When Cardale Jones elected to take the next step in his football career and enter the NFL Draft, he left Ohio State's quarterback room with only Urban Meyer recruits.
OK, technically Jones and Michael Thomas were both part of Ohio State's 2012 recruiting class, but they committed to then-coach Jim Tressel before spending a year at Fork Union Military academy in Virginia.
In any event, those that now reside in Tim Beck's meeting room at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center — J.T. Barrett, Joe Burrow, Stephen Collier and Dwayne Haskins — were all hand-picked by the Buckeyes to receive scholarship offers. Two others on the way in the 2017 class, Danny Clark and Tate Martell, were too.
Earning an offer from a program like Ohio State — where Meyer won 50 games in his first four years on the job — isn't easy, especially at quarterback. The man responsible for running Meyer's spread offense must be both athletically gifted and smart, but Ohio State's head coach wants to see something more when he evaluates you.
“We’ve seen what happens to the really skilled guy without the competitive spirit. It’s awful.”– Urban Meyer on QBs
"I will tell you what we look for," Meyer said this spring. "Every great quarterback – and we’ve had some great ones – the No. 1 characteristic is competitive spirit."
Actually, there are five qualities he wants to see.
"No. 2 is toughness. No. 3 is how they lead. No. 4 is intelligence. Then, No. 5 is the ability to extend the play," Meyer added.
Meyer did not mention an ability to throw the ball more than 60 yards standing still — though some people are that gifted, like Jones — a certain arm action or passing accuracy.
"We’ve never said anything about arm strength or delivery," Meyer said. "People said Tim Tebow couldn’t play quarterback. He was the second-leading passer in the history of college football. A lot of people, believe it or not, said Cam Newton couldn’t play. But he had the other intangibles in terms of competitive spirit."
Newton and Tebow both won the Heisman Trophy and played (or play) in the NFL and Meyer recruited both of them to his old job at the University of Florida. Earning a scholarship from him at quarterback puts you in some elite company.
Barrett is the only one currently at Ohio State with significant playing experience, but his coaches and teammates laud his leadership skills and how much he improved over the course of the 2014 regular season is easy to see. His 45 total touchdowns that year is a Big Ten record.
Burrow went to The Plains High School in Athens, Ohio, a Division III school, and only lost one game his senior season — the state championship. Burrow and the Bulldogs fell to Toledo Central Catholic 56-52 at Ohio Stadium.
247Sports ranked eight other quarterbacks higher than Burrow in the 2015 recruiting cycle, but Meyer and then-quarterbacks coach Tom Herman didn't look at it that way.
"We’ll take Joey Burrow, who was nearly a state champion in basketball and was a state runner-up in football," Meyer said. "That’s what set him apart as a competitor."
Collier competed too before he hurt his knee a few months ago, and it was clear in the spring game how much he improved from the year before. He is an excellent student and worked his tail off to get a better grasp on the offense.
"Steve improved. I thought he got better through the course of the spring," Beck said. "He felt a lot more confident, was a lot better with our offensive system, knowing it."
There is a reason Newton led the Carolina Panthers to the Super Bowl last season and why Tebow is often regarded as the best college quarterback of all time. They had an undying desire and need to win, which is why Meyer name dropped them this spring when he spoke of recruiting the position.
"At that position, you have to have that because everyone is looking at you," he said.
Ohio State hasn't seen what Haskins can do in a Buckeye uniform in front of a big crowd at Ohio Stadium or elsewhere, but Meyer said the four-star quarterback's skill set is extremely advanced for his age.
Clark led Akron Archbishop Hoban to the Division III state championship in 2015. Martell is a two-year starter at Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas and is 30-0. Add that to his ridiculous record in 7-on-7s and it is clear: The guy doesn't like to lose.
Winning usually breeds more winning, which is why each quarterback either in Ohio State's program or next in line is in his spot. The position is the most important one in the sport, so Meyer wants someone willing to do whatever he has to in order to win a game.
"We’ve seen what happens to the really skilled guy without the competitive spirit. It’s awful," Meyer said. "Not only that, it destroys your team because at that position you have to have a competitor."
