Brent Yarina, BTN.com Senior Editor, October 15, 2013

By now, Big Ten football fans know all about John Urschel's affinity for math. After all, the Penn State senior guard earned an undergraduate degree in mathematics in three years, a master's in math the next year and now is working on his second master's (math education). But did you know he used to love Barney, too? Yes, THAT Barney.

Funny story, Urschel loved Barney so much that his mother, Venita Parker, used the Purple Dinosaur as a way to potty train her son. Or, so she thought.

"She bought me diapers with Barney's face on them," Urschel said in a "Journey" extra segment. "She said, 'If you go to the bathroom in your diaper, you're going to the bathroom on Barney's face. And you don't want to do that.' So, I'm like, 'No, I don't want to do that, I wouldn't dare.'"

[ PROGRAM ALERT: Watch Urschel on our latest "Journey" at 7 p.m. ET Wednesday on BTN2Go ]

So, Urschel learned to use the toilet immediately, right? Nope! The boy who "had an analytical mind from an early point," as his mother says, figured out a (hilarious) way to avoid dirtying Barney's face.

"Under Barney's diaper, I put another normal diaper on and went to the bathroom in that diaper. So, I guess, I decided I had to go to the bathroom, took my diaper off, went and found where the generic diapers were, put that one on, and then put Barney's diaper on."

Now, that's some serious thinking.

"He always kept me on my toes, that's for sure," Parker said.

Watch the debut of the latest "Journey: Big Ten Football 2013" at 7 p.m. ET Wednesday on BTN/BTN2Go.

About Brent Yarina BTN.com senior editor Brent Yarina covers football and men's basketball for BTN.com. He writes the popular uniform feature "Clothes Call," which also focuses on the latest cosmetic changes across Big Ten arenas and stadiums. Read all of his work here. You can subscribe to Yarina's RSS feed and follow him on Twitter @BTNBrentYarina.