Ohio State Football: + 1 Dual Threat QB, -1 Dual Threat QB

Terrelle Pryor has officially arrived on Ohio State’s campus. Unfortunately, it also seems as if Antonio Henton is off campus for good.

Pryor, and incoming freshmen Lamaar Thomas, Willie Mobley, Devier Posey, Travis Howard, Keith Wells, Ohrian Johnson, got the red carpet treatment at OSU, or what the Biomechanics Lab considers red carpet. It also gave Ken Gordon, a bunch of wide eyed college girls, and a bunch of creepy old men wishing they were wide eyed college girls a chance to see the players in Daisy Dukes.

Various reports say that it also looks like Antonio Henton, the dual threat Troy Smith-esque sophomore to be QB from Georgia, got a peek and did not like what he saw.

Unconfirmed accounts (Eleven Warriors and Scout) say that Henton has informed his Buckeye teammates that he will be headed back down to Georgia Southern (FCS/D1-AA) and will not be a member of the 2008 Buckeyes. Rumor has it Rich Rodriguez placed a call to Henton, not about playing time, but asking him why he didn’t let Pryor know he was leaving first, and THEN tell his teammates.

I feel like I’m sort of writing an obituary, and in a way I am.

Henton, once known as Georgia’s Player of Year, came to Ohio State with visions of Troy Smith dancing through his head after proclaiming his Heisman aspirations as a RS Freshman. I can’t assume it’s easy being compared to a Heisman Trophy winning QB as Antonio was. You know when people say “He even moves like Troy”, you have a problem because that means they want you to be Troy. Henton even had off the field issues too, with picking up a lady of the street who was actually a lady of the law (*he was later acquitted). The difference? Troy Smith had already won games at Ohio State.

Henton dropped to third on the depth chart (where he had started the year after a 3INT showing in the 2007 spring game), behind Robbie Schoenhoft (also transferred, now enrolled at D1AA Delaware). The general consensus led me to believe that Henton would have made the jump to starter if Boeckman went down, since there was no way the staff was going to let the shotgun armed Schoenhoft show off his shotgun accuracy. He was widely rumored be the change of pace QB in the title game against LSU (yea, that game. That game where our only “something different” was a pass to Brandon Saine, which we had already seen earlier in the year. That game).

For all the Henton talk, it seemed like an increasing number of fans (and coaches) had become smitten with another QB. Joe Bauserman, the 20 something pretending to be a RS Freshman after his professional baseball career didn’t pan out, seemed to be gaining confidence and getting his old throwing arm back.

Then came the 2008 Spring Game.

It wasn’t that Henton had a bad game, it was that Joe Bauserman looked like the most complete quarterback on the team, including Todd Boeckman. With Todd entrenched as the starter and the #1 recruit in the nation headed to Columbus, Bauserman was looking to take Henton’s spot. By most accounts, he did. Obviously every position is open (except RB), but Boeckman is the starter, Pryor will get playing time, and Bauserman looks promising. That leaves little playing time for the sophomore-to-be Henton.

It’s unfortunate that he has to go, but we understand his decision to go. People were talking about what would happen to Henton before even landing Pryor. Nevermind the fact that Henton has been in the system for approximately 2 years and is arguably a better passer than Pryor. It’s too bad OSU can’t pack certain positions the same way that USC does (where QBs like Mitch Mustain transfer IN). 11W does point out that it would be a +1 in the scholarship department as well.

That said, it looks like I’m rooting for a Delaware vs. Georgia Southern, Schoenhoft vs. Henton Championship Game in D1AA this year.