Five-star recruit Jackson Carman, an offensive lineman from Ohio, visited Ohio State last weekend and attended the Buckeyes loss to Oklahoma. Buckeyes quarterback J.T. Barrett struggled, going 19-of-35 for 183 with no touchdowns and one interception.
Whether Carman was throwing shade at Barrett or simply supporting a potential future teammate, he posted the following tweet on Monday calling for backup QB Dwayne Haskins Jr. to get more playing time:
https://twitter.com/Jackthejiant/status/907383022722228224
Five-star defensive end Micah Parsons, who also visited last weekend, also voiced his support for a QB change.
https://twitter.com/Micah_parsons23/status/906723414660075520?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wcpo.com%2Fsports%2Fhigh-school-sports%2Fespn-analyst-kirk-herbstreit-takes-aim-at-fairfield-star-jack-carman-in-tweet
That’s a fair opinion if you’re only considering Ohio State’s offensive struggles this season. (The pass defense could also use a lot of work.) But J.T. Barrett is not getting benched at this point in the year.
Fair opinion or not, ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit, a former Ohio State quarterback, pounced on Carman and Parsons, telling recruits to stay in the their lane:
Can someone get a memo to ALL RECRUITS of EVERY SCHOOL to please keep quiet and worry about their own teams. Not a good look for these guys. https://t.co/5NLH5PXBHV
— Kirk Herbstreit (@KirkHerbstreit) September 12, 2017
Herbstreit then added he’s advising recruits in their best interest.
https://twitter.com/KirkHerbstreit/status/907730600588709888
In this case, Carman would never play with the fifth-year senior Barrett. Haskins, a redshirt freshman, is the guy Carman would be protecting if he signed with Ohio State.
Carman wasn’t fazed by Herbstreit’s criticism. He responded by dropping Clemson and USC as schools where his opinions would be welcome, before amusingly calling Herbstreit a sheep:
https://twitter.com/Jackthejiant/status/908031681512255488
https://twitter.com/Jackthejiant/status/908103459680821248
247Sports crystal ball predictions have Carman as a near-lock to commit to Ohio State as of Wednesday evening. We’ll see if this Twitter feud changes anything.
About Jesse Kramer
Jesse is a writer and editor for The Comeback. He has also worked for SI.com and runs The Catch and Shoot, a college basketball website based in Chicago. He is a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. Follow Jesse on Twitter @Jesse_Kramer.