Why Cardale Jones will always be an Ohio State legend
By Ryan Stano
The former quarterback is mainly remembered for just three starts back in 2014, but he should be remembered as an Ohio State legend for not just that, but his growth as a person as well.
Cardale Jones was never meant to play at Ohio State. Once he lost the backup job to J.T. Barrett in 2014, he wasn’t supposed to see the field. It was supposed to be Braxton Miller for two more years, then Barrett, then some new recruit. Jones wasn’t in the equation.
Of course, we know everything changed in that 2014 season. Miller got hurt in the preseason and couldn’t throw the ball anymore. He missed the entire season. That left Barrett as the starter for the year as a redshirt freshman. Jones was an afterthought.
It didn’t help that Jones sent a tweet that was heard around the college football world. “Why should we have to go to class if we came here to play FOOTBALL, we ain’t come to play SCHOOL, classes are POINTLESS” was the tweet Jones sent in 2012 as a freshman.
At Ohio State, he was known as the dumb football player. That is until the Michigan game in 2014 when Barrett broke his ankle. As an Ohio State student sitting in the student section, I thought our season was over. We might make the playoff, but we were no longer contenders without Barrett.
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Jones stepped in and handled the rest of the Michigan fine. But the Big Ten championship game was going to be the real test. The Buckeyes were going against Wisconsin and Heisman finalist Melvin Gordon. It was going to be a massive final test in the regular season.
Jones and the rest of the Buckeyes smoked the Badgers 59-0. Jones showed off his elite arm strength, going 12/17 for 257 yards and 3 touchdowns. He was locked in and the rest of the Buckeyes fed off his confidence and ability.
That strong showing let the Buckeyes get into the playoff to face off against Alabama. No one outside of Columbus was giving Ohio State a chance. Once again, Jones delivered. He went 18/35 for 243 yards, a touchdown, and a pick. He also ran 17 times for 43 yards and got several key first downs with his legs.
Ohio State took down Bama 42-35 and got to the national championship against Oregon. Jones did his job, going 16/23 for 242 yards, a touchdown, and a pick. He didn’t play his best game, but did enough for the Buckeyes to seal the deal and win a national championship.
After the season, Jones called a press conference. Many thought that Jones was going to declare for the 2015 NFL Draft. Instead, he announced he was going to stay and get his degree. He wanted a chance to get that degree and compete for the starting job.
2015 wasn’t quite as good for Jones as he ended up losing his starting job to Barrett. But he will always be an Ohio State legend for winning the title in 2014. He also showed how he grew as a person from his freshman year, showing that he had matured into knowing the importance of getting an education after his baffling tweet in his freshman year.
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While Jones’ pro career hasn’t quite gone as planned, he will always have a place to call home in Columbus.