug him in as the starter and think it will all be ok.
-I wonder if JT wasn't given the starting nod back then because he was better at running the read option AND because back then the WR corps still wasn't helping out enough and getting open.
-Never forget that we needed 3 this year for a reason, QB gets hit in the Urban offense. It's not like we need to pick one at the exclusion of the other two.

Given the way they (skill position players and OL) are playing now the most deadly QB is Cardale in my humble opinion. Back when the OL was still struggling and the skill guys weren't helping as much JT was your best bet.

In Urban I trust no matter what but this is a conundrum to be sure.

 

[SEREbuckeye]

Les all not forget the undefeated season of 2012 that Braxton led us to. He was the pioneer QB that has really turned around this program.

 

[ScriptOhio]

Yeah, I'd suppose so. Frankly, I think people should be advising him to learn how to run routes. Even if Brax was still 100% I'm not sure he's an NFL QB, if I'm being honest. I mean, he has the tools, but accuracy has been an issue his entire career at Ohio State. Improved, but not there, in my IMO. He, as we all know, is great with his legs, tho - getting him the ball in space (thanks Herbie!) and he's even deadlier, I think.

All in all, I'm glad this isn't my decision to make. I have a real hard time saying JT shouldn't be the starter in 2015 considering how he ran the offense this season and the progress he made as a QB. But, then.. taking the ball out of Cardale's hands seems foolish considering what he's accomplished. And.. then... if Brax IS healthy and able to throw at the level necessary... It's an impossible choice. Meyer's earning his paycheck, that's for sure.

That basically....

 

[bukIpower]

Yeah I will say at this time I think that CJ is our best option. I just don't think you can go back to Braxton and go to a running dominant offense with two similar runners in Braxton/Zeke.

One thing many of us are forgetting is CJ is our only healthy QB until about August so he will get every single rep in the spring and the summer. So for the coaches to all the sudden go "oh hey Braxton here's the offense back even though you haven't thrown the ball in 2 years" would be highly unlikely. If I were calling the shots (and there's a reason I'm not) I would say play CJ this year and try to get a medical for JT this year. I really feel our running game started to flourish because CJ was able to get the ball down field and it really forced teams to think twice about coming up in run support most especially in 2nd and short scenarios.

The one thing I fear after our late season struggles with JT is that teams knew they could load the box and bring pressure because JT simply didn't have the arm to get it deep. With cardale that's a non issue and I really think that added dimension is huge and that's not to mention he's 3-0 in big time games with great decisions.

 

[SEREbuckeye]

Frankly, I think people should be advising him to learn how to run routes. Even if Brax was still 100% I'm not sure he's an NFL QB, if I'm being honest. I mean, he has the tools, but accuracy has been an issue his entire career at Ohio State.

Unless Braxton wants to switch positions by his own desires, he shouldn't. As an Ohio State fan I don't care how he performs at QB at the NFL level. I care about whether or not he can lead the Buckeyes as a QB. He has shown to do that pretty damn well too, IMO.

College is meant to prepare student athletes for life, it isn't a D-League or a farm system. Being drafted is a by-product of talent displayed while performing in college.

Everyone knew Tebow would need to switch positions to be successful in the NFL, but in college he was great at leading his team as a QB. If Miller recognizes that he needs to switch if he wants to play on Sundays, then by all means he should. It shouldn't be something pressured on him though.

My thoughts remain the same. That even if he were to lose out on the starting position in practice this season, as a backup he will see the field and no doubt he will be invited to the NFL combine in 2016. The kind of talent he possesses will be asked to be evaluated by scouts no matter what.

 

[Wadcutter]

We probably would have seen that but Urbs didn't want to risk injuring another QB

Or an Oregon safety.

 

[Onebuckfan]

you saw cardale run it frequently with poor success in his first two starts. He's neither great at running it nor particularly dynamic with the ball.

Conversely, his strength and straight line quickness makes him pretty effective at escaping the pocket (or a bear hug) and picking up positive yards when things break down.

