Sport: Football

Hometown: St. Louis, MO

Biography: Ezekiel Elliott led Ohio State to win the first College Football Playoff National Championship and set several records in the process. During Ohio State's three-game postseason run, Elliott rushed for 696 yards and eight touchdowns, set five school and bowl game records and earned offensive MVP honors at the Allstate Sugar Bowl and the College Football Playoff National Championship game.

In the Big Ten Championship game where the Buckeyes defeated Wisconsin, 59-0, Elliott led the way, setting a Big Ten Championship game record with 220 rushing yards, along with scoring two touchdowns, one of which was a record setting 81-yard touchdown run.

In the Allstate Sugar Bowl, Ohio State was down 21-6 when they came from behind on the back of Elliott, who had 230 rushing yards. The sophomore running back earned a Sugar Bowl record 85-yard touchdown run with less than four minutes to play, putting Ohio State on top, 42-28. They defeated No. 1 Alabama, 42-35, clinching their spot in the College Football Playoff National Championship.

In the CFP National Championship game, the St. Louis, Missouri native led an offensive charge with an Ohio State record 246 rushing yards and four touchdowns in the 42-20 victory. This performance capped a season that saw him rush for 1,878 yards, the second most in school history. He scored 18 touchdowns while also catching 28 passes for another 220 yards.

When he's not on the football field, he's excelling in the classroom and is contributing his time to his community.

"He absolutely puts his team first and never hesitates to credit his successes to his teammates, especially those on the offensive side of the ball," said Jerry Emig, the Sports Information Director at Ohio State. "Ezekiel is one of the leaders on the team in terms of community service hours and regularly is a part of athlete visits to local hospitals, elementary schools and food pantries."

As a sophomore, Ezekiel was an OSU Scholar-Athlete and an Academic All-Big Ten Conference honoree based on his performance in the classroom.