Ohio State Football: The top ten recruits of the Urban Meyer era
By Ryan Stano
J.T. Barrett may not have been the most talented quarterback that Meyer ever recruited, but he was the most accomplished. That is undeniable. Barrett helped lead the Buckeyes in the 2014 season as a freshman before breaking his ankle against TTUN.
In that season, he very well could have been a Heisman finalist if he didn’t get hurt. No matter, he still won a national title as a member of that team. As far as career achievements go, no one in the Urban Meyer era comes close to outshining Barrett.
Barrett was in Urban’s first full recruiting class in 2013. He was a four-star prospect out of Texas. He wasn’t expected to play as a redshirts freshman in 2014 but was thrust in as a starter after Braxton Miller went down in the preseason with a shoulder injury.
Once it was all said and done, Barrett left Ohio State as the all-time leader in passing yards, passing touchdowns, touchdowns responsible for, and total offensive yards. That’s quite a feat for a program that’s been around for over 100 years.
While Barrett was never quite the transcendent talent many hoped he’d be, he was a winner. He beat some of the toughest teams in the country to put the Buckeyes in a position for a national title every year he was on the field.
The next person on this list is one of the best defensive linemen I’ve ever seen at Ohio State.