Should injury history factor into OSU quarterback race?

Apparently Joe Barrett hasn't heard of Drew Bledsoe.

The father of 2014 Heisman Trophy finalist J.T. Barrett made national headlines this week and maybe raised more than a few eyebrows in handicapping Ohio State's hotly-debated quarterback derby.

He didn't say his son should be No. 3 in this intriguing three-horse race with two-time Big Ten Player of the Year Braxton Miller and post-season/cult hero Cardale Jones. But he didn't endorse him as No. 1 either.

"Of course I would love to see my kid start, but for me it always goes back to who was first," Joe Barrett told the Columbus Dispatch. "If Braxton hadn't gotten hurt, I would still be waiting for my baby to get the chance to play. I was thankful J.T. got that chance ... and we were all blessed that he was ready to compete, but like I have told everybody, I don't want to see my kid take a position because of the misfortune of someone else.

"In other words, Braxton should get that position back, then everybody else should go try to take it from him."

Ironically, these comments took on a life of their own after originally being part of a story about how J.T. Barrett is keeping a low profile. He's been declining interview requests while everyone else — including his dad — speculates on who the No. 1 guy will be when fall camp commences for the defending national champions.

Rarely do you see a quote appearing at the very end of a story garner headlines on virtually all of the major sports news web sites. Then again we're talking about what has been the biggest story in college football since Miller and Barrett both ended the season injured as Jones steered the Buckeyes to the Big Ten Championship and inaugural College Football Playoff title.

In an era where athletes have an inflated sense of self-worth and reputed "helicopter" — always hovering — fathers swing kettlebells at coaches, it's easy to applaud the restraint shown by J.T. Barrett and the respect resonating from his father's comments.

However misguided dad's old school "you don't lose your job by injury" stance may be.

Would Bill Belichick be credited with coaching the New England Patriots to four Super Bowl titles had he not stuck with Tom Brady after Pro Bowl quarterback Drew Bledsoe cracked open the door for Mr. Gisele Bundchen by getting hurt in 2001?

Bledsoe came back that season to pinch-hit for a hobbled Brady on the road to a Super Bowl crown, but Brady applied the finishing touches and has remained remarkably healthy ever since. The best quarterbacks — ironmen like Brady and Peyton Manning and Drew Brees — don't get hurt, which has lessened the odds of them losing their jobs.

That said, losing or winning a job should always be more about performance than injury.

"The best players play," said Jimmy Johnson, who has won both NCAA and Super Bowl rings as a coach. "The notion of a player not losing his job because of injury was started by injured players. Once the player is healthy, he gets his job back — if he is the best player."

That's where the OSU derby turns into quandary.

Nobody, not even Miller, has a clue if his twice surgically repaired throwing shoulder is up to the task of again being a viable major college quarterback. There appears to be no such concern about Barrett's complete recovery from his broken ankle against Michigan, which means the choice might boil down to the cerebral, well-rounded Barrett against the bazooka-armed, built-like-a-tank Jones.

Maybe the easy solution for coach Urban Meyer is to reward Jones for his late-season heroics by naming him the starter; move Miller, who was always more dynamic athlete than polished signal-caller, to the slot, where he can still be a run-throw option; and convince Barrett that he is one snap, one stumble, one stubbed toe from picking up where he left off last year — with eligibility remaining in 2016 and 2017.

Tom Dienhart, a senior writer for the Big Ten Network, polled some conference and national media this week on who they would chose. The finally tally: Barrett 9 votes, Jones 3, Miller 1 and undecided 1.

I have never wavered in my support of Barrett. And I'll let ESPN analyst and former OSU running back Robert Smith tell you why, since we're sympatico on this subject.

"To me (Barrett) offers the best of both worlds (throwing and running)," said Smith, who sees Miller as part of the offensive equation only as a running back or receiver, when interviewed by the Lake County News Herald. "(Barrett) is the middle guy. He doesn't throw as well as Cardale and doesn't run it as well as Braxton, but he's a nice mixture of the two."

Exactly. I've got to believe that, for all of his graciousness, Joe Barrett would have to agree.

jspencer@nncogannett.com

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Twitter: @jspencermnj