Ohio State taking away QB J.T. Barrett's scholarship for semester due to impaired driving incident
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Jim O'Connor-USA TODAY Sports
The punishment has apparently gone beyond a one-game suspension.
Two days after Ohio State starting quarterback J.T. Barrett was suspended for a game for an OVI citation, the Buckeyes have apparently extended that punishment.
"He also forfeited a scholarship for a term," Meyer discussed. "But he can earn it back."
Urban Meyer discussed the incident at a press conference Monday. This is not entirely unprecedented. Buckeyes Jake Stoneburner and Jack Mewhort lost their scholarships for a semester in 2012 after being arrested for evading police.
This will apparently apply to Barrett's "summer" semester.
It is also unclear how Barrett can "earn back" his scholarship. We are reaching out to Ohio State with questions.
Shortly after J.T. Barrett was arrested for operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated, Ohio State announced that the quarterback would be suspended for the Buckeyes' next game, Nov. 7, against Minnesota.
This was a first offense for Barrett, and since it was an alcohol violation, the school's alcohol/substance abuse policy dictates that Barrett must enter a management program. Beyond that, no suspension is mandated by program policy.
This is an important distinction: Urban Meyer was not obligated to suspend J.T. Barrett, but did so, anyway.
Given the reaction by some fans – particularly fans of other programs – and some in the media, condemning Meyer for being too lenient, it's worth looking at what other schools have done in similar situations.
Most recently, Oklahoma State wide receiver Jhajuan Seales was arrested for DUI on Oct. 19. He was suspended for one game and reinstated by Mike Gundy.
Arkansas tight end C.J. O'Grady was picked up for a DUI on Aug. 28. His coach, Bret Bielema,welcomed him back to the team after a one-game suspension.
New Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi saw two of his players busted for driving while intoxicated. Star wide receiver Tyler Boyd and defensive end Rori Blair were each suspended for the Panthers' season opener before returning to the team.
Sensing a pattern here?
Two years ago, after Alabama defensive back Geno Smith was reinstated by Nick Saban following a one-game suspension for driving under the influence, AL.com's Kevin Scarbinsky noted that one game is the norm across major college football for this kind of offense.
Stanford linebacker Shayne Skov was cited for DUI in January of 2012. Coach David Shaw suspended Skov from all team activities until June and then suspended him for the 2012 season opener.Michigan running back Fitz Toussaint pleaded guilty to a DUI in the summer of 2012. He was suspended for the first game of the season against Alabama, then reinstated for the second game against Air Force.Oregon defensive lineman Isaac Remington was arrested in October of 2012 for suspicion of DUI. He was suspended for one game, then reinstated when the local prosecutor decided to drop the charge.
Yep, that's definitely a pattern.
As Scarbinsky points out, it's tricky to compare discipline from one incident to another, but there certainly does appear to be a quasi-standard, one-game suspension for driving while under the influence, particularly, if it's a player's first offense.
Barrett will serve his time – in addition to whatever the court hands down to him – and hopefully learn from this incident. And Urban Meyer isn't doing anything that other coaches have done when faced with similar situations.
FIVE THINGS: COMFORTABLY NUMB3RS
So the bye weekend didn't get off to a strong start thanks to the J.T. Barrett story but frankly it could have been far worse.
The fact the incident left zero killed or injured is the headliner but I won't discount the additional good news that Barrett has been officially suspended for just one game though his penalty could climb depending on if Urban wants to add another game for emphasis. If that happens he'll still be back for Michigan State and beyond.
Putting yesterday's news to the side, this year's team continues to live in the shadow of the 2014 squad with the comparisons coming fast and furious. With a week to catch our collective breath I took a glance at some key metrics from both teams through eight games to create a little more clarity and potentially separate fact from fiction.
