Ohio State Football: Another twist in the Buckeye QB saga

Think back to a simpler time when the quarterback situation on the Ohio State football team seemed to make sense. Say, December 31, 2018.

Before the Rose Bowl Game Dwayne Haskins was probably going to choose to enter the NFL draft and Justin Fields was leaning towards transferring to Ohio State. Tate Martell was fine if both of those things happened and told everybody he didn’t plan on leaving because he expected to win the starting job.

Fast forward to Jan. 11, 2019, Haskins decided to turn pro, Fields enrolled at Ohio State and Martell entered the transfer portal. And now much is being made about Martell listing he is from Las Vegas, NV on his Twitter account and not Columbus, OH. Does that mean anything at all?

Martell, the 2016 National Gatorade player of the Year, has never been one to back down from competition. He could have chosen to play for nearly any school in the country coming out of high school but came to Ohio State when there was a loaded quarterback room.

When he decided to enter the transfer portal, I just figured that was keeping his options open if he lost the QB battle in the spring, which just makes sense. Now, who knows if that’s all there is to it?.

Could something have happened recently that made Martell change his mind, like maybe being told by Ryan Day his skill set doesn’t fit what he is looking for in a QB? Or maybe Martell looks at the quarterbacks on the roster, along with another committed to the 2020 Ohio State recruiting class, and sees the writing on the wall.

It’s hard to say, but let’s take a look at what the QB situation looks like at the moment and see what you think.

Tate Martell 5 ft. 11, 210 pounds: In limited action last season he performed well in the passing game and running the football. Martell completed 82 percent of his passes ( 23-28) for 296 yards and 1 touchdown. He ran 22 times for 128 yards (5.8 yards per carry) and 2 scores.

Justin Fields 6 ft. 3, 221 pounds: He was the No. 1 dual threat quarterback in the 2018 class and the 2nd player overall. During his freshman year at Georgia, he was 27-39 passing (69.2 percent) for 328 yards and 4 touchdowns. He also ran 42 times for 266 yards (6.3 yards per carry) and 4 scores.

Even though Fields obviously can run with the ball, what I hear mostly about the young man is that people are impressed with his ability to throw the football..

Matthew Baldwin 6 ft. 3, 205 pounds: Baldwin was a three-star high school player primarily because he played at a quarterback factory that has turned out Baker Mayfield and other D-1 players. Because of that situation, Baldwin only started one season so he wasn’t highly regarded by recruiting analysts, even though he led his team to the state championship game before being injured.

Since arriving on campus Baldwin has impressed coaches and players alike with his strong, accurate arm.

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Now for the QB commit: Jack Miller, 6 ft. 4, 210 pounds and is the No. 4 Pro Style quarterback in the 2020 class.

Since coach Day was instrumental in bringing Fields, Baldwin and Miller into the fold, you can see what type of quarterback he wants to run his offense. I’m sure Martell understands that and may see the uphill battle he has to climb.

It has been widely reported that Fields has applied for a waiver to the transfer rules and many think he will receive one. If he does, he will be able to compete for the starting spot in the spring.

With the things I have read, Baldwin may be completely healed and ready to go so he should be in the mix. If Martell does hang around until April things will really be interesting.

Next. Time is now to change the flawed SEC narrative. dark

But what would it be like if there wasn’t a quarterback battle on the Ohio State football team? After all, that has become a “Rite of Spring”.

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