How Heisman Front-Runner Ezekiel Elliott Has Flown Under the Offseason Radar

COLUMBUS, Ohio — For a little more than seven minutes, Ezekiel Elliott fidgeted with his fists, ducking and dodging questions about Ohio State's quarterback competition as if they were Oregon defenders in last January's national championship game.

As the Buckeyes running back's answers got shorter with the July sun beaming into his eyes, Elliott soon saw his opening to finally escape in the form of teammate Cardale Jones, who happened to be exiting the Woody Hayes Athletic Center so that he could catch his ride to the airport for a trip to Los Angeles for Wednesday's ESPYS.

"Hey, Cardale!" Elliott shouted gleefully to the 6'5", 250-pound quarterback, hoping to draw the reporters' attention to Jones.

Only there was no need for Elliott to do so—most of the Columbus media had already swarmed the national-champion signal-caller.

It was an interesting albeit not expected occurrence: the TV cameras and local beat writers seemingly biding their time with Elliott while really waiting to talk to Jones or spend just two minutes with Braxton Miller for the first time in 11 months. Elliott may be the best running back—if not the best offensive player—in the entire country, but all of the intrigue in Columbus seems to center on the Buckeyes' upcoming quarterback competition featuring Jones, Miller and J.T. Barrett.

And for the shy-by-nature Elliott, that's more than just fine, even as oddsmakers list him as one of the favorites to win the Heisman Trophy at the end of the upcoming season.

"Honestly, I don't really care," Elliott said, laughing, when the amount of attention placed on the quarterbacks at Ohio State was mentioned to him. "The Heisman—that's going to come with whatever, you know? My goal is another national championship."

Paul Vernon/Associated Press

If the Buckeyes are going to meet that goal, it's a safe bet Elliott will be a big reason why—and perhaps a bigger reason than any of the three quarterbacks who might be handing him the ball this fall.

The St. Louis, Missouri, native proved as much last winter, as he served as the steadying force of an OSU offense that transitioned from the efficient Barrett to the strong-armed Jones on the eve of the College Football Playoff. In three postseason games, Elliott rushed for an astonishing combined 696 yards and eight touchdowns, earning MVP honors in both the Sugar Bowl and national title game.

For a player who wasn't named All-Big Ten—or even picked as an honorable mention—at the end of the 2014 season, Elliott's winter surge served as his coming-out party, with Bovada (via Odds Shark) proclaiming him a 6-1 2015 Heisman Trophy favorite on Jan. 30. From January through April, Elliott was the toast of the town in Columbus, his picture omnipresent at local memorabilia shops, with even President Obama making light of Elliott's signature-style crop-top jersey.

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But as spring turned to summer, Elliott seemed to take a back seat at Ohio State, and it had nothing to do with TCU's Trevone Boykin jumping him as the Heisman favorite (Elliott still possesses the second-best odds at 7-1) or his absence from spring football as he recovered from offseason wrist surgery. In fact, if there was one star of the Buckeyes' otherwise mundane spring game it was Elliott, who could be seen parading around Ohio Stadium with a selfie stick before beating out Miller in the fastest-student competition at halftime.

Rather, Elliott's seeming fade from the forefront has more to do with the uniqueness of Ohio State's unprecedented quarterback competition than it does anything he can control. The reality is that college football has never seen a position battle as star-studded as the one about to take place in Columbus, with a two-time Big Ten MVP (Miller) fighting to reclaim his starting spot against the reigning National Freshman of the Year (Barrett) and a potential first-round pick and national championship game-winner (Jones).

Could Urban Meyer play two quarterbacks? How will the odd man/men out handle being back on the bench? Will either Miller or Jones regret not leaving Ohio State in the offseason when they had their chances?

These are the questions that will be answered in the next two months.

Meanwhile, there remains very little left to be asked about the Show-Me State native to whom they'll be handing the ball.

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It's been more than five years since a non-quarterback has won the Heisman, but Elliott seems to be the best bet of any to do so in recent years, given the video game-like numbers he showed he was capable of producing throughout the postseason. If the 6'0", 225-pounder could do what he did against three of the top teams in the nation, it's crazy to think just how productive he could be against the non-conference cupcakes and lower-end Big Ten teams that will make up the better part of the Buckeyes' regular-season schedule.

"Defenses are going to have to pick their poison," Elliott said. "We have a lot of weapons on offense. I don't think they can just play the run or just play the pass. We're such a balanced team."

That's why the Heisman projections have Elliott listed where they do, which he admitted he's taken note of, unable to avoid them from entering his Twitter feed. It's not as if Elliott's taste of celebrity life has completely come to an end, either, as he'll be joining Jones, Miller, Meyer and Buckeyes linebacker Joshua Perry in Los Angeles for the ESPYS, where Ohio State is nominated for the Best Team award.

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"I haven't really thought about it, but I'm sure it's going to be crazy," Elliott said of Wednesday night's award show. "It's just great to be able to experience something like this."

Unprepared—or perhaps just tired of dealing with reporters on Tuesday—Elliott was unable to answer the question, "Who will you be wearing?" that will undoubtedly be repeated to him in one form or another at least a dozen times while walking the red carpet. And while Jones—nominated for Best Breakthrough Athlete—might be too busy to bail him out this time, Elliott is prepared to enjoy what little is left of what's already been a whirlwind of an offseason.

"It's something you dream about when you're a kid," Elliott. "I've worked for it, we've worked for it. My teammates are a big part of where I am right now. The slobs (offensive linemen) are definitely the biggest part. I just gotta thank those guys and just keep working."

Sounds like he already has an acceptance speech prepared.

Whether he'll need it on Wednesday or in December remains to be seen.

Ben Axelrod is Bleacher Report's Big Ten lead writer. You can follow him on Twitter @BenAxelrod. Unless noted otherwise, all quotes were obtained firsthand. All statistics courtesy of CFBStats.com. Recruiting rankings courtesy of 247Sports.