First World Football Problems: Ohio State may have the three best QBs in the nation on one roster

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Author @TheCoachBart

There’s an old country song by Alan Jackson that goes, “too much of a good thing … is a good thing.” It defies the logic that “there is such a thing as too much of a good thing.” Alan Jackson obviously was ahead of his time and talking about Ohio State football.

How does the old saying go? If you have two quarterbacks, you really have none? So what does it mean if you have three? You’re really screwed?

If you believe the first line, conventional wisdom suggests you believe the second line. If you are Ohio State, you have three quarterbacks. So what, you must be in huge trouble?

Buckeyes senior quarterback Braxton Miller exercised his right to take spring semester classes at Ohio State this week, basically putting a cap to what Urban Meyer said a week ago but no one wanted to believe — namely, that he expects Miller to be back in Columbus.

Sometimes, it’s just easier to trust the people who know. That leaves Ohio State with three viable quarterbacks on one roster who might start for ANY other team in the nation individually but happen to be at the same school. Miller is 28-8 as a starter; the guy that replaced him, redshirt freshman J.T. Barrett, is 10-1; the third-stringer, Cardale Jones, is 3-0 with a College Football Playoff championship to his name.

To some, apparently this is an issue?

Let’s put it to you like this: Ohio State right now at the quarterback position is like dating three 10s, and come every Saturday, you simply need to figure out which one to call and tell to put on the cut-off jeans and come out for the evening while everyone else is sitting home hoping their 6s can turn into 9s or that she has enough of a personality (read: the rest of the team around the quarterback) to win with a 5.

That’s a good problem to have. Eventually, yeah, you have to choose a 10, which means the other two won’t be happy; but worst-case scenario is what … the other two decide not to stick around and see if the relationship works and you’re left with the 10 you chose? Man, tough break (sarcasm font).

This is a pretty damned good problem to have if you’re Urban Meyer and the Buckeyes. Each quarterback offers something different … Braxton Miller unwavering leadership, experience, and success; Barrett a brilliant future, experience, resilience, wheels, and an arm like Miller; Jones experience, championship pedigree, a cannon for an arm, battering-ram power, and wheels himself.

It’s legitimately reasonable to say that the three best quarterbacks that will return in college football are on the same team.

Competition makes each stronger as well, and all walk into spring ball knowing the fragility of a football season, where one bad hit or wrong move in practice can end a season. For the NFL, spare me those arguments. NFL scouts will find talent if it’s at a grocery store in Iowa, let alone on Ohio State’s campus. These young men all have futures, and someone will find them if they progress to that level.

If there are knocks on each, it’s that Miller has injury questions and I suppose you can list that as Barrett’s too. For Jones, it’s the asinine question, “But can he get it done needing a score to win or lose a game?”

The most idiotic statistic fans use in football is “fourth-quarter comebacks,” as though there’s some bonus points given to being down going into the last frame and coming back to win rather than actually … I don’t know … being ahead most of the game and not needing last-second heroics.

If you think Jones has no experience in big-time pressure situations, I don’t know what exactly you call a Big Ten title game, Sugar Bowl, and playoff championship game.

This is a unique situation for the Buckeyes to have, and one that must be the envy of everyone else. Three pretty girls, one ticket to the show.

We should all be so lucky. Certainly every other team in college football should be, at least.

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