Quarterback J.T. Barrett burst onto the national stage as a redshirt freshman in 2014, when he was forced into action after Braxton Miller suffered a season-ending shoulder injury just 10 days before the opener against Navy.
It took him—and by extension, the Ohio State offense as a whole—a few weeks to find a groove and settle into a rhythm. After a Week 2 collapse against Virginia Tech, Barrett and the Buckeyes caught fire, averaging 47.4 points per game in 10 consecutive victories to close out the regular season.
In his first 12 career starts, Barrett amassed 3,772 yards of total offense (2,834 passing, 938 rushing) and accounted for 45 touchdowns, breaking the single-season Big Ten record that was set by Drew Brees in 2000.