SLOB STATE
Expected to be the cornerstone unit in Ohio State's bid to repeat, the offensive line returned four starters from last year's dominant outfit with the only newcomer being fifth-year senior Chase Farris at right tackle.
| STATISTIC | 2014 | 2015 |
|---|---|---|
| CARRIES | 392 | 336 |
| RUSHING YARDS | 2,074 | 1,976 |
| YARDS PER GAME | 259 | 247 |
| YARDS PER CARRY | 5.3 | 5.9 |
| RUSHING TD | 20 | 24 |
| SACKS ALLOWED | 28 | 10 |
| SACKS PER GAME | 3.5 | 1.3 |
To the subjective eye it feels as if the group has struggled at times in pass protection and Farris has been exposed a time or two against the better defensive ends he's gone up against.
There were also some issues early on with Jacoby Boren's shotgun snap accuracy and what felt like a spate of penalties committed by the slobs overall.
That said, the numbers through eight games largely favor the 2015 line. Specifically, yards per carry are up over a half-yard and the number of sacks allowed have decreased dramatically. Yes, multiple variables impact those numbers but it starts up front and thus far the 2015 edition of the slobs is actually faring better versus last year than some fans might realize.
Of course the litmus test for this season is still far from complete as the meat of the schedule has not yet arrived.
PASSING FANCY
Despite falling into the starting job 10 days before the season opener after Braxton Miller went down, J.T. Barrett overcame a rough outing versus Virginia Tech to record two 300-yard passing games and 23 touchdowns against seven interceptions in his first eight starts of 2014.
Behind those numbers Ohio State's passing attack accounted for nearly 49% of the total offense through the first eight games. The man known as "The Distributor" didn't feature a cannon arm within Tom Herman's offense but the Buckeyes still managed 13.9 yards per reception.
| STATISTIC | 2014 | 2015 |
|---|---|---|
| ATTEMPTS | 222 | 216 |
| COMPLETIONS | 142 | 138 |
| PASSING YARDS | 1,967 | 1,741 |
| PASS YARDS/GAME | 245.9 | 217.6 |
| AVG. YARDS/CATCH | 13.9 | 12.6 |
| TOUCHDOWNS | 25 | 14 |
| INTERCEPTIONS | 7 | 7 |
| % OF TOTAL OFF | 48.7% | 46.8% |
This year, with Cardale Jones starting the first seven games and Barrett the eighth – with J.T. also performing red zone specialist duties in weeks six and seven – Ohio State's passing numbers are down in comparison to last year.
For his part, Jones looked uncomfortable working within the framework of being the starter with a talented backup seeing spot duty during the first three contests. His passing yards totals were gaudy against Western Michigan and Indiana in weeks four and five but he still threw a couple picks and wasn't particularly adept at scoring red zone touchdowns or converting third downs.
Those issues factored into Urban Meyer inventing a red zone specialist role for Barrett in weeks six and seven against Maryland and Penn State and Barrett thrived. With Jones largely stinking it up against Penn State, Barrett reclaimed his starting job a week later and dominated Rutgers completing 14 of 18 passes for 223 yards and three scores.
Now, Meyer must once again reshuffle the deck as Barrett serves his suspension.
Can Jones take advantage of his latest opportunity? That much remains to be seen but the reality is that this year's passing attack has yet to live up to the success of the 2015 group. The quarterback carousel gets most of the attention but the loss of Devin Smith and Evan Spencer combined with injuries especially to Noah Brown also loom large.
BETTER BULLETS?
The 2014 Buckeye defense will be remembered for its penchant for making big plays in big games. On the season, the group generated 33 turnovers with 25 interceptions and eight fumble recoveries.
| STATISTIC | 2014 | 2015 |
|---|---|---|
| 3RD DOWNS | 41 / 113 | 41 / 130 |
| 3RD DOWN CONV. | 36.3% | 31.5% |
| TOTAL RUSH YDS | 949 | 1,215 |
| RUSHING YPC | 3.4 | 3.7 |
| RUSHING YPG | 118.6 | 151.9 |
| TOTAL PASS YDS | 1,451 | 1,194 |
| PASS YPC | 9.9 | 11.7 |
| PASS YPG | 181.4 | 149.3 |
| RUSH TD ALLOWED | 10 | 7 |
| PASS TD ALLOWED | 9 | 8 |
In the first eight games however the defense wasn't quite as ferocious as it would become down the stretch shutting out Wisconsin and straight owning third down in the playoffs stopping Alabama and Oregon on 21 of 25 opportunities.
