It wasn’t that long ago that we were watching former Ohio State football stars compete in the AAF and the XFL leagues. While the XFL is coming back next year under new leadership with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson purchasing the league, it appears there’s another developmental league that’s coming as well.
Oh yeah, and a very prominent former Buckeye and Big Ten player will be taking part.
On Monday, FOX Sports announced that it would be carrying games this fall from “The Spring League” — a professional football development league started in 2017 which starts its inaugural season this year. It all came a little out of the blue, but it begins its schedule on Oct. 27. The games will take place on weekdays and the first three weeks (of five) will take occur at the Alamodome in San Antonio. According to the release, Barrett will be a part of all the fun and will lead the Alphas.
.@TheSpringLeague kicks off Tuesday, Oct. 27, on @FS1!
Highlights include:
🏈 Zach Mettenberger leads the Generals
🏈 @JT_TheQB4th joins the Alphas
🏈 @SheaPatterson_1 in a familiar color with the BluesFull 2020 TSL on FS1 schedule ➡️ https://t.co/aEw1Rgijl6
— FOX Sports PR (@FOXSportsPR) October 12, 2020
There are other notables taking part according to the release, not the least of which involves former Michigan quarterback Shea Patterson. Patterson and Barrett’s teams are not scheduled to meet unless it happens in the championship.
The last time we saw Barrett, he was released by the Pittsburgh Steelers in August and has since been a free agent. He’s had previous stints on practice squads with the New Orleans Saints and Seattle Seahawks but could never carve out a spot on the field with active games.
Maybe this will get him the playing time needed to make a name for himself once again.