You decide: Ohio State football’s all-decade quarterback

The 2010s are coming to an end and we can’t help but reminisce about the memories that the decade brought with it— a national championship, four Big Ten titles, four head coaches, and some of the best to ever wear the scarlet and gray.

To wrap up the decade, we want to hear from you about who you think should comprise the Ohio State Buckeye’s All-Decade team. From now until the end of the year, we will be going position by position and giving you the candidates so that you can decide who receives this honor more prestigious than a tree in Buckeye Grove, a pair of gold pants, or a ring so big that you have to cary a 10 pound weight in the other hand just to stay balanced.

You’ll be able to vote in the positional articles through Dec. 30 at 12 noon ET, and on Twitter for one week after the poll goes up. Keep in mind that since we are conducting part of the voting on Twitter, we are limited to just four options per position, so this is going to be tough!

Once all the votes are in for every position, we’ll reveal the final All-Decade roster on the final day of the 2010s.

First up: Quarterback. Here are your candidates:

Braxton Miller (2011-2013)

Braxton Miller was the Buckeyes’ starting quarterback from 2011 to 2013. In 2014, he endured his shoulder injury in practice, which effectively ended his career as a signal-caller. Miller moved to wide receiver in 2015 after a pair of backups took the team to a national title, however for the purpose of this series we will only take his performance at quarterback into consideration.

Miller was one of the most dynamic playmakers to ever pass (no pun intended) through Ohio State. He totaled 5,295 yards and 52 touchdowns through the air, and only threw 17 interceptions. On the ground, he added 3,054 yards and 32 TDs from 2011-13 alone (again, his stats as a receiver aren’t going to factor in).

However, his now iconic spin move alone makes him a deserving candidate.

J.T. Barrett (2014-2017)

Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images

After Miller’s injury, all hope was lost for Buckeye Nation. No one really even knew who J.T. Barrett — a redshirt freshman at the time — was and there was no way that he could fill Miller’s insanely large shoes. What Buckeye fans fail to remember time and time again, is that Ohio State doesn’t have backups... just more starters waiting for their turn.

Barrett not only delivered, but smashed school and conference records at every turn. He led Ohio State to an 11-1 record during that initial season before he went down with an injury against Michigan.

Then, third-string quarterback Cardale Jones took over and finished what Barrett started (Sugar Bowl, national championship... you know the story). After sharing the position with Jones in 2015, Barrett returned as the full-time starter in 2016 and 2017 and picked up right where he left off.

Most notably, he became the first quarterback in Buckeye history to go 4-0 as a starter against Michigan. He broke more than 25 Ohio State records including most total yards in a season (3,851), most touchdowns in a season (47), most career passing yards (9,434) and most completions (769). He even passed Purdue’s Drew Brees for most Big Ten career offensive yards (12,697).

Dwayne Haskins (2018)

Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images

Sadly, we only got to experience Haskins’ greatness for one measly year. After Miller and Barrett, Haskins was a shock to Ohio State’s offensive system. While he definitely didn’t contain Millers’ speed or Barrett’s shiftiness (despite what Stephen A. Smith might want you to believe), Haskins could throw, like, could really throw.

In just fourteen starts, Haskins racked up 4,831 passing yards and 50 passing touchdowns. Only three quarterbacks have ever thrown for more touchdowns in a single season in the history of college football.

In one season, Haskins led the Buckeyes to a 13-1 record, scored 62 points against Michigan, won a Big Ten title and a Rose Bowl. He broke almost every Ohio State and Big Ten single-season passing record and his 57 total touchdowns accounted for is a mark that could stand forever... or until the next guy on the list has an average couple games in the College Football Playoff).

Haskins was a 2018 Heisman Trophy finalist in his one season as a starter. Can you imagine what he would have done with another year or two?

Justin Fields (2019)

Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images

If you think it’s too soon to consider Fields, hear me out. In his one season as Ohio State’s quarterback (so far), Fields has rushed for 471 yards on 123 attempts and 10 touchdowns (and probably could have had more if Ohio State had any depth at all at the position and he didn’t sit most of the second halves this year).

As for passing, the sophomore has thrown for 2,953 yards on 308 attempts for a 67.5 percent completion percentage, 40 touchdowns, and just one. single. interception.

Take all of the best attributes of Miller, Barrett, and Haskins and you have Justin Fields. He, like Haskins, was also a Heisman finalist. Only, unlike Haskins, Fields will be a Buckeye again next year and has a chance to prove himself worthy of the award yet again.

Now, don’t get us wrong, we LOVE Cardale Jones, but he was never a starter for a full season, so, since we are limited to four options on Twitter, he was the odd man out. If you want to tell us how wrong we are for leaving out the only OSU QB to lead the team to a national championship this decade, or if you want to make your case for one of the other three, please feel free to do so in the comments below!

Which Buckeye quarterback should be on Ohio State’s All-Decade team?