If Pat Elflein can't get through to a young Ohio State football player when he tries to explain why the Buckeyes do things a certain way, he might have to take a step back and think of another way to attack the conversation. Or, he could just turn to his fellow captain and quarterback, J.T. Barrett.
"I’m learning from J.T," Elflein said Wednesday. "Me and J.T. will sit down and talk for some days an hour just about leadership. You know, ‘How are the guys doing? How do you get through to this guy? What’s it take to get through to this guy?’ I feel like that’s helping me a lot growing because J.T. is an incredible leader."
That's the effect Barrett has on people. And now that Barrett is the unquestioned starter at the most important position on the field for the first time in what is now his fourth spring in Columbus, he's taking steps to be an even better leader.
He has to with such a young team looking to him often with eyes that ask, "Why are we doing what we're doing?"
“I think those are things we try to focus on, get them to know this is not punishment or something they did wrong. We’re not trying to kill you. That’s not the goal. We’re just trying to help you be able to help us on Saturday.”– J.T. Barrett
"(Last year) we were still grinding but it was more about developing skill. Now we’re trying to get our young guys to become grinders that we had last year," Barrett said Wednesday. "I think it’s a good mentality they have."
Ohio State has 44 players with freshman eligibility on its roster as it plows through winter workouts ahead of spring drills, which open March 8. That is more than 50 percent of scholarships available — a direct result of the program losing 18 seniors to graduation and nine underclassmen to the NFL Draft.
The bulk of the program is under significant pressure to step up and produce immediately. Seven players enrolled early for workouts and 18 more are on the way this summer. It is a lifestyle change, but one they need so Urban Meyer, Barrett, Elflein and the other elder statesmen in the program can count on them this fall.
"We’re preparing you, and if you can’t get through this then 4th down against The Team Up North in the 4th quarter it’s going to be the same thing," Elflein said. "If you can’t get through this, how are you going to be on the field and do it?"
Enter Barrett. Though Elflein and middle linebacker Raekwon McMillan are also captains, a quarterback's word often carries more weight. Barrett realizes that, and while he wants to further improve his own game during the offseason, he's working on being a better leader too.
Step One is being healthy, which he is unlike last year at this time as he rehabbed a broken ankle.
"Last year at this time I was trying to get healthy and now I’m healthy and that’s not a main focus last year," Barrett said. "I’m just trying to help the guys, keep on developing in drills or also developing leadership for our young guys."
Barrett likes what he sees from the young talent — it is eager, but like any program, is green. And it looks to Barrett when it wonders why it has to do all those pushups as part of a workout "finisher," or what exactly is the point of a mat drill.
"I think the conversation you have with them is a lot of times a young guy might feel like this is a punishment, especially at Ohio State. It’s really hard," Barrett said. "But it’s really not punishment. It’s more these are the things we do in order to get better and those things translate to the field.
"So with that conversation we have with them is more of a 'we, us' — our conversation with a young guy to finish a drill. If he’s got three more reps but is feeling blown out it’s more like we need you to do this in order for us to be where we want to get at the end of the season."
Barrett enrolled in January 2013 but wasn't healthy, having torn his ACL his senior year at Rider High School in Wichita Falls, Texas. He burst on the scene as a redshirt freshman in place of an injured Braxton Miller before breaking his ankle, and then had to win back his job last season from Cardale Jones.
Lest we forget his Halloween arrest and citation for OVI last year, which resulted in a one-game suspension and was as bad a look you can get as a program leader and captain.
In a way, Barrett's been through it all — or at least most of it, and said he didn't really "get it" until the summer of his redshirt freshman year. So when someone is complaining or wondering why they have to set their alarm to go off before 6 a.m. every day, he can deliver a reputable response in his cool, calm demeanor.
With Jones gone, Barrett is solely in the spotlight at quarterback for Ohio State.
"That offseason I had, the winter was rough on me," Barrett recalled. "It was more summer there was the transition of all the different things we’re doing, I need to have a more positive attitude and realize it’s going to help me on the football field at the end of the day. I like to do things that translate to football."
If you don't think of things in a similar breath, you won't make it at Ohio State. Workouts are put together by Mickey Marotti and his staff for a reason, to create the mental toughness needed to push a little bit further when a difficult situation presents itself. Think Michigan State in 2014, or Michigan last season coming off a loss to Michigan State.
"That’s why we’re successful around here, we pride ourselves on these mat drills or stuff we do early in the morning," Elfein said. "It directly translates to the field in the 4th quarter against Michigan State, against Oklahoma, against all those teams. You gotta get tough, you gotta know how to get through it. You gotta know when you can’t feel like you can go anymore, there’s still more to give."
Meyer calls Barrett one of the best leaders he's ever been around. Elflein leads the offensive line, McMillan is the quarterback of the defense as its middle linebacker, but Barrett is the quarterback of the team.
Everyone looks to him, regardless if you're a starter or on the scout team.
"When we won the national championship it was everybody involved. it wasn’t just one person," Barrett said. "Some people had different roles yes but at the end of the day we needed everybody. I think those are things we try to focus on, get them to know this is not punishment or something they did wrong. We’re not trying to kill you. That’s not the goal. We’re just trying to help you be able to help us on Saturday."