Last year's group did hold opponents to 3.4 yards per carry and 9.9 yards per catch over the first eight outings but gave up 2.4 touchdowns per game.
Conversely, the 2015 outfit is giving up 1.9 touchdowns per game while faring better on both 3rd down and in overall pass defense.
The achilles heel of this year's team has been a rush defense that's a little soft in the middle. Giving up nearly 152 rush yards per game on 3.7 per carry, the Bullets want to tighten up a bit before the schedule gets real.
That said, this year's group has given up only nine more total yards than the 2014 squad. Hopefully that is a sign of things being right on schedule.
THE REAL ZONE SIX
With Barrett at the controls during the first eight contests of 2014, Ohio State made a ridiculous 5.6 trips per game into the red zone recording touchdowns on nearly 69% of those.
On the trips resulting in touchdowns, Barrett was able to strike a nice balance with the offense producing 17 on the ground and 14 through the air.
| STATISTIC | 2014 | 2015 |
|---|---|---|
| TRIPS | 45 | 34 |
| TOTAL SCORES | 37 | 28 |
| TOUCHDOWNS | 31 | 21 |
| TOUCHDOWN RATE | 68.9% | 61.8% |
| FIELD GOALS | 6 | 7 |
| SCORING RATE | 82.2% | 82.4% |
The eight failures to score inside the 20 included five turnovers on downs, a missed field goal and two interceptions.
Though the 82.2% scoring rate wasn't otherworldly the 2014 Buckeyes managed to score 25.5 points per game via visits to the red zone.
This year, Ohio State got off to a very slow start recording a disappointing six touchdowns in 16 red zone opportunities over the first five games good for a dismal 38% touchdown rate.
Since the insertion of Barrett into the lineup as the red zone quarterback for two games before taking over as the full time starter last weekend the Buckeyes have 16 scores in 18 trips. More importantly, they've tallied 15 touchdowns over that span good for an 83% rate with just one field goal along with one fumble and one turnover on downs.
SMART FOOTBALL
Ohio State's offense wasn't particularly impressive managing turnovers last year with 26 overall and 12 in the first eight games. In fact, the offense had just one turnover-free outing over that span.
| STATISTIC | 2014 | 2015 |
|---|---|---|
| PENALTIES | 47 | 51 |
| PENALTIES / GAME | 5.9 | 6.4 |
| TURNOVERS | 12 | 14 |
| TURNOVERS / GAME | 1.5 | 1.8 |
Lucky for them, offensive miscues were typically more than offset by the already discussed opportunistic defense creating 33 turnovers of their own.
On the flag front last year's squad averaged 5.9 penalties through their first eight games to go along with those 1.5 turnovers.
The 2015 season got off to a poor start on both fronts with the Buckeyes committing an average of eight penalties over their first five games compounded by 13 turnovers over the same span (2.6 per) putting Ohio State outside the top 100 in both stats.
To their credit the team has tightened up over the last three weeks with 11 total penalties including zero against Rutgers with only one turnover.
Continuing both trends should go a long way toward a repeat trip to the college football playoff.
J.T. Barrett Suspended for Minnesota Game for Misdemeanor OVI Citation
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From OSU's release: Ohio State University student-athlete J.T. Barrett was cited by Columbus police Saturday morning at a campus area check point with a misdemeanor offense of OVI. Barrett has been suspended by head coach Urban Meyer from playing in Ohio State’s game against Minnesota on Nov. 7.
