DETROIT (Michigan News Source) – J.T. Barrett, former All-Big 10 quarterback for the Ohio State University, will become a native of Michigan. On Saturday, the Lions announced that they have added Barrett to their staff as an Offensive Assistant. According to nfl.com, Barrett’s position comes from a new ruling in the NFL from March that mandates teams hire a minority coach as an offensive assistant. This rule was put forth to improve the diversity hiring practices in the NFL.

This will be Barrett’s first coaching position after playing on three NFL practice squads for New Orleans, Seattle, and Pittsburgh. He signed an undrafted deal with the Saints in 2018 but was then released two months later re-signing to the practice squad. During his tenure with the Saints, he connected with then assistant head coach/tight ends coach Dan Campbell who is now the head coach for Detroit. This past spring Barrett was with the Edmonton Elks in the CFL but suffered a season-ending injury that set him into retirement.

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Barrett brings a winning attitude to Detroit after a very successful collegiate career at Ohio State. He played in 50 games from 2014-17 recording 104 touchdown passes, 147 overall touchdowns, and 9,434 passing yards. The three time Griese-Brees Quarterback of the Year (2014, 2016, 2017) also was All-Big Ten First-Team in those season and the Offensive Player of the Week nine times. He is the only Ohio State quarterback to go 4-0 as a starter in “The Game” and was the first three-time captain on the team.