J.T. Barrett and Cardale Jones are apparently competing for a spot in the upcoming games after the Ohio State quarterback got arrested on Halloween. According to the university, Mr. Barrett, who was cited for driving while impaired, has been suspended by coach Urban Meyer.
J.T. Barrett has been arrested and suspended, according to a brief statement issued by Ohio State University.
On Saturday morning, J.T. Barrett was arrested by Ohio police as he was driving near the campus. Mr. Barrett, who failed a breathalyzer test, was cited for a misdemeanor offense for operating a vehicle while impaired also known as OVI. It appears that the 20-year-old was not jailed, officers from the Columbus Police Department, decided to release him instead to teammate and fellow quarterback Cardale Jones, who drove him back home.
In the statement posted by the university, it was also announced that the arrest led to head coach Urban Meyer suspending Barrett for the upcoming Minnesota game scheduled for Saturday. Athletic Director Gene Smith added that because it was a misdemeanor, the sophomore is not subject to the mandatory two-week suspension, it is solely up to Meyer to extend it or not. The full statement from the Buckeyes read:
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.
Barrett’s arrest and suspension come just days after he made his first start of the season, playing against Rutgers University where he delivered an amazing performance by completing 14 of 18 passes for 223 yards and three touchdowns in a 49-7 victory. Barrett, who replaced Cardale Jones also gained 101 yards and scored twice on the ground.
According to experts, Barrett’s strong game meant that he would be the star of this season, but the incident now has the team scrambling to resolve its quarterback drama. Recently, Barrett did an interview where he made it clear that his arm is as good as Cardale’s , who played seven games this season. The athlete said:
“[The offense] really didn’t change with Cardale in the game. Like last year when I was playing, how many deep balls did I throw to Devin [Smith]? All the deep balls that we had were to Devin, and I threw them, but I guess since I’m not 6-5 and 250 [pounds] that I didn’t have a strong arm or something. I didn’t know what that was about.”
He added:
“We didn’t have new plays in so Cardale could throw the ball farther down the field. It was our base plays, and we just worked within that. Nothing has changed, so I even forgot about your question because I’ve wanted to say that for a long time to be honest with you, because I didn’t know what that was about.”
According to reports, when The Ohio State Buckeyes football team goes against Illinois on November 14, Barrett will be allowed to play.
Statement from Ohio State athletics department pic.twitter.com/IWhAQaWVth
— Mark Schlabach (@Mark_Schlabach) October 31, 2015
