DALLAS – Although J.T. Barrett has spent the past five years living in the Buckeye State, he’ll always consider himself to be from the Lone Star State.
"Of course I do," Barrett said when asked if he still considers himself to be a Texan. "I love Ohio, but I’m from the great state of Texas. I can’t believe you asked me that."
The great state of Texas is where Barrett’s journey to Ohio State began, as the quarterback from Wichita Falls, Texas, impressed Tom Herman enough to convince Urban Meyer to offer Barrett a scholarship.
The great state of Texas is also where Barrett’s career as Ohio State’s quarterback is coming to an end, as he is currently spending his final week as a Buckeye in Dallas – about two hours away from his hometown – as the Buckeyes prepare to play USC in the Cotton Bowl at AT&T Stadium on Friday.
While Barrett says he wouldn’t call that coming full circle, he is appreciative that he gets to play his final game as a Buckeye in the state he still calls home.
"I think it’s just really unique and crazy how things have gone in my time at Ohio State," Barrett said Tuesday. "Like, being in Ohio, not really being close to home … I think it’s just a blessing for (the final game) being in Texas."
“I love Ohio, but I’m from the great state of Texas.”– J.T. Barrett
Barrett already had what he considers to be the greatest moment of his Ohio State career in the state of Texas at the end of the 2014 season, when the Buckeyes defeated Oregon to win the national championship game. Friday’s game will be the first and only time in his Buckeyes career, however, that Barrett actually plays in a game in Texas, as his 2014 season was cut short by a fractured ankle.
While Barrett’s mother and father have been a constant presence at his games, making the trip to Columbus time and time again, Barrett is thankful that many of his other family members and hometown friends – some of whom have only been to watch his Ohio State games on TV – will finally be able to see him play in person on Friday.
"My mom’s probably still writing down people’s names," Barrett said when asked about how many family members and friends he expects to have in attendance on Friday. "I know it’s well over 20."
Barrett is one of seven Texas natives on Ohio State’s roster, with six of them being likely to see playing time in Friday’s game – also including running back J.K. Dobbins, right guard Demetrius Knox, cornerbacks Kendall Sheffield and Jeffrey Okudah and linebacker Baron Browning – along with redshirting freshman wide receiver Ellijah Gardiner.
Dobbins, like Barrett, also said Tuesday that he expects to have a large contingent of supporters in attendance.
"I’m very excited to play this game, because it’s in the great state of Texas," said Dobbins, who is from La Grange, about a three-and-a-half hour drive from Dallas. "I have a lot of family and friends there, and it’s just a great bowl game."
As for the fact that Barrett’s Ohio State career will end in just three days, Barrett says he still hasn’t been giving that much thought, choosing instead to live almost entirely in the moment.
"I don’t really think about it," Barrett said of it being his last week as a Buckeye. "I’m just a different guy, I guess. I think about other things like, I don’t know, like things I’m going to eat next or when is the next nap I’m going to take, like those are the things that come across my mind, not really like it’s my last Wednesday practice. I just don’t think about it really."
Barrett acknowledged that he did spend more time thinking about the future earlier in his career. Now that he is on the doorstep of finishing his college career and attempting to move on to the NFL, however, Barrett has taken a different approach.
"In 2015, I thought about the future and like playing in the NFL and all these different things, and honestly, it didn’t go well for me," Barrett said. "I was worried about other things that didn’t affect right now. So with that, it didn’t matter, because right now, I have something totally different to do. And so once I was able to just focus on the task at hand and things right now and the day-to-day things – one: I was less stressed, two: things worked out better for me – so those are things I focus on is the day-to-day, and then when those things come across, those hurdles come, I’ll jump them when they come."
Barrett said he is trying to make sure, though, that he takes advantage of every day as a Buckeye he has left.
"Just been focusing on each day as it come, and with that, just trying to put my best foot forward as far as practice and then, spend time with my brothers at the Cotton Bowl, the seniors, being our last game and things like that," Barrett said. "Just taking it day by day and enjoying and being thankful for each day."