Per a report from ESPN after speaking with OSU AD Gene Smith, because this is a misdemeanor, it does not fall under Ohio State's drug and alcohol policy. Instead, Barrett's suspension for the Minnesota game — and any further time missed — is Urban Meyer's decision.
Cardale Jones will now step back in for the Buckeyes.
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COLUMBUS – The Ohio State quarterback situation is the story that keeps on growing.
With the announcement that redshirt sophomore J.T. Barrett was cited for an OVI Friday night on OSU’s campus resulting in a suspension for the Buckeyes’ game against Minnesota, the saga continues.
Let’s take a look back at what brought the quarterback situation to this point.
August 20, 2014: Senior quarterback Braxton Miller is ruled out for the season just days before the Buckeyes begin the year against Navy. Miller injured his throwing shoulder and required a second surgery in under a year.
At the time, Miller was the two-time defending Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year and a Heisman Trophy candidate.
August 30, 2014: Redshirt freshman J.T. Barrett makes his first career start against the Midshipmen. In doing so, Barrett became the first freshmen to start a season opener at quarterback for Ohio State since Art Schlichter in 1978.
Barrett was 12-of-15 for 226 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception with 50 yards rushing.
November 29, 2014: After navigating Ohio State to a 10-1 record, Barrett fractures his ankle in the fourth quarter of a 42-28 win over Michigan. The quarterback’s season and Heisman campaign ended on one play after evolving into one of the country’s best players and breaking several school and Big Ten records.
December 6, 2014: Redshirt sophomore Cardale Jones makes his first career start against Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship Game. The Buckeyes won 59-0 and Jones was an impressive 12-for-17 for 257 yards and three touchdowns.
January 1, 2015: After making the inaugural College Football Playoff as the fourth-ranked team in the country, Jones leads Ohio State to a 42-35 win over No. 1 Alabama in the Sugar Bowl.
Jones was 18-of-35 passing for 243 yards and one touchdown. He also rushed for 43 yards in an impressive victory to put the Buckeyes in the CFP National Championship Game.
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January 12, 2015: Jones and the Scarlet and Gray complete the magical with a 42-20 win over Oregon in the National Championship Game. Jones was 16-for-23 for 242 yards and one touchdown.
January 15, 2015: Jones holds a press conference in Cleveland to announce that he will return to Ohio State for his redshirt junior year. This sets up a potential three-quarterback race for the starting job between Jones, Barrett, and Miller.
March 10, 2015: The Buckeyes open spring practice and Jones is the only quarterback of the three able to take part in drills as Miller and Barrett continue to recover from their injuries.
July 23, 2015: Braxton Miller tells Sports Illustrated’s Pete Thamel that he is switching positions from quarterback to wide receiver/H-back. Miller elected to make the move in order to contribute at his best for OSU after the shoulder surgeries and to prepare himself for a future NFL career.
August 10, 2015: Head coach Urban Meyer announces he won’t name a starting quarterback until the first snap of the season-opener against Virginia Tech.
September 7, 2015: Jones takes the first snap of the season and leads Ohio State to a road win over the Hokies. The quarterback finishes 10-of-19 for 187 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for 99 yards and another score.
Barrett plays late in the game, rushing for 40 yards and completing his only pass attempt for a 26-yard touchdown.
September 12, 2015: Jones struggles early in the Buckeyes’ week two game with Hawaii and Barrett takes over for three consecutive series in the second quarter. Jones returns in the second half and helps the Scarlet and Gray to a 38-0 win with 111 passing yards, but no touchdowns.
September 19, 2015: Jones makes his third start of the season against Northern Illinois, but is once again replaced by Barrett after a slow start. This time, Barrett remains the quarterback for the rest of the game raising questions of who will be the starter the next week.
September 23, 2015: Meyer announces Jones will remain the starter. Says that Barrett has not done enough to win the job.
October 10, 2015: While Jones continues to start, Barrett becomes the red zone quarterback, entering the game when the Buckeyes get down near the opponents endzone. Meyer says it gives Ohio State an edge because opponents have to defend Barrett’s read option ability.
