Ohio State University quarterback J.T. Barrett has been suspended from playing in next week’s game after police cited him early Saturday on suspicion of operating a motor vehicle while impaired, the school’s athletic department said.
Columbus police cited Barrett, 20, with the misdemeanor offense Saturday morning at a campus-area checkpoint.
Police did not immediately respond to requests for additional information.
Ohio State, ranked No. 1 in the college football polls and the defending national champions, does not have a game this week. It plays Minnesota on November 7.
Barrett is the reigning Big Ten Conference quarterback of the year who went 11-1 as a freshman starter while setting 19 school and Big Ten Conference records, according to the athletic department.
Barrett is a sophomore from Wichita Falls, Texas. He regained the starting quarterback job before last week’s 49-7 victory over Rutgers.
Barrett started as quarterback in 2014 but suffered an ankle injury in the final regular-season game against Michigan.
He was a candidate for the Heisman Trophy after finishing the 2014 season with school record totals of 3,772 yards and 45 touchdowns — a Big Ten record. Barrett passed for 2,834 yards and a school-record 34 touchdowns, and rushed for an additional 938 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Barrett enrolled at Ohio State in January 2013.
