Highly-rated Texas QB verbally commits to OSU

By Doug Lesmerises

The Plain Dealer

Columbus

The quarterback in Urban Meyer’s first full recruiting class at Florida, in 2006, was Tim Tebow. Now Meyer has a quarterback in his first full recruiting class at Ohio State, with four-star Texas high schooler J.T. Barrett giving an oral commitment to the Buckeyes’ Class of 2013 on Wednesday.

Barrett was thinking about Tebow when he made his decision.

“Coach Meyer told me Tim Tebow still calls him twice a week, and I want that relationship. Even if I’m not playing in the NFL and I’m out there in the working world, I still want to be able to call Coach Meyer, and that personal relationship was a bigger deal to me than even football,” Barrett told The Plain Dealer before he headed out to spring football practice at Rider High School in Wichita Falls, Texas.

Barrett, at 6-1 and 209 pounds, is ranked the No. 7 quarterback in the Class of 2013 by Scout.com and the No. 6 dual-threat quarterback by Rivals.com.

He’s the No. 134 overall player in the class by Rivals and he becomes the 10th pledge to this class for Ohio State, after Elyria defensive lineman Tracy Sprinkle announced his intentions Tuesday.

He’s a big get for the Buckeyes, as Meyer continues the national scope of his recruiting. Meyer’s version of the spread relies on a quarterback to make decisions, run and throw.

Barrett, who started at quarterback for the first time as a junior, runs a version of the spread with a lot of zone-option reads at his high school.

“He’s a dual-threat type of kid, a great leader and very dependable,” said Greg Powers, the Midland regional manager of recruiting for Scout.com, who has seen Barrett in action several times. “He completes a high percentage of passes and when something’s not open he’s very smart with the football and brings it down and turns it into something on the ground.”

Barrett also had scholarship offers from LSU, Baylor, Texas Tech, Nebraska and Arizona, among others.