Ohio State redshirt freshman quarterback J.T. Barrett is out for the remainder of the season after breaking his right ankle, a team spokesman confirmed.
Barrett, who guided the sixth-ranked Buckeyes to a win against arch rival Michigan and 11-1 regular season finish Saturday, is scheduled for surgery Sunday.
"We lost a Heisman candidate today," head coach Urban Meyer said. "So we gotta go. We gotta go."
Barrett was carted off the field in the fourth quarter and taken back to the team's locker room.
"I heard him yell, and I went over to help him up and when I went over, I saw his ankle and it wasn’t pretty and I just told him, ‘Stay down, stay down,'" senior tight end Jeff Heuerman said.
"It just kind of hits you like ‘Oh man.’ So as soon as I saw that I just told him to stay on the ground, the medical staff got there immediately and they were taking care of him."
He finished the day with 176 yards and a touchdown on 13-of-21 passes. He has also rushed for 89 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries.
Barrett, who was called upon to replace star quarterback Braxton Miller less than a week before the team's season opener against Navy in August, completed 65 percent of his throws for 2,834 and 34 touchdowns (the latter of which is a single-season school record). He also rushed for 1,117 and 11 touchdowns on 171 attempts.
Meyer said backup quarterback Cardale Jones will start in the Big Ten Championship Game next weekend.
"We have a lot of confidence in the guy that's going to be doing ... He's been here I think for 120 years. He's been here for a while," Meyer quipped after the game. "He practices. He's going to get all the reps. And so we've got to be ready to go."
Added Heuerman regarding sixth-ranked Ohio State's playoff chances without Barrett: "I still think we’re heading in the right direction, I don’t think any one player really makes a whole team; we have an outstanding defense and like I said, we have a lot of talented guys on this offense that can make up for lost ground with J.T. and we’re just gonna have to turn it up a notch and prepare even harder for this coming week and get Cardale ready and offensively get ready as a whole."
