Former Ohio State star quarterback signs with CFL team

Former Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett has signed a contract with the CFL’s Edmonton Elks, the league announced.

Barrett spent five seasons with the Ohio State Buckeyes, turning in a historic college career. He was a four-star recruit according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies, which also made him the No. 10 quarterback in the 2013 recruiting class.

After redshirting the 2013 season, Barrett was expected to be the backup to Braxton Miller in 2014, but after a season-ending injury to Miller, Barrett was thrust into the rotation. `He finished the season with 2,843 passing yards, 34 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, while rushing for 938 yards and 11 more touchdowns but suffered a season-ending injury of his own against Michigan.

Though Ohio State lost Barrett, the Buckeyes went on to win the national championship that season behind third-string quarterback Cardale Jones. Barrett still finished fifth in Heisman Trophy voting despite missing the final regular-season game and both College Football Playoff games.

Barrett played three more seasons at Ohio State, amassing 9,434 passing yards, 104 touchdowns and 30 interceptions, while holding a 63.5 percent completion rate. He also managed to rush for a total of 3,263 yards and 43 touchdowns in his career. Both his career passing yard and passing touchdown marks are Ohio State program records.

Barrett was the Big Ten quarterback of the year three times in his tenure with Ohio State, and he was named a first team All-Big Ten honoree in 2014, 2016 and 2017. Following his return from the season-ending injury, Ohio State may not have made it back to the College Football Playoff, but he still helped lead the Buckeyes to a 2016 Fiesta Bowl win over Notre Dame, a game in which he was named MVP, and a 2016 Cotton Bowl win over USC, a game in which he was again named MVP.

However, after his college career came to a close, he went undrafted in the 2018 NFL Draft. He had brief stints with the New Orleans Saints, Seattle Seahawks and Pittsburgh Steelers, largely serving as a practice-squad option, and most recently signed a minicamp contract with the Dallas Cowboys in May but was cut early on.

Barrett has not played professional football since 2020, when he played with The Spring League for a brief stint after he was waived by the Pittsburgh Steelers.