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There is a Big Ten quarterback who is bucking college football’s trendy path

Ryan O'Gara

By Ryan O'Gara

Published:

Indiana’s win over Maryland on Saturday was significant for a number of reasons. For one, it keeps Indiana on track for its best regular season since going 8-4 in 1993. It showed Indiana’s depth and growth, as its backup quarterback came in to lead a road win.

But there’s another lesser-known reason Saturday was interesting: Peyton Ramsey played his fifth game of the season.

If you haven’t kept up with college football the last year and a half, there are a lot of players appearing in four games now. Ever since the NCAA created a rule that allowed players to compete in four games without using a year of eligibility, appearing in five games is the official signifier of commitment for the season.

Players are figuring this out and taking advantage. They play four games and then reassess their options. Do they want to go all-in and burn a year of eligibility, or is it not worth it? Kelly Bryant decided to leave Clemson after four games in 2018, transferring to Missouri. D’Eriq King called it a year after four games with Houston, as he’ll redshirt and hopefully have a better season in 2020. It’s even happening at Rutgers.

But at Indiana, that isn’t happening (at least not yet). And it’s a huge reason why the Hoosiers are 5-2 and eyeing bowl eligibility in October.

Ramsey started as a sophomore and was second in the Big Ten in completion percentage (66 percent), third in passing yards per game (239.6) and fifth in touchdown passes. His completion percentage was the best for an Indiana starting quarterback since at least 2000. His 2,875 yards were the fifth-most in a single season in program history. All in all, he was a decent Big Ten quarterback.

But Ramsey lost his starting job in the preseason to a talented redshirt freshman, Michael Penix Jr. It was the right move by head coach Tom Allen, as Penix has performed well. His greatest flaw, though, is he can’t seem to stay healthy. Penix tore his ACL last season and keeps getting hurt in 2019. That’s where Ramsey comes in.

Indiana keeps needing Ramsey to come off the bench, and he keeps delivering. He completed 13 of 14 passes in the second game of the season against Eastern Illinois, after Penix got hurt. Ramsey then had to start the next two weeks while Penix recovered, before heading back to the bench for Week 6 against Michigan State. Ramsey made his fourth appearance of the season in mop-up duty against Rutgers.

Then, last Saturday at Maryland.

https://twitter.com/SeanMMontiel/status/1185667062611566594?s=20

Penix got hurt (again), and Ramsey was summoned off the bench. He delivered again, completing 20 of 27 passes for 193 yards and a touchdown in the 34-28 victory.

It’s fair to argue that Ramsey never should have played in that game. He could have said that he wanted to sit out, preserve his final two years of eligibility and enter the transfer portal. After all, the writing is on the wall; this is Penix’s team, when he’s healthy. He’s the better player. Besides, you know how many MAC schools would be interested in Ramsey? Damn near all of them. He would have a great opportunity to play at another Division I school, and he could get that in motion by redshirting this season and being immediately eligible next fall.

Well, he could have. Not anymore, because Peyton Ramsey played his fifth game. Allen certainly appreciated it, telling the media, “He chose to stay for this football team, and that’s why I respect him so much. He lived it out. He made a choice, not just to stay, but to be prepared every week.”

Maybe it never crossed Ramsey’s mind to enter the transfer portal and he would find this logic dumb. But if that’s the case, he is the exception, not the rule, in today’s world of college football. There were 46 FBS quarterbacks who transferred after the 2018 season and were on new teams in 2019.

I understand both sides of it. On the one hand, you’ve been spending nearly every waking minute for the last three years with the guys in that locker room. You’ve put a ton of work into this season, and you’re finally experiencing success as a program. On the other hand, you’ve spent your whole life grooming yourself for the chance to showcase your skills. If the coach wants to put someone else out there, it’s reasonable to want to play at a school that will put you in. I get it, and I wouldn’t judge a player for making either decision.

We’ll see what happens in the offseason. Maybe Ramsey believes he can win the job back. Maybe he’ll transfer for his senior season.

But regardless, it’s working out in the best way for Ramsey this season. He’s a big part in helping Indiana have its most memorable season in a long time, and he deserves all the credit in the world for that.

Ryan O'Gara

Ryan O'Gara is the lead columnist for Saturday Tradition. Follow him on Twitter @RyanOGara.