COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Another week, another high-profile endorsement for J.T. Barrett as his Heisman Trophy campaign appears to be gaining more steam.

This time, though, the Ohio State quarterback actually received the stamp of approval from somebody who will be casting a vote for the game’s top honor.

Former Heisman winner Troy Smith tried to play it coy about who might top his ballot as the regular season winds down, citing his preference to wait for the last possible moment for making his choice official. But he has also been in Barrett’s shoes with the Buckeyes, and is seeing a lot of his own records with the program falling at the hands of the redshirt freshman, and Smith couldn’t hide the fact that he might already be leaning toward one candidate in particular.

"I have a tremendous amount of respect for that process and have an understanding of what it takes to win the Heisman Trophy, and I think it shouldn’t be awarded until the last game of whoever is in the standings or whichever candidates are playing, because you never know who is going to have that breakout moment," Smith said. "There is great talent across the nation, but I’m definitely biased toward some of the guys who have worn the scarlet and gray if they are up there.

"But you didn’t hear that from me."

Smith is certainly still free to change his mind or keep his vote a secret, but he made no effort to hide his admiration and appreciation for what Barrett has done for the No. 6 Buckeyes in his first season as a starter. And one week after Ohio State coach Urban Meyer publicly endorsed Barrett as a viable Heisman contender, Smith added his name to the list while the 2006 winner was on campus preparing to have his number enshrined in the Horseshoe during Saturday’s matchup with rival Michigan.

The redshirt freshman is seemingly rewriting a record book that is covered with Smith’s name every week, and the comparisons between the last Ohio State quarterback to claim the famed stiff-arm trophy and the one pushing for it heading into the regular-season finale and next week’s Big Ten championship game aren’t likely to slow down any time soon.

Smith joked about what his individual numbers might look like in Meyer’s spread offense with the chance to throw "shovel passes for touchdowns," but he was otherwise effusive in his praise of Barrett, and pointed to his eye-popping statistics with 42 total touchdowns as a key component in his Heisman platform.

"Oh yeah, I think he should be in [consideration] everybody’s mind," Smith said. "Statistically, the things that he’s doing, obviously numbers don’t lie. [Offensive coordinator] Tom Herman and our offensive staff are putting him and other guys in positions to make plays, and J.T. is doing nothing but capitalizing on every single chance and opportunity. ... As a freshman, he’s doing some things that it took me an ample amount of years to grasp and have an understanding about.

"Obviously we’ve had a chance to see the transformation and the growth behind J.T. Barrett this whole season, and I’m pretty much blown away."

In Smith’s case, that makes him not only a qualified endorser for Barrett, but potentially an impressed voter as well.