October 17, 2015: Barrett continues in the roll of red
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zone quarterback against Penn State, but takes over full time in the third quarter. He finished with four total touchdowns, two rushing and two receiving, and seems to provide the offense with a spark.
After the game, Meyer said the quarterback situation will be reevaluated that week.
October 20, 2015: Meyer names Barrett the starting quarterback for OSU’s road game with Rutgers on the Big Ten Teleconference. Says Barrett has earned the right to start with his performances.
October 24, 2015: Barrett makes his first start in nearly 11 months in Ohio State’s 49-7 win over the Scarlet Knights. Barrett finishes the game 14-of-18 for 223 yards and three touchdowns and 101 rushing yards and two scores.
Meyer says after the game that the offense looked much better and Barrett looked more like the player he was a year ago. The Buckeyes have found their quarterback.
October 31, 2015: Barrett is cited for OVI in the early hours of Saturday morning. The 20-year old quarterback was cooperative with police and tested just over the legal limit. Ohio State announces Barrett is suspended for the following week’s game with Minnesota.
The suspension to Barrett opens the door for Jones once again. While the Ohio State offense looks like it did last year with Barrett back at the helm, Jones has a chance to show that he can run it just as he did in last season's postseason run.
If he does, the saga will take another turn and continue its long run.
| RK | TEAM | REC | PTS | TREND |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ohio State(39) | 8-0 | 1465 | — |
| 2 | Baylor(6) | 7-0 | 1408 | — |
| 3 | Clemson(6) | 8-0 | 1381 | — |
| 4 | LSU(5) | 7-0 | 1346 | — |
| 5 | TCU(4) | 8-0 | 1336 | — |
| 6 | Michigan State | 8-0 | 1249 | — |
| 7 | Alabama(1) | 7-1 | 1160 | — |
| 8 | Notre Dame | 7-1 | 1019 | 1 |
| 9 | Stanford | 7-1 | 1014 | 1 |
| 10 | Iowa | 8-0 | 954 | — |
| 11 | Florida | 7-1 | 923 | — |
| 12 | Oklahoma State | 8-0 | 879 | — |
| 13 | Utah | 7-1 | 809 | — |
| 14 | Oklahoma | 7-1 | 712 | — |
| 15 | Memphis | 8-0 | 683 | 1 |
| 16 | Michigan | 6-2 | 613 | 1 |
| 17 | Florida State | 7-1 | 571 | — |
| 18 | Houston | 8-0 | 466 | — |
| 19 | Ole Miss | 7-2 | 414 | — |
| 20 | Toledo | 7-0 | 366 | — |
| 21 | North Carolina | 7-1 | 248 | — |
| 22 | UCLA | 6-2 | 190 | 2 |
| 23 | Temple | 7-1 | 175 | 2 |
| 24 | Mississippi State | 6-2 | 144 | 1 |
| 25 | Texas A&M | 6-2 | 101 | — |
| Complete Rankings | ||||
Dropped from rankings:Duke 22, Pittsburgh 23
Others receiving votes:Wisconsin 64, USC 57, BYU 27, Northwestern 21, Duke 7, Penn State 5, Boise State 4, Appalachian State 4, California 4, Tennessee 2, Pittsburgh 2, Washington State 1, Navy 1
| RK | TEAM | REC | PTS | TREND |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ohio State(48) | 8-0 | 1574 | — |
| 2 | Baylor(9) | 7-0 | 1481 | — |
| 3 | TCU(4) | 8-0 | 1441 | — |
| 4 | LSU(1) | 7-0 | 1388 | — |
| 5 | Clemson(2) | 8-0 | 1377 | 1 |
| 6 | Michigan State | 8-0 | 1337 | 1 |
| 7 | Alabama | 7-1 | 1223 | — |
| 8 | Stanford | 7-1 | 1069 | — |
| 9 | Notre Dame | 7-1 | 1068 | — |
| 10 | Oklahoma State | 8-0 | 978 | — |
| 11 | Iowa | 8-0 | 968 | — |
| 12 | Florida | 7-1 | 942 | — |
| 13 | Oklahoma | 7-1 | 819 | — |
| 14 | Utah | 7-1 | 770 | — |
| 15 | Florida State | 7-1 | 693 | — |
| 16 | Memphis | 8-0 | 652 | — |
| 17 | Michigan | 6-2 | 587 | — |
| 18 | Houston | 8-0 | 505 | 1 |
| 19 | Ole Miss | 7-2 | 436 | 2 |
| 20 | Toledo | 7-0 | 396 | — |
| 21 | North Carolina | 7-1 | 215 | — |
| 22 | UCLA | 6-2 | 199 | 3 |
| 23 | Temple | 7-1 | 164 | 1 |
