Ohio State Football: 2014 National Champion quarterbacks, 5 years later
After leading the Buckeyes to a 10-1 record and a lead against Michigan before a broken ankle cut short his season, the then-freshman J.T. Barrett went on to break all kinds of Ohio State and Big Ten records over the next three seasons, even though the 2015 season was limited due to splitting starts with Cardale Jones.
Barrett finished with 9,434 career passing yards, 104 passing TDs, 3,263 rushing yards and 43 rushing TDs. If not for the split 2015 season, he could have finished with even more astounding numbers.
After being signed as an undrafted free agent by the New Orleans Saints in 2018, Barrett bounced between practice squads from the Saints to the Seattle Seahawks, then back to the Saints, and now to the Pittsburgh Steelers, where he is signed to a reserve/future contract.
Similarly, after putting up impressive numbers in a halved 2015 season, Jones jumped for the NFL, where he played just one game, throwing for 96 yards and an INT. After bouncing around NFL practice squads, Jones will be taking his talents to the District of Columbia to play for the DC Defenders of the revitalized XFL.
The rest of the 2014 team has made a bigger impact on the NFL, but Miller, Barrett and Jones will forever be Ohio State legends.
Next. Congrats to a forever Buckeye, Joe Burrow. dark
Even from the sidelines, Miller was a motivator for the team to push forward and finish “The Chase.” If not for Barrett, the Buckeyes wouldn’t have been in the position to be close enough to make the first College Football Playoff.
And if not for the way Jones stepped up in the three biggest games of the season against Wisconsin, Alabama and Oregon, the phrase “2014 National Champions” would not be synonymous with Ohio State football.