Buckeye football experts Bobby Carpenter and Anthony Rothman tackle the upcoming season, JT Barrett, and Urban Meyer

Everybody knows that with an approaching football season that we all really have two questions: 1. Are we going to beat Michigan? 2. Are we going to hoist a national champions trophy? It is hard to answer these questions internally because not a lot of us have time to analyze all positions on the field and likewise for the competitors on our schedule. Yeah, we can turn on ESPN and hopefully they will mention Ohio State, but they don’t really go into too much detail.

Luckily, I had the chance to sit down with former Ohio State and Dallas Cowboy linebacker Bobby Carpenter and his cohost Anthony Rothman to talk about the upcoming season. Being the main voices of The Ohio State Buckeyes Football season on their show Rothman and Carpenter on 97.1 The Fan, these two were reliable voices on all things Buckeye Football and offered some terrific insight. 

Do you think that Coach Meyer is totally dedicated to J.T. maintaining his starting position, or do you think that he might let some of the younger talent go in if J.T. does not perform as expected?

Carpenter: Nope. J.T. will start…he’ll play the whole time…in any meaningful game…J.T. has a hundred touchdowns accounted for in four years, he’s playing, a hundred percent.

Rothman: He has a season this year where if he was even thinking about that he couldn’t do it because he has a big ten game to start on the road…then he has Oklahoma, right away…he has to start J.T.

Do you feel that after this season, J.T. will be capable to enter the NFL as a starting quarterback?

Carpenter: That depends on how he plays this year. I mean he’s looked good at times, if you go back and look at his Freshman year I would have said if he progresses over the next three, four years he’s got a chance to be… his measurable are never going to put him as a top ten quarterback in an NFL draft…but if he can continue to improve on some things, continue to mature, he’s got pretty good vision, he’s a leader, he’s got enough athleticism, he’s tall enough, he’s got a good arm, not a great arm…possibly be a back up for a number of years but he would have to show all that this year because these past two years haven’t been great…

Rothman: …being perfectly honest I don’t know if he has the arm to do it, I know he has the mind to do it and he probably has the athletic ability to do it…this is going to be an important year to see if we can find that recipe that would send him into the pro’s and to get his shot to show if he could do it…I mean look what Russell Wilson did, very similar type guy…if J.T. improves his accuracy he will maybe have an opportunity to be a back up and then pushing his way into a starting position…I wouldn’t rule him out because of his athleticism but I think it would be a pretty up hill climb to be a starting quarterback in the NFL

With all of the defensive talent that left last year, are there any standout replacements that will be coming onto the field this year?

Carpenter: Denzel Ward and Damon Arnette, both those guys are really good…played a significant amount so they’ll be fine with that, should be pretty good…

Rothman: …the defensive line is going to be, it’s a behemoth, then you throw in Nick Bosa and you’ve got such a rotation in the defensive line…they should be able to wreck some offenses this year…

Who do you feel possesses the most talent and ability to thrive in this years NFL draft class from Ohio State?

Carpenter: Well Marshon Lattimore is one of the most talented guys, I would say it’s probably between him and Hooker, I mean it could be Curtis Samuel, it will be very dependent on how he is used, but Hooker and Lattimore have elite, high level athleticism…

Rothman: If I had to pick one I would say to gamble on Hooker being able to rush the back end and he’s so talented and such a ball hawk but Lattimore is an impressive athlete so…but if you pin me down, I’m going with, “The Hook”…

What was it like transitioning from Ohio State football to Dallas Cowboy football?

Carpenter: I guess it is more things to worry about, the expectation there of what you are going to be asked to do, understanding it is a full day job, those are the initial things that you have to adjust to…the speed is a little bit faster but it’s generally the size of everybody and how fast they are given their size you just don’t see those guys with that large body type being able to move like they can…

People all over the place have asked why Urban hasn’t gone to the NFL. He is a king, why not move to the big show?

Carpenter: I think he knows who he is and I think he knows who he is coaching and I don’t think he really translates well to the NFL, doesn’t mean he cant do it, he’s a guy who does better, his system like Nick Saban just does a much better job handling aged kids than they would with grown men who are motivated probably a little bit differently and you cant control every aspect of their life…

Rothman: I don’t know him personally enough to answer that question, because I think that there could be other reasons that could keep him…the ones that seem obvious to me are that he is such a master of his own world that there is a lot of control at the collegiate level the pro guys can pick their own assistant coaches too but you are essentially controlling who you recruit, who you go after, how your team is assembled… you go play for Urban Meyer you got a really good chance to go to the pro’s…I think he realizes that he can be so instrumental in an athletes life…I think he enjoys tackling that part of it every single year…but nothing satisfies him more probably than bringing another national title to the school that he loves at Ohio State.

A huge thank you to Carpenter and Rothman for giving me such a fantastic interview and everybody should tune into their radio show on 97.1 FM.