Ohio State Football: J.T. Barrett Entering Heisman Conversation

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Following his latest standout showing—a 338-yard, five-touchdown outing in Ohio State's 52-24 win over Maryland on Saturday—J.T. Barrett gave some credit to his nighttime medicine.

"The thing I do now is I take the Sleepytime Tea," Barrett said. "I don’t want to be up just sitting with my thoughts at night."

But while Barrett may now be sleeping better following a shaky start to the 2014 season, the rest of the country is beginning to wake up when it comes to the Buckeyes' redshirt freshman quarterback.

Heisman Trophy odds can't be found for Barrett on online gambling sites—at least not yet—but that hasn't stopped the Wichita Falls, Texas, native's name from entering the conversation for college football's most prestigious award. On its latest watch list, reputed website HeismanPundit.com ranked Barrett seventh in a "long view of the race that takes into account schedule and statistical trends."

As Heisman Pundit creator and publisher Chris Huston explained to Bleacher Report, the inclusion of Barrett is a result of more than just what he's already accomplished in his freshman season. Having accumulated 1,354 passing yards, 276 rushing yards and 19 total touchdowns through Ohio State's first five games, Barrett is on pace for the best statistical season ever by a Buckeyes quarterback—one which would compare favorably to recent Heisman signal-callers.

“The last six Heisman-winning quarterbacks have averaged 4,292 yards of total offense and 47 combined touchdowns and a 181.3 passer rating," Huston said. "If you’re gonna win the Heisman in this day and age if you’re a quarterback, you pretty much need to have 4,000 yards of total offense and 40 touchdowns. That’s pretty much been the standard since Tim Tebow won the Heisman."

USA TODAY Sports

Assuming Ohio State advances to the Big Ten Championship Game and plays 13 contests before the Dec. 13 Heisman presentation in New York City, Barrett's current pace extrapolates to totals of 4,237 yards of offense (3,520 passing yards, 717 rushing yards) and 49 total touchdowns. His passer rating of 186.4 also meets the quarterback criteria set forth by Huston.

Those totals would eclipse what Jameis Winston accomplished in his Heisman-winning campaign a year ago, when the Florida State quarterback totaled 4,013 yards (3,820 passing, 193 rushing) and totaled 42 touchdowns in 13 games. They would be comparable to Robert Griffin III's 4,642 total yards and 45 touchdowns in 2011, Cam Newton's 3,998 total yards and 49 touchdowns in 2010, Sam Bradford's 4,493 total yards and 53 touchdowns in 2008 and Tim Tebow's 4,181 total yards and 55 touchdowns in 12 games in 2007.

(If the Buckeyes only take part in 12 games, Barrett's currently on track to tally 3,911 total yards—3,249 passing, 662 rushing—and 45 total touchdowns.)

But it's not just Barrett's potentially impressive stat line that could work in his favor when it comes to a potential Heisman run. According to Huston, playing for Ohio State will only help Barrett's cause, as voters are more apt to vote for candidates who play for big-name schools.

"Ohio State is a traditional Heisman power," Huston said. "If you have this kind of season for Ohio State and Ohio State goes 12-1, this is better than if you put up the same numbers for a 12-1 team at Baylor, for example, or Mississippi State.

“So there’s the built-in advantage of playing for a Heisman power, plus the production that he’s on-pace for. Now the question is, will he continue the pace?"

The Buckeyes' schedule would suggest so, with games against Rutgers and Illinois sandwiching a road contest against a largely unproven Penn State team on Oct. 25. While the Nittany Lions rank ninth in the nation in total defense, the Scarlet Knights rank 69th and the Fighting Illini rank 112th, with the latter surrendering an average of 502.8 yards per game.

USA TODAY Sports

Currently at 4-1 on the year, Ohio State again appears to be on a collision course for a Nov. 8 showdown with eighth-ranked Michigan State. And not only will that game likely decide this season's Big Ten East Division champion, it could also very well serve as a prime-time platform for Barrett's Heisman hopes, should he make the most of the Buckeyes' upcoming slate.

"If he keeps this pace—say against Rutgers, Penn State and Illinois he throws for a combined 11 touchdowns and then runs for three touchdowns as well—you’re looking at a lot of production," Huston noted. "Then people are going to start to notice. And then he’s going to have that big set up game at Michigan State where it’s basically going to be for the division title and Michigan State has a well-respected defense.

"If he can do that same kind of stuff against Michigan State, then he will be seen as a legitimate candidate at that point."

That's a lot of "ifs," especially when you take into consideration that the Spartans currently rank 11th in the nation in total defense and have given up an average of 20.6 points per game through their first five contests. But given who Ohio State has coming up between now and then, it appears to be almost likely that a trip to New York City will be on the line for Barrett in his matchup with MSU.

Of course, Barrett won't be the only person in control of his Heisman destiny.

For a player who entered 2014 as an unknown until Braxton Miller went down with a season-ending injury two weeks prior to the start of the season, Barrett hardly carries the same name recognition as Heisman hopefuls such as Georgia running back Todd Gurley, Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota and Alabama wide receiver Amari Cooper. In fact, Huston estimates that if it were Miller who had accomplished what Barrett already has this season, he would have placed him third on his most recent watch list, based on the two-time Big Ten MVP's status as an established star.

That's not to say that Barrett won't be able to overcome his status as a relative unknown in college football, as both Winston and Johnny Manziel did as much in their respective Heisman Trophy-winning seasons. But it's worth noting that the two redshirt freshmen were helped by weaker fields in their Heisman races, something that Barrett would also need to benefit from in order to win the trophy.

"If you look at Johnny Manziel and Jameis Winston, they had incredible seasons as redshirt freshmen, but they had to have a lot of things happen," Huston said. "For Barrett to do it, if he has the kind of year that he’s on pace to have, he’s going to still need some of these other guys who are established in front of him to falter a little bit.”

USA TODAY Sports

So where do Barrett's Heisman odds currently stand?

With more than two months left until the award is actually handed out, perhaps it's too early to tell. But a lot will be decided in the Buckeyes' next four games—especially that fourth one—as Barrett may need to stock up on his Sleepytime Tea for a potential trip to city that never sleeps this December.

"I don’t expect him to win. I still think it’s going to be very hard for him to get to New York," Huston explained. "At the end of Michigan State, if he has 30 touchdown passes—which he’s on pace to have— then people are going to be like, ‘Well here’s a guy who’s got four games to go with already 30 touchdown passes.' People are going to start to realize what an incredible season it is and then that will start to snowball.

"Him being a freshman makes it hard to predict. But, if you’re looking out there for somebody who’s a redshirt freshman who has a chance to win, that’s definitely Barrett.”

Ben Axelrod is Bleacher Report's Ohio State Lead Writer. You can follow him on Twitter @BenAxelrod. Unless noted otherwise, all quotes obtained firsthand. All recruiting information courtesy of 247Sports.