INDIANAPOLIS – There was no chance of the J.T. Barrett saga going through the week of anticipation for the Big Ten Championship without added drama.

After Urban Meyer announced his quarterback would be “good to go” after an arthroscopic procedure on his right knee on Sunday, the day after a win over Michigan, one former Buckeye was not convinced.

Chris “Beanie” Wells, a former All-Big Ten running back for the Buckeyes and current radio host for 97.1 The Fan, said his own personal experience with that type of procedure would not give Barrett much of a chance of playing Saturday. Wells said he experienced swelling and an “open wound” at his procedure sight, making running and mobility a struggle in the days following the surgery.

Wells seemed confident in Barrett missing the conference title game, but Meyer once again held strong with his statement made earlier in the week of Barrett’s availability.

“Practiced Wednesday throwing and practiced full yesterday or Thursday,” he said at the Friday presser. “And he's cleared to play.”

The fact Barrett has just one full day of practice under his belt heading into one of the biggest games of the year is a sizable advantage to Wisconsin, regardless of how experienced the fifth-year quarterback is. On top of that, Barrett’s mobility is an enormous question moving forward.

Against Michigan, a second-quarter touchdown run by Barrett gained some key momentum for the Buckeyes after an embarrassing first-quarter effort. Although his knee might not have been at 100 percent at that point either, considering the camera operator fiasco before kickoff, his knee had not been surgically operated on before the run.

Maybe Barrett is better off now with everything corrected or maybe he will have a complete lack of movement from the pocket and in the running game. That question will be answered the first time he tries to tuck the ball and run, which might stop the hearts of some fans.

Meyer said the team will watch closely how much Barrett looks comfortable when moving around on the field in Friday’s walk-through, as well as before kickoff on Saturday.

“(Keeping Barrett from harm while running is) very delicate,” Meyer said. “That's something we're going to watch during the course of the game. And some game-time decisions will be made.”

Meyer credited the incredible fortitude and toughness of Barrett and called his ability to fight through pain and keep grinding towards being ready for competition as an unusual quality for a player.

While the status of Barrett is unchanged from Thursday to Friday, Meyer did not fully commit to giving a 100 percent guarantee of who will be taking snaps Saturday.

“I don't want to get into too much detail because it's J.T.'s business, but so much of it has to do with how he does during the course of the week. And the trainers and doctors are very involved. And it's not finished. He's still 24 hours out,” Meyer said. “So I've had a player do it before, that was scoped earlier in the week and played. And then I've had others that can't. And the body has to react a certain way. And his has been very positive.”

If Ohio State cannot rely on Barrett’s running ability to keep the offense moving forward, the pairing of J.K. Dobbins and Mike Weber are more than ready to handle all aspects of the rushing attack. That should come as a disturbing statement for fans, since the legs are Barrett provide him with much of his offensive prowess.

There might not be any clarity on the situation until the first snap of the game and even then, Meyer might interchange his quarterbacks throughout the course of the contest. He said Friday there will be game-time decisions made in terms of what his signal caller can handle.

No matter what, the Ohio State offense will still be formulated the same way when facing Wisconsin.

“Conceptually it doesn't change at all. Frequency of play calls is something that will be taken into consideration,” Meyer said. “Because they're different. One has a greater skill and we just have — not tremendously different skill sets, but different skill sets.”

Whether it’s Dwayne Haskins or Barrett playing quarterback Saturday, expect the kind of old-fashioned power running attack that Ohio State built its identity around. It might be a quick game, predicting how many times both sides will pound the ball between the tackles.

Tune in early tomorrow to see if there have been any more strange updates to throw a wrench in Ohio State’s quarterback drama.