Buckeye Bits: One of the top offensive tackles in college football ... earned All-Big Ten honors as a junior and will be an All-American candidate in 2007 ... has been a fixture for the Buckeyes at right tackle the past three seasons ... powerful, explosive blocker who plays low and with great intensity ... good at sustaining his blocks and allowing plays to develop ... good pass blocker because of his balance and mobility ... has played in 35 of 38 games the past three years ... started the last seven games of 2004, all nine he played in 2005 and all 13 games in 2006 ... is a student of the game and makes very few mistakes ... seems to improve with every outing and has a very bright future.

2006 (Junior): Started all 13 games at right tackle ... team's offensive lineman of the week vs. Northern Illinois, Michigan State, Indiana and Northwestern ... protected quarterback Troy Smith and helped the Buckeyes average 229.7 yards passing per game ... Buckeyes also ran for 180.1 yards per game for an average of 409.8 total yards per game ... offense racked up a season-high 540 yards vs. Indiana and 503 yards against Michigan also bettered 400 yards eight times ... offensive line allowed just 12 sacks in the regular season.

2005 (Sophomore): Had his string of 13 consecutive starts interrupted when he injured his knee at Penn State and sat out the next three games (Michigan State, Indiana and Minnesota) ... returned against Illinois, but just played six minutes ... was full strength against Michigan and Notre Dame ... logged 26 minutes against Michigan and 30 in the bowl game, helping OSU gain more than 1,000 yards in total offense in those two games.

2004 (Freshman): The starter at right tackle the last seven games ... played significant minutes in the first five games but did not make his first start until the Iowa game ... Buckeyes went 5-2 in the seven games he started and averaged 169 yards rushing ... began the season in a three-way battle with Tim Schafer and T.J. Downing before claiming a starting spot ... missed out on valuable reps in the spring while recovering from off-season shoulder surgery ... made an appearance in the next-to-last spring scrimmage, but sprained an ankle and did not see any more action until fall camp.

2003 (Redshirt): Did not see any game action ... injured his left shoulder in practice during the season and underwent corrective surgery in January.

High School: Considered one of the top linemen in the Midwest and one of the Top 100 nationally ... played defensive tackle and tight end in high school and simply overpowered opponents ... played basketball as a freshman and sophomore, but then concentrated on football his final two years.

Personal: Son of Brigette Barton ... his father, Kirk Sr., who passed away in 1997, played college football at Ohio University and was a teammate of current Buckeye offensive coordinator Jim Bollman (Bollman was a senior and Barton a freshman) ... his sister, Kasondra (Kasey), attends Ohio State on an academic scholarship ... enjoys watching TV in his free time (The Sopranos is his favorite show) ... lists Kyle Turley as his favorite NFL player ... calls rolling up 617 yards against Notre Dame the highlight of his career to date ... ambition is to help his team win the 2006 national championship ... is a history major and would like to teach and coach after his football career is over.