The night before the first time he went under the knife J.T. Barrett stood on the field behind Rider High School in Wichita Falls, Texas, trying to hang on to his denial.

His mind was as torn as the ligaments in his knee. He knew the scholarship to Ohio State and his future in football weren’t worth risking. In his heart, though, he believed he could play out the rest of his senior season at Rider. Barrett was convinced his ACL was sturdy enough to carry him and the rest of his team to a championship.

“I thought I could’ve played. I still feel that way,” he said last week on a bone-chilling day in Columbus, where the Buckeyes are getting ready for No. 2 Clemson and what they hope will be a national championship bid.

Finally, for the first time in his football-playing career, Barrett is on the field preparing to play with his teammates in a semifinal matchup. After watching his high school career end on crutches and two years later watching Ohio State win a national championship while on the sidelines on a scooter with a broken ankle, he has a different appreciation for the opportunity in front of him. And he's not taking it lightly.

Rider reached the Texas 4A state quarterfinals in Barrett’s junior season and was as good a bet as any team to contend for a title with the star senior under center in 2012. Its chances dropped just a few weeks into the season when he hobbled off the field with one shoe and an injured leg. The night before surgery put a definite end to his high school career, he did his best to prove to his coach and his father that he was just fine.

Barrett made the short walk to the high school practice field from his house and stopped along the way to collect John Hatch, his best friend and best receiver at the time. They ran through as many passing routes as Barrett could come up with, and most of his throws were on the money. He didn’t want to stop.

“I don’t know how late we stayed out there, but it was pitch black,” Hatch said. “It was probably up there toward midnight.”

Reality eventually won out and Barrett made the two-hour trek to Dallas the following morning for surgery, but that feeling never quite left him.

“I really wanted to play,” he said. “I know I could’ve played, but when Pops says, ‘This is what we’re going to do,’ then you have to follow that.”

Rider reached the state semifinal game with Barrett cheering them on from the sideline. They lost in double overtime. Hatch believes they would have won that game and the next one if Barrett was healthy enough to play, and good luck finding a soul in Wichita Falls who disagrees.

Two years later, Hatch was visiting Columbus to watch his buddy finish his first full regular season as the Ohio State starter when Barrett’s right leg bent awkwardly amid a tangle of Michigan defenders. His ankle snapped. He watched the final few minutes of the Buckeyes victory from a handicapped seating section in Ohio Stadium.

Barrett spent that night with Hatch and a couple other out-of-town friends in his house apologizing that he couldn’t show them around Columbus with his crutches and cast. The next morning, he woke early and got a ride to the hospital for another surgery.

Redshirt junior Cardale Jones took his place. Jones had a week to get ready to lead Ohio State to a Big Ten championship. Barrett was relegated to a scooter on the sideline but already knew how to contribute from there.

He helped Jones with the playbook and in the film room. He delivered a fiery speech to his teammates before they took the field to beat Wisconsin 59-0 in Indianapolis. The blowout helped Ohio State earn an unlikely berth in the inaugural College Football Playoff and ensured that Barrett would be on the sideline for another semifinal playoff game.

Teammates and Ohio State coaches say Barrett was an integral part to the national championship the Buckeyes ended up winning that season.

For Chase London, that doesn’t come as much of a surprise. London was the junior backup who took over for Barrett at Rider High School in 2012. The night of London’s first start at quarterback, Barrett pulled him from the locker room into a coach’s office and told him it was his turn to take over.

“He wasn’t physically in the game, but he was mentally there,” London said. “I think his senior year was what really developed his leadership skills, and it really helped him with his second injury, the one against Michigan.”

Barrett said he never really entertained the thought that he was cursed or that fate was playing tricks on him after watching from the sideline his first two chances to play in a game that would get his team to a championship.

“I knew I just had to keep working,” he said. “The more work you put in the more opportunities present themselves. You just have to be ready when it comes. I worked really hard for where I’m at right now and where our team is at.”

With less than two weeks remaining before Barrett leads Ohio State against Clemson at the Fiesta Bowl, his work ethic hasn’t slowed. Offensive coordinator Tim Beck said the biggest challenge with Barrett this bowl season is keeping him from getting too revved up. Beck said even in this year’s game against Michigan -- a double overtime win with a trip to the playoffs hanging in the balance -- he noticed Barrett get a little too fired up in the early stages of the game. The coach checks in on him daily to make sure he’s remembering to have fun.

After being forced to watch the last two playoff runs Barrett isn’t taking this time around for granted, but Beck wants him to make sure he’s savoring it, too. Last week, Beck stopped him after a meeting to share a word of advice.

“Enjoy this process,” Beck said. “A lot of people work extremely hard to get this point. Enjoy it a little bit.”

Barrett held his straight-lipped stare for another second before cracking a smile.

“Ahh, you’re right coach,” he said. “I’m good.”