tBBC OSU QB Depth Chart: JT Barrett, then… Stephen Collier

[Ken]

OSU QB Depth Chart: JT Barrett, then… Stephen Collier
Ken via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
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After a bit of thought, and reading well-constructed articles, such as Brandon’s, I have a suggestion regarding the Ohio State depth chart. This is based on what I’ve seen season-to-date.

Let’s start with the premise and go with what Urban, and our lyin’ eyes have seen; JT Barrett is the starting quarterback.

We good with that?

The back-up, in my opinion, should be Stephen Collier. Well, why not?

Granted, Collier is not a household name and, after red-shirting last season, has seen minimal action this season, except to take a few snaps and hand the ball off a few times in mop-up duty. But, hear me out…

• Cardale wasn’t exactly a “proven commodity” when he took the field in last year’s post-season. He also was a red-shirt and seemed to do fairly well, if I recall correctly. So, a “proven commodity” is sort of a relative term. If an offensive player can “prove” himself against the Silver Bullets, then he’ll be fine in a game.

• Cardale hasn’t been “on his game” this season. He seems slow, awkward, and really not that good. He is not a good runner, his accuracy, despite what numbers indicate, is off. He has trouble completing short passes. Just about the only thing in his passing that has shown consistency has been his under-throwing of deep passes. Maybe we are just realizing at this point how much the offense misses ‘Devin & Evan’, and perhaps they made him the quarterback that he was last season.

• This one is more a personal taste observation, but CJ is not a team leader. One change that I’ve noticed this season is that on pass incompletions/interceptions, CJ would berate his receivers on the field. Frankly, I think that type “discussion” should be between the players, on the sideline. Especially if the team leader just chucked the football 10 yards over said receiver’s head.

• JT Barrett is the starting quarterback because, I’m assuming, Urban Meyer feels he runs the offense more efficiently than CJ. Barrett brings an increased level of energy to the Ohio State offense due to his ability to run the read option. By this, I mean he makes the correct reads, more often than not, to the defensive actions. JT “distributes” the ball to Zeke when appropriate and is a credible running threat when he keeps the ball. Barrett is more adept at running an up tempo offense than Jones. (Stay with me on this point, please, see below.)

• Ohio State runs two different offenses when Barrett is in the game compared to when Jones is in the game. They have different skill sets. I see Collier’s skill set being much more in line with Barrett’s than with Jones. I’m not suggesting that Stephen Collier is JT Barrett 2.0, but I am suggesting that their skill sets are similar enough that the Ohio State offense can use the same pages in the play book with Barrett/Collier that it cannot with Jones. Should JT have to take a few plays off, Collier coming off the bench won’t be seamless, but it will still be close enough to JT that the offense will not lose it’s momentum.

• Due to position injuries, there was a time this Spring when Collier took a significant number of snaps in practice. It’s not like he’s an “un-proven commodity” to OSU’s offense. His performance in the Spring game, FWIW, was comparable to CJ’s.

So, there you have it. What say ye?



The post OSU QB Depth Chart: JT Barrett, then… Stephen Collier appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.

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[MililaniBuckeye]

So, there you have it. What say ye?

What say we? We say, "Stupid". Although Jones hasn't met to lofty expectations dumped on him after his post-season run last year, he's still far above Collier in game experience and ability. There's a reason why Collier was redshirted last year even though Miller was already injured and out for the year. If Barrett should become unavailable for any reason, Jones is the one I want out there, not Collier. You keep your second-best QB at second string...