COLUMBUS, Ohio — At this point in his college career, J.T. Barrett is an offseason workout veteran.
From the lifts that led to numbness in his arms as an early enrollee in 2013 to the battle to be Braxton Miller's backup a year later to last offseason's recovery from a broken ankle, Barrett is no stranger to the rigors that accompany Ohio State's winter workouts leading into spring practice. The redshirt junior has become a fixture in the Woody Hayes Athletic Center, the undisputed face of the Buckeyes program following the mass exodus of established talent from last season's team.
But as the Wichita Falls, Texas, native grinds through his fourth winter in Columbus, he finds himself in a role he's yet to play in any of his previous offseasons in his college career.
For the first time since arriving at Ohio State three years ago, Barrett is spending his winter as the undisputed starting quarterback, despite already being one of the program's few known on-field commodities entering 2016.
"Dang," Barrett said when it was mentioned to him that this is his first offseason as Ohio State's established starting signal-caller. "Yeah, I didn't think about that."
It is kind of hard to believe, given all that Barrett has already accomplished.
As a redshirt freshman in 2014, the 6'1", 225-pounder obliterated the Buckeyes' single-season quarterback record book, setting a program high for total offense and a new Big Ten mark for total touchdowns en route to being named the National Freshman of the Year. Barrett's breakout season, however, came after he was unexpectedly thrust into the Ohio State starting lineup when Miller went down with a season-ending injury two weeks prior to the start of the season.
After suffering a season-ending injury of his own in 2014, Barrett's status a year ago remained an unknown. He continued to recover from a broken ankle as a quarterback battle with Cardale Jones that would carry into the 2015 season just began to take form. While Jones would begin the season as the Buckeyes starter, Barrett would finish it, seemingly returning to his 2014 form in wins over Michigan and Notre Dame to close the 2015 campaign.
With Jones now headed to the NFL, there's no longer an impending quarterback controversy hanging over Columbus and, more importantly, no longer any question as to who Ohio State's starting signal-caller will be. On Wednesday, the reigning Fiesta Bowl offensive MVP admitted that at times, the team's quarterback conundrum became a distraction that may have impeded his individual on-field progress.
"Now having that behind me, it's kind of like having a weight lifted off—it's something I just don't have to worry about," Barrett said. "That's not in the back of my head at all. Now the focus is just trying to get better and developing skill."
Asked what he wants to work on, Barrett pointed to getting into his throwing motion faster, which would allow him to get the most out of his already quick release.
But at this point, the progress of its starting quarterback is the least of Ohio State's worries. In what Urban Meyer has deemed "The Year of Development," the Buckeyes will need to replace a staggering amount of their offensive production—83.1 percent of their receiving yards and 71.3 percent of their rushing yards from 2015—as the likes of Ezekiel Elliott, Michael Thomas, Jalin Marshall and Nick Vannett head to the NFL.
For Barrett—now entering his second season as one of Ohio State's captains—that means furthering his leadership, which has already been lauded as one of his top qualities since arriving on campus.
"The main thing is getting our young guys going," Barrett said. "We're going to need a [running back] Mike Weber, we're going to need an [offensive lineman] Isaiah Prince. We need to find somebody at right guard. The leadership is most important."
Just a few weeks into winter workouts, Barrett has already shined in that capacity, according to Buckeyes assistant athletic director for football sports performance, Mickey Marotti.
Charged with running Ohio State's offseason development program, Marotti has had a firsthand look at the impression the Buckeyes starting quarterback has made on his younger teammates. Marotti also admitted that it's been beneficial to know Barrett is going to be the starter, as opposed to the guessing game the team was forced to play a year ago.
"You know, that's it. He's the leader, he's going to be the quarterback, he's going to be the guy," Marotti said. "He's a guy I lean on a lot. He's really helped those young receivers and running backs develop. There's instant respect from the young guys to J.T. He is the quarterback. There's no question about it."
Barring any injuries to Barrett between now and the start of the season, that's a benefit the Buckeyes haven't been able to enjoy since 2013, when he was just a wide-eyed early enrollee and Miller was entering his second season as Ohio State's starter under Meyer. The results from that continuity spoke for themselves, with Miller winning his second consecutive Big Ten MVP award while improving his passing numbers across the board, including a jump of nearly 18 points in his passer rating.
Since Barrett is already more of a complete quarterback than Miller was then, similar progress could go help mask many of the Buckeyes' unknowns and potential shortcomings in 2016. At the very least, Barrett is one player Meyer knows he can count on—and arguably the biggest reason why some still consider Ohio State next season's national championship favorite.
Fully healthy and the Buckeyes' undisputed starting quarterback at this point in the year for the first time in his college career, Barrett remains something of a question mark as well.
Because how he performs—and what he gets out of his teammates—in his new role in the coming months will go a long way toward determining what exactly Ohio State's ceiling is for the 2016 season.
Ben Axelrod is Bleacher Report's Big Ten lead writer. You can follow him on Twitter @BenAxelrod. Unless noted otherwise, all quotes were obtained firsthand. All statistics courtesy of CFBStats.com. Recruiting rankings courtesy of 247Sports.
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