When Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett left Saturday's 31-20 win over Michigan in the third quarter with an apparent knee injury, the sideline reports indicated it was something he had been dealing with.
Little did we know it was something he'd only been dealing with for a few hours, as a result of an injury that happened on Saturday before Barrett ever played a snap.
Speaking to reporters following the game, a clearly agitated Urban Meyer said Barrett was injured by a cameraman on the sideline before the game.
"That was a non-football injury," Meyer said after the game. "Too many damn people on the sideline, and a guy with a camera hit him in the knee. I’m going to find out who. I’m so angry right now."
Barrett explained after the game how the injury happened.
"I'm throwing warming up and about to go throw, and somebody just tried to like squeeze through ... and he hit me," Barrett said. "And my knee just kind of shifted in, just twisted up on me."
Meyer said he found out about the injury around the opening kickoff, but Barrett decided to play through the injury until aggravating it in the third quarter.
"I look on the sideline, and he’s down," Meyer said. "I’m like ‘What happened?’ And he’s so tough, he went out there and played."
Barrett said he did not believe the cameraman intentionally tried to injure him.
"I hope not," Barrett said. "I don’t think it’s that type of rivalry where you would try to do that."
Meyer, however, called for an "all-out investigation" into who was responsible.
"Someone on your frickin' sideline and now he hurts your quarterback," Meyer said. "I'll find out who that was."
Barrett said he has been playing with a knee issue all season, but had not missed any time due to injury prior to Saturday. When his knee has twisted at previous times this year, he said he has been able to "unlock" it and continue playing without any major issues. On Saturday, however, that wasn't the case.
"This time, it just didn't unlock for me," Barrett said. "When it happened in a game, I would just lock my leg out and it would pop back in and I would continue to play. I didn't need to go run to the trainers and tell anybody. Like I was good and I felt fine, running around, cutting ... So it hasn't affected me, it's just in that little moments when it happens, and then today, I wasn't able to pop it back in."
Meyer said he did not know what Barrett's status will be going forward as a result of the injury, but Barrett said he believes he will be ready to go for the Big Ten Championship next week in Indianapolis.
"Yeah, I'll play next week," Barrett said.
If Barrett is unable to play, the Buckeyes' quarterback would be Dwayne Haskins, who completed six of seven passes, including a clutch 3rd-and-13 pickup to Austin Mack, to help lead the Buckeyes to victory on Saturday.
