When #QBgeddon raged last summer, it was marked by congeniality between its contestants. Sure, Cardale Jones and J.T. Barrett were trying to rip dreams form each other's hands, but there was no reason they couldn't be friends while doing so. It was an honest friendship that prevails to this day.
The last time Ohio State saw a quarterback derby of that magnitude—fall of 2005—it didn't go as smoothly. Though the unheralded, last-minute signee Troy Smith would eventually supplant blue-chip Justin Zwick and win a Heisman Trophy, their rivalry almost culminated with a showdown in a Columbus parking lot.
Smith set the scene while speaking at a charity event in Youngstown featuring eight other former Ohio State athletes.
From vindy.com:
Smith recounted his rivalry with backup quarterback Justin Zwick, which led to a parking lot showdown. To Smith’s surprise, Tressel was there, saying there would be no fight and to take his [bottom] to his dorm.
Jason Jackson, an 11W reader who was in attendance, passes along context that Smith was asked about the angriest he ever saw Tressel, and did not tell the story in a boastful way.
Smith shouldn't have been surprised. As we learned from Tatgate: Nothing transpired in Columbus without the Senator hearing about it first. He is lucky, however, Tressel didn't kick both their asses.
H/T: @LoriSchmidt
