Board Game Review: No Thanks!
December 5, 2014Brian Hoyer unlikely to return to Cleveland in 2015
December 7, 2014J.T. Barrett’s rise was meteoric. He went from unknown redshirt freshman to inexperienced quarterback struggling mightily against Virginia Tech to wise-beyond-his-years Heisman candidate and shredder of defenses in just over three months. His development made the question, “Will Braxton Miller get his starting job back next season?” a real discussion and put him on the bath for superstardom.
But then, even quicker than it rose, Barrett’s star fell. As he lay on the Ohio Stadium turf early in the fourth quarter last Saturday, the crowd’s silence was deafening. Chants of “J.T.! J.T.!” did eventually break out, but many in attendance were already sure that Barrett would not be taking another snap this season, even before he was placed on a cart with his right leg wrapped in a monstrous aircast. For the second time since August, Ohio State was forced to replace a Heisman-level quarterback.
But don’t fret, Buckeye Nation. After years of patient waiting, our messiah’s moment has finally arrived. Cardale Jones, all 6-5, 250 pounds of him, is finally the Ohio State starting quarterback.
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He’s matured a lot, and he helped J.T. lead this year. I think he’ll do a great job.”
— Ezekiel Elliot
Within a few months of arriving on campus in January 2012, Jones had already established himself as a sort of bizarre cult hero among fans and NCAA haters. His infamous tweet wondering why Buckeyes players had to attend “POINTLESS” classes when they didn’t come to Columbus to “play SCHOOL” is still the first thing anyone will mention when Cardale’s name comes up.
Jones hopes that after this Saturday, people will be talking more about his play. His Twitter account has reflected that new focus in the last week. A sampling: “Good morning, ready to get to work” on Sunday morning. “Goodnight, Right Back At It In The AM” later that night. “Focused On ONE Thing and ONE Thing ONLY!” with an emoji of a trophy on Monday. Cardale Jones still doesn’t seem to be playing school1, but he’s definitely going to be ready to start a football game on Saturday night in Indianapolis.
But it’s not just Jones’s Twitter that displays how he’s changed. Urban Meyer has been singing his praises since spring practice. “Cardale, you talk about a changed guy,” Meyer said, “He had to be a different guy or he wouldn’t be here.” In the postgame press conference on Saturday, the Ohio State coach continued the praise and added a little humor. “We gotta go and we have a lot of confidence in the guy that’s going to be doing it. His name is Cardale Jones. He’s been here, I think, for 120 years.”
His teammates have similar things to say. Ezekiel Elliott said that Jones “kind of was a little bit of a knucklehead,” but that “he’s changed a lot. He’s matured a lot, and he helped J.T. lead this year. I think he’ll do a great job.” Barrett echoed the sentiments. “I honestly feel like if I wasn’t starting this year, Cardale would have done the same things I did this year. Cardale is that talented.”
So, instead of analyzing this game rationally, I’m accepting that everyone associated with Ohio State isn’t just saying the right things with regards to Cardale Jones, but that they actually believe those things. I know about Melvin Gordon’s video game statistics and Wisconsin’s scout defense. I know that we have a sample size of just 19 throws to judge Jones on thus far. But I also know that Urban Meyer’s system is very kind to dual-threat quarterbacks with big arms and running ability. I know that Tom Herman already went through the introduction of a new quarterback once this season, and he still managed to turn Barrett into a legitimate Heisman contender. I’m assuming he learned something from calling those games early in the season when Barrett was still getting comfortable, and I’m sure that will help him to put Jones in situations where he can succeed. And I know that the Buckeyes remember the sting of losing at Lucas Oil Stadium last year and that they will do everything in their power to ensure that their head coach does not eat his pizza sadly again.
So I’m going with blind faith this week. I believe in Cardale Jones as the Buckeyes savior, and you should too.
- Although he was named an OSU Scholar Athlete in the winter and spring 2012 quarters. [↩]
4 Comments
Umm, yeah. Feeling a LOT better about him now!
Mark May feels that the Buckeyes win needed to be more convincing.
Did you hear the Fox pre-game crew after the game? They actually said Ohio State had an advantage because Wisconsin never saw a QB like Jones and couldn’t prepare. All week leading up to this game all anyone wanted to talk about was how Ohio State couldn’t use the fact that they were using their third QB of the season who was playing in his first game of the season. I mean you can’t make this crap up.
Which leads me to your comment about Mark May. Hands down other then Jon Barry and almost every other NBA commