MSU notes: Ohio State’s Barrett picks on Hicks

EAST LANSING – The guy doing the picking – picking on and picking apart the Michigan State secondary — rightfully got most of the attention.

Ohio State’s 49-37 win at Michigan State on Saturday at Spartan Stadium was the national arrival of OSU redshirt freshman quarterback J.T. Barrett.

“He’s a heck of a quarterback,” MSU defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi said of Barrett, who was 16-for-26 for 300 yards and three touchdowns, to go with 86 yards and a pair of touchdowns rushing.

But that means someone on the other side had to get picked on, and MSU sophomore cornerback Darian Hicks was the primary victim. Hicks — having a solid sophomore season as the new starter with Darqueze Dennard off to the NFL — gave up a 43-yard pass to Devin Smith on a third-and-23, then let Michael Thomas get away for a 79-yard touchdown to tie the game at 21-21 late in the first half. - Read more at Freep.com