Although he had arthroscopic knee surgery less than three weeks ago after being forced to exit early from Ohio State’s game at Michigan on Nov. 25, J.T. Barrett said he has been been able to participate without restriction as the Buckeyes prepare to play USC in the Cotton Bowl on Dec. 29.
"I’ve been doing everything in practice ever since we started practice again … so no restrictions and feeling all right," Barrett said Friday.
After its 27-21 win over Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship Game two Saturdays ago – a game Barrett played every snap in despite being just six days removed from right knee surgery, and limited in the week of practice leading up to it – Ohio State took a brief break from practice before returning to the field last Friday.
The Buckeyes had a few days off from practice again this week, as players completed their academic semester with final exams, but returned to the field Thursday and will practice every day through Tuesday, which is when players will have the opportunity to go home and spend time with their families before traveling to Dallas on Dec. 23.
While backup quarterback Dwayne Haskins took many of the first-team reps in the week leading up to the Big Ten title game after Barrett’s surgery, Barrett is back to taking on his usual workload in practice as he prepares for the final game of his Buckeyes career.
Looking back on the Big Ten Championship Game, in which Barrett might not have been 100 percent but still was able to play the entire game and lead his team to a win, he said he tried not to let the injury affect him as he went 12-of-26 for 211 yards and two touchdowns and ran 19 times for 60 yards and another touchdown against the Badgers.
"Going into it, I just prayed about it," Barrett said. "And then, after praying about it, I just kind of let God handle it, like didn’t really worry about it too much and just put in the work in order to try to put myself in a position to play. But after I prayed about it, I didn’t worry about it."
J.T. Barrett's knee injury didn't even stop him from running a route and catching a pass in Big Ten title game warmups.
Other than having some scar tissue from the surgery “break down a little bit,” Barrett says he has not had any other ill effects from the injury over the past two weeks, and has been able to practice at full speed.
Barrett is just two weeks away from playing his final game as Ohio State’s quarterback, but he says he’s tried not to put too much thought into the Cotton Bowl being the end of his Buckeyes career. That said, he is appreciative to have the opportunity to suit up for the Buckeyes one final time, and is keeping his focus on preparing himself as best as possible to lead Ohio State to one more win.
"I’ve been here a while," said the fifth-year senior quarterback from Wichita Falls, Texas, who has won a school-record 37 games as Ohio State’s starting quarterback. "People joke around and say I have played college football for seven years, I think that’s a little extreme, but when I think about it, I’m just grateful for the opportunity to be at a place like Ohio State. God guided me down this path and placing the people around me and the people here, the coaches and my teammates, everybody that’s been a part of this five-year journey that I’ve been here, and just really thankful and grateful for it."
