COLUMBUS – Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett is due in court later this week following his weekend citation with a misdemeanor offense of operating a vehicle under the influence.
Barrett has been suspended for this Saturday’s home game against Minnesota (8:00 p.m./ABC) after he was stopped at a Columbus police check point early Saturday morning.
Head coach Urban Meyer – who described Barrett as “devastated” when the 20-year-old came to Meyer’s house Saturday to discuss the incident – says Barrett is facing a time when people are judging him, not as an athlete, but as a person.
“Twenty years of doing right and 30 seconds of doing wrong, or three minutes, whatever it was. That’s real, though, and that’s something he’s going to have to deal with and I’m going to try to help him,” Meyer said.
Barrett will also forfeit his summer financial aid as part of his punishment, punishment similar to that dished out in 2012 when offensive lineman Jack Mewhort and tight end Jake Stoneburner were arrested on misdemeanor charges. Meyer said Barrett will have the chance to earn the scholarship back.
Barrett is not guaranteed to return as the starting quarterback when Ohio State plays at Illinois on Nov. 14 and Meyer says he is considering stripping Barrett of his team captaincy.
Barrett took over as the full-time starter for the top-ranked Buckeyes on Oct. 24, throwing for 223 yards and three touchdowns in a 49-7 win over Rutgers.
Cardale Jones, who started the first seven games of the season, will start in Barrett’s place with former starting quarterback Braxton Miller as Jones’s backup.
Jones completed 21 passes for 291 yards and two touchdowns in a win over Maryland Oct. 10 but was pulled in favor of Barrett after the offense sputtered, especially in the red zone.
NOTES: The traditional rivalry game against the Michigan Wolverines at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor Sat., Nov. 28 will start at noon, the Big Ten announced Monday.