The Ohio State quarterback situation and its impact on the Buckeyes improbable national title run is quite possibly one of the most riveting stories in recent college football memory. You will be hard pressed to find another school who had the level of uncertainty not once, but twice in the same season yet managed to come away with the sport’s highest prize. What shines an ever so luminescent light on it even more is the fact it took place in year one of the new Playoff era.
I’m still conflicted as it relates to whose fill-in job was more impressive. J.T. Barrett was thrust into the starting job from the get go in the wake of Braxton Miller’s season-ending injury in August, experienced some growing pains early on, yet led the Buckeyes to the brink of a conference title while putting his name into the Heisman Trophy discussion. When a broken ankle ended his season against arch-rival Michigan, Cardale Jones took the reins and put together a trifecta of wins over his first three starts that might never be matched, leading his team to its first championship in 12 years.
Credit can go around in endless circles when you’re talking about how this all worked out the way it did. Certainly head coach Urban Meyer’s legend grew multifold as a result of this triumph. Offensive coordinator Tom Herman as well as offensive line coach Ed Warriner deserve a great deal of high marks for how the various components of this offense came together so cohesively at the right time.
With the program on cloud nine, it will be interesting to see how the Buckeyes handle prosperity as it’s possible that three robustly elite signal callers could be on the squad going into 2015. Though Miller’s situation from a transfer standpoint is still as yet undetermined, his two teammates will indeed be there even though Barrett will likely miss spring ball while still rehabbing his injury. Jones made his status with the team abundantly clear during a much hyped press conference last Thursday when it was expected he was going to announce a move to the NFL and ended up reaffirming his commitment to OSU.
Will these developments have an impact on Ohio State’s top ten rated 2015 recruiting class, particularly at quarterback? Already, the Buckeyes have commitments from two players at that position including Joe Burrow and Torrance Gibson. Both possess dual-threat capabilities and were recruited by Herman who as you are probably well aware has assumed head coaching duties at Houston.
Now comes news Sunday that Gibson may be vacillating on his pledge to OSU. According to a report by Jeffrey Lee of AuburnSports.com, the Plantation, FL native rated as the 13th best dual-threat quarterback in the nation according to Rivals was highly impressed by an official visit to Auburn this weekend. Though he’s expected to meet with Meyer at his home before Signing Day, this recent development coupled with another official visit to LSU leaves open the possibility his letter of intent might not be as dead set on Columbus as originally realized.
It must be emphasized that Gibson is still committed to the Buckeyes and according to the report, has not re-opened his commitment as is commonly done by many prospects. With Auburn senior Nick Marshall graduating and sophomore Anthony Jennings not exactly impressing for the Bayou Bengals, the opportunity is definitely there for a flashy frosh to make an immediate impact. Both Tigers head coach Gus Malzahn and LSU’s Les Miles will probably say as much as part of their last ditch effort to hand the SEC a recruiting coup weeks after a disappointing postseason for the conference.
College football recruiting can always be a fickle beast, even for the big boys of the sport. Sometimes long-term certainty at a position can impact a potential prospect’s willingness to come on board, especially in today’s game where so many of these players feel they can contribute as underclassmen and end up doing so. Whether or not Gibson ultimately ends up in Scarlet and Gray remains to be seen, but you can rest assured that the next few weeks should add another dimension of intrigue to what has become the most talked about position in the college game: quarterback at Ohio State.
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