Comparing J.T. Barrett's and Braxton Miller's First 4 Starts Under Urban Meyer

When Braxton Miller suffered a season-ending shoulder injury during fall camp, J.T. Barrett was instantly thrust into the national spotlight as Ohio State's new starting quarterback.

Now four games into the season, Barrett has settled in, producing at a high level as the trigger man of Urban Meyer's spread offense. The Buckeyes are 3-1—the lone setback coming via Virginia Tech and a defensive scheme Ohio State was woefully unprepared to attack. 

Following the upset loss, Barrett rebounded by orchestrating back-to-back routs of Kent State and Cincinnati. The redshirt freshman is playing so well, in fact, that a question about a potential 2015 quarterback controversy was posed to Urban Meyer this week. 

"Braxton's our quarterback," Meyer said when looking ahead to next season, according to Bleacher Report's Ben Axelrod. "To be fair, Braxton's the Big Ten Player of the Year. But it's good to know we've got both of them."

History has proved that a good quarterback is imperative to the success of Meyer's teams. With Alex Smith at Utah, Tim Tebow at Florida and now Miller at Ohio State, that success has been sustained throughout his head coaching career.

It's early, but Barrett appears to be next in line as one of Meyer's star signal-callers. While they have different strengths, Barrett has proved himself capable of standing in for Miller.

Here's a look at how the two quarterbacks measured up in their first four starts under Meyer.

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Credit: David Regimbal

After toiling through a freshman season with an interim head coach (Luke Fickell) and a team with no offensive identity, hopes were high for Milller when Meyer took over in 2012. The Buckeyes were embarking on a new era, and their new coach had a quarterback who was perfectly suited to his spread system.

That became evident very quickly. 

Against Miami (Ohio) in the Buckeyes' season opener, Miller piled up 368 total yards and three touchdowns in a 56-10 victory. He set a single-game school record for rushing yards by a quarterback with 161, highlighted by a 65-yard touchdown dash that showcased his speed and a nasty stutter step.

That was just a preview. In Ohio State's following three matchups against UCF, Cal and UAB, Miller thrived and ended up wracking up 1,195 total yards and 14 touchdowns over his first four games.

Barrett has been marginally more productive.

Through four games, Barrett has accumulated 1,292 total yards of total offense (97 more than Miller) to complement 14 touchdowns.

Much like his mentor, Barrett made quick work of etching his name in Ohio State's history book. Facing Kent State in Week 3, Barrett tied a single-game school record with six passing touchdowns—a mark he reached midway through the third quarter.

Both quarterbacks got off to incredibly fast starts during their opening seasons under Meyer. 

Different Strengths

Miller's advantage over Barrett is obvious the moment you watch them in action. Miller has game-breaking speed—a strength that makes him lethal on the ground running plays such as the zone read. 

But Barrett is much further along as a passer at this point in his career. 

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In Ohio State's first four games, Barrett averaged 271.8 passing yards per game. Miller's career-best passing performance came last year against Penn State, when he threw for 252 yards (almost 20 yards shy of Barrett's average) in a 63-14 rout of Penn State. 

Of course, you could make the case that Barrett is benefiting from an improved group of wide receivers. That's an element that Ohio State's offense has lacked during Miller's time in Columbus, and this season was supposed to be the year Meyer paired a dangerous group of perimeter playmakers with one of college football's best dual-threat quarterbacks.

That didn't pan out, though, giving way to Barrett's sudden explosion. And judging from his first four starts, it looks like Ohio State's future is very bright.

All stats via Ohio State's official website. 

David Regimbal covers Ohio State football for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter @davidreg412.