Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett had to attend DUI classes after getting arrested for operating a vehicle while intoxicated last season, and attending said classes may have been the best thing for the young man’s development as a player.
Appearing on The Paul Finebaum Show, ESPN reporter and longtime Ohio State beat writer Marty Smith stated that Barrett asked Urban Meyer if he could bring people from his classes to come speak to the team and, sure enough, the result was shocking, according to Smith.
“He’s taken a massive step leadership wise. He’s exerting himself much more. I’ll tell this quick story. They do a ‘Real Life Conversation’ at Ohio State often. They bring in CEOs and people of influence to speak to the team about real life. After one of those, J.T. Barrett walked up to Coach Meyer and said, ‘Coach, I would really like the opportunity to bring in some of the guys who spoke during the DUI classes I had to take.’ Urban granted him that. In that room, I’m told you could hear a pin drop. Those were tales of lives dramatically affected by poor decision making. That was a great example of how far he’s come as a leader.”
Barrett certainly did a great job of holding not only himself accountable for his own actions, but his teammates for theirs. The college world is one with a lot of freedom, probably more than many have ever had at home, and with borderline unlimited freedom sometimes comes bad decisions. Thus, for Barrett to open himself up in such a way speaks volumes about him as a person.
And with Ohio State about to lose so many players from last year to the NFL, they will need Barrett to be in top form both on the field and in the locker room in 2016.
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*Featured Photo (above) credit to USA TODAY Sports
