Every time Joe Burrow grabs his helmet and starts warming up on the sideline before he goes into a football game, he turns and finds J.T. Barrett.
A smart move for any backup quarterback—checking with the starter to make sure his head is on straight, especially when it is a guy like Barrett who is essentially a three-year starter. That conversation got to happen again on Saturday afternoon in Maryland with Ohio State throttling the Terrapins 48-3 in the third quarter.
“Go over there, he talks to me and I was like 'go talk to the guys,'” Barrett said after what eventually became a 62-3 Ohio State victory. “That's part of the success. Days the O-line plays good then our offense is really good. So you gotta get those guys going.”
Burrow actually entered the game in the middle of a drive with the Buckeyes at Maryland's 8-yard line. The redshirt freshman threw a pop pass to Corey Smith then handed to true freshman Demario McCall, who scored Ohio State's seventh touchdown of the game. From then on, it was Burrow's show.
Actually, Saturday's game turned into a show brought to you by the Buckeyes of the future for he second straight week.
“We really want those guys to develop and we've spent a lot of time this year developing the backups and they’re starting to grow,” offensive coordinator Ed Warinner said. “They deserve that, the way they practice.”
Back-to-back blowouts thrust the second and even some third-string offensive linemen onto the field in front of Burrow and McCall, with young talent like Binjimen Victor, Austin Mack and K.J. Hill running routes and catching passes. A week earlier against Nebraska, Burrow led a 98-yard drive in the fourth quarter that culminated with his 12-yard touchdown run.
Saturday, the backup quarterback hit Victor for the latter's first career touchdown with 9:30 left in the game—a 25-yard strike that capped a 68-yard drive. Warinner and Urban Meyer didn't take their foot off the pedal even with the second offense on the field, wanting to get as many game reps as possible to further development.
“We really want those guys to develop and we've spent a lot of time this year developing the backups and they’re starting to grow. They deserve that, the way they practice.”– Ed Warinner
“We've just been dying to get Ben Victor the ball because you saw with his two catches, he has a big wingspan, and he's a really good player,” Meyer said. “He's starting to learn how to play at the level of football and the speed that is required and he's starting to understand the offense.”
Redshirt freshman Branden Bowen saw time a few weeks ago as a blocking tight end even though his 6-foot-7, 315-pound frame has him in line to step in at tackle likely whenever Jamarco Jones is not longer at Ohio State. He blocked well for McCall, who finished with 53 rushing yards and 48 more receiving.
“It's very encouraging and he's earning, I think he's going to have a nice future here,” Meyer said of McCall. “I was a little worried because he's so little. But he's getting bigger and stronger, taking care of himself. Great kid to have on our team. Nice future.”
Hill grabbed five catches for 62 yards, including a 28-yarder after the defensive back tipped the ball and caused a readjustment from the wide receiver. Defensive end Jonathon Cooper recorded his first career sack. Linebacker Malik Harrison did too. Keandre Jones saw time and had a pair of tackles. Young corners took over for Gareon Conley and Marshon Lattimore.
And Maryland still couldn't really get anything positive going against the Buckeyes. The Terrapins were clearly outmatched all afternoon but even when Ohio State called off the dogs in the form of its first team, the young puppies that filled in hardly slowed the pace.
“We can't use the excuse of young guys anymore,” Fickell said. “Nowadays, guys take off early anyways. A guy's a freshman or sophomore, he's not young. Especially by the end of the year. We got an opportunity to get some of the young guys to get out of the game and some of the younger guys to get in the game.
“Just so happy and proud because of the way they work,” he continued. “To go in there and be a representation of the Silver Bullets, to do what they needed to do and finish this thing the right way.”
Burrow finished 6-for-9 passing for 75 yards and the touchdown to Victor. Hill and McCall were the team's second- and third-leading receivers in the game behind Curtis Samuel.
Burrow went 6-6 for 62 yards vs. Nebraska.
The ball kept moving when Ohio State had it and didn't when Maryland put its offense on the field. The outcome looked similar to when each team played their best players in the first half. The future looks bright for Ohio State, even if Barrett wasn't pleased with how Burrow—who he calls John—initially took control of the huddle after entering the lineup.
“I think John, he does very well in our offense. I think he's at a good place,” Barrett said. “Understanding our offense, knowing where to go with the football and making great decisions.”
“Demario and Branden Bowen [are] getting better,” Meyer said. “On defense we have players getting better.”
That is a scary proposition for Ohio State opponents in the coming years. The young talent and development of the backups didn't slow things down for the Buckeyes on Saturday even when the starters came out, an important piece of establishing depth.
“We let them play,” Warinner said. “Don't try to do anything too wild with them in there but we let them go play and compete and show us what they can do. Because they're depth. They're one play away from playing for us.”