| 24 | Texas A&M | 6-2 | 148 | — |
| 25 | Mississippi State | 6-2 | 104 | — |
Week 9 started slow but ended in thrilling fashion. Temple made things tight with No. 9 Notre Dame up until a late touchdown drive kept the Fighting Irish in Playoff contention. Miami made eight lateral passes on a kickoff return that ended in a touchdown on the final play to beat Duke. Washington State was a missed 43-yard field goal away from beating No. 8 Stanford.
And now October is over and things are going to get real. Championships are won in November and as the season enters its most-anticipated month, the selection committee will unveil its first ranking.
Here are three takeaways from this week as we look forward to what’s coming.
James Lang-USA TODAY Sports
What will Urban Meyer do now?
One of the biggest storylines of the week happened off the field when news broke early Saturday morning that Ohio State starting quarterback J.T. Barrett had been cited by Columbus police with a misdemeanor offense for operating a vehicle while impaired (OVI).
Barrett, who was named the starter over Cardale Jones last week for the first time all season, failed a breathalyzer test and will now be suspended for Minnesota — who nearly beat Michigan this week — next week, but available for Illinois the following Saturday.
There’s no question the Buckeyes are better when Barrett is in the game. When the redshirt sophomore started for the first time this season against Rutgers a week ago, he accounted for 324 total yards of offense and was responsible for five touchdowns (three passing, two rushing) in a 49-7 victory. Meyer has talked nonstop of Barrett’s leadership and has said he’s one of the best he’s ever been around in his career. The team voted him captain right before the season began.
But does your top leader, who is underage and the quarterback of the No. 1 team in the country, go out and drink and drive during the bye week — or ever for that matter? No.
This occurred on the heels of Meyer’s book release, which happens to be all about leadership. In his book “Above The Line,” Meyer goes in depth about the use of his military style metaphors and winning behavior. Barrett didn’t exemplify any of those qualities when he made the decision to get behind the wheel after drinking.
So will Meyer hold Barrett out one game and then start him again for the last three? After Illinois comes Michigan State and Michigan. Lose one of those and Ohio State’s shot at the Playoff could be finished. Or could the suspension end up lasting longer?
Additionally, the first College Football Playoff ranking will be released Tuesday (7 p.m. ET, ESPN) by the selection committee. Will Barrett’s suspension be a factor? Jones is 10-0 as a starter, but when he’s playing, the team doesn’t have the same kind of zing it did when it made its national championship run last year.
One week after he became the starting quarterback for the No. 1 team in the nation, Ohio State’s J.T. Barrett was arrested by Columbus Police for for operating a vehicle while impaired.
Barrett was cited for a misdemeanor offense and will be suspended for one game. The Buckeyes are on a bye week, meaning Barrett will not be able to play until November 14th against Illinois. Barrett, who is 20 and under the legal drinking age, took a brethalyzer test after being stopped by police, according to Eleven Warriors.
“Barrett was cooperative and blew into a breathalyzer, registering slightly over Ohio’s legal limit of 0.08 blood-alcohol concentration.The quarterback was released to his teammate, fellow quarterback Cardale Jones, who provided Barrett a ride home.”
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