COLUMBUS, Ohio _ The scooter is gone, perhaps banished to some storage closet in the training room, which is fine with Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett.
In 2014, the then-redshirt freshman developed a "love-hate relationship" with the machine after he suffered a broken ankle against Michigan. He loved it because it kept him off crutches. He hated it because friends and teammates thought it looked like fun.
"I was like 'My brother, I can't walk. After you're finished with it you go and walk to where you want to go and I gotta get on and scoot again,' " he said.
He referred to it as a male when talking of their trips to New Orleans and Dallas for the College Football Playoffs and to Tyler, Texas, for the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award given to college football's top offensive player from the state. After the Buckeyes captured the national championship in AT&T Stadium, Barrett rolled into the locker room for the post-game celebration.
But he never named the scooter.
"I didn't give it a name because I didn't want to get attached," Barrett admitted on Dec. 15.
He's thought of his old wheels since the day the College Football Playoff Field was announced. When No. 3 Ohio State (11-1) takes on No. 2 Clemson (12-1) in the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl on New Year's Eve, Barrett gets a chance to personally set the 2014 season right.
After Braxton Miller was injured days before the season opener two years ago, Barrett led OSU to an 11-1 record. When he went down, the Buckeyes turned to Cardale Jones, who directed stunning victories over Wisconsin, Alabama and Oregon. Jones kept the job at the beginning of the 2015 season before Barrett took over in Game 8.
