Ohio State Buckeyes

Ohio State QB J.T. Barrett makes a decision about his NFL future

Published Jan. 4, 2017 5:54 p.m. ET

Aaron Torres

Ohio State may have lost its final game of the 2016 season, but it picked up a key victory to start 2017. Quarterback J.T. Barrett will return to Columbus for his senior year.

Barrett announced his decision on Instagram on Wednesday afternoon.

This is obviously huge news for a Buckeyes club that has already lost a couple key players to this year's NFL Draft, just days after losing to Clemson 31-0 in the College Football Playoff. All-American safety Malik Hooker announced on Tuesday that he'd go pro, and linebacker Raekwon McMillan made the same decision on Wednesday.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BO2yG5EjxHt/

However, Barrett will be back for a final season to finish what has been a winding career, to say the least. By now we all know his story: Barrett was handed the keys to the Buckeyes' offense prior to the 2014 season after an injury to starter Braxton Miller, and he led the Buckeyes to a 10-1 start before suffering an injury in Ohio State's final game of the year. Cardale Jones took over from there, leading Ohio State to the national championship. Last year, Barrett split time with Jones and never got into a rhythm, as the Buckeyes went 12-1 but failed to make the playoff.

This season, however, was a much more productive with Barrett firmly in charge of the Buckeyes' offense. He finished with over 2,500 yards passing and 24 touchdowns, leading Ohio State to an 11-1 record before the Fiesta Bowl loss.

And despite the losses of some big names on that defense, with Barrett back - flanked by several key stars on offense, including running back Mike Weber - Ohio State should begin next season ranked in the Top 5 and could very well end up back in the playoff.