Austin Ward, ESPN Staff Writer 9y

J.T. Barrett: 'I plan on playing Saturday'

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- There is still some soreness in J.T. Barrett's left knee and he isn’t quite back to full strength on the practice field, but the Ohio State quarterback remains on track to start on Saturday.

The redshirt freshman played the second half and overtime last weekend against Penn State after spraining his MCL and still led the No. 16 Buckeyes to a win. And despite being limited in workouts early in the week thanks to some swelling, barring a setback Barrett is expected to be in the starting lineup for a prime-time matchup with Illinois.

“There would have to be something drastic happen between now and Saturday at 8 p.m.” Barrett said after practice Wednesday. “I plan on playing Saturday.”

That plan is unchanged from the one coach Urban Meyer unveiled Monday, and there hasn’t been anything physically at this point to suggest Barrett won’t be ready to take on the Illini.

The injury is similar to one sustained by Ohio State quarterback Braxton Miller a year ago, and the sprained MCL actually forced him to miss two full games and most of another early in the season. But Meyer isn’t anticipating being without his current starter even for a week after his gritty performance down the stretch against the Nittany Lions, and the Buckeyes certainly figure to need him on Nov. 8 for a critical Big Ten clash at Michigan State.

“He [practiced], I wouldn’t say quite full, but he’ll be full tomorrow,” Meyer said. “He did good, real good.

“It’s very similar to what [Miller] had. I’m not a doctor, but it’s probably not as severe. Everybody is built differently, I guess.”

Whether it’s a matter of severity or build makes little difference for the Buckeyes. The main thing is the prognosis moving forward, and all signs are pointing to Barrett returning to the field without missing a game.

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