I AGREE after that read and fumbled handoff..I believe everything was predetermined after that..

 

[HenryMuto]

Tomorrow is a pretty big day. We shall see what he decides.

 

[Merih]

I still feel that JT runs a greater percentage of the offense, and does so more effectively than either Braxton (from what we saw last year) or Cardale.

The quick hitters and screens are a pivotal part of Meyer's offense, and JT puts those balls on the money and in the path of the receiver with regularity. Cardale struggled to put the ball in front of his receivers on those quick passes a few times, but more than made up for that with his ability to stretch the defense down the field after Zeke would establish the running game. I don't know how much Braxton would've improved over the course of the off season; it's a real shame we didn't get to see his progression.

All in all, I expect JT to start in 2015, if he can recover from his injury sans complications. While he may not have the legs of Braxton or the cannon of Cardale, he allows us to utilize more of our playmakers - giving the defense more to worry about.

With #15 in the backfield though, I'm not sure it will matter which of these three studs we have behind center

 

[HenryMuto]

Something to think about if 1 or 2 of these guys bolt you lose that ability to overcome a QB injury or two like we did this year. Say Miller transfers and Jones goes pro and JT gets hurt then what ? So while whoever starts isn't much of a concern as we have confidence in all 3 guys it would be nice to have all 3 back just in case or at least at a minimum 2 of them back.

 

[Hstead]

The fact is that if Brax doesn't hurt his shoulder again 12 days before the opener and stayed healthy the entire season, JT and Cardale would have both been getting cleanup duty for a reason, and that reason was seen by Urban. It reminds me very much of when Braxton went down in 13 and Kenny stepped in and did a wonderful job and pundits proclaimed tOSU was better with Kenny. And then what happened? Braxton came back and reminded everyone why he was the two time B10 PoTY. Braxton makes us harder to defend. He didn't throw it that badly, c'mon. I still want to see how he throws after two surgeries, but bottom line is the starting position was undoubtedly his to begin with.

When we had first and goal against Bama a couple of times and couldn't convert, Braxton would have made those TDs IMHO with ease. When he is in the game, we go empty, spread them out, and he picks which way he wants to walk in the endzone. With Cardale in those situations, we struggled because he doens't have the in his arsenal.

Not to take too much away from CJ, but a LOT of those deep balls were successful due to our receivers. Some of the balls seemed to be up for grabs and our guys made the plays they needed to make. JT or Braxton can also get the ball "close" enough for our receivers to make the same plays. It wasn't like the TDs to Smith were all on the money in the Wisky or Bama games, he made hellacious catches.

Either way it works out, tOSU will be fine that is proven. All three can win with the players around them. I can't wait to see Guarantano if he commits. He is going to be the real deal.

 

[bukIpower]

Something to think about if 1 or 2 of these guys bolt you lose that ability to overcome a QB injury or two like we did this year. Say Miller transfers and Jones goes pro and JT gets hurt then what ? So while whoever starts isn't much of a concern as we have confidence in all 3 guys it would be nice to have all 3 back just in case or at least at a minimum 2 of them back.

Then Collier comes in as a Red Shirt freshman who replaces our Heisman hopeful in JT and becomes one himself... A story line that should sound familiar

 

[kujirakira]

It's an entirely different ball game with a shoulder injury and no practice snaps for 18+ months.

 

[Dryden]

Something to think about if 1 or 2 of these guys bolt you lose that ability to overcome a QB injury or two like we did this year. Say Miller transfers and Jones goes pro and JT gets hurt then what ? So while whoever starts isn't much of a concern as we have confidence in all 3 guys it would be nice to have all 3 back just in case or at least at a minimum 2 of them back.

Miller may be 50/50 whether he can ever throw a football with any velocity again after two surgeries on his shoulder and JT is going to need a lot of rehab to rebuild an atrophied leg after pushing around his scooter for 3 or 4 months.

It could be an embarrassment of riches, or Ohio State could be one play away from Stephen Collier or Jalin Marshall being the starter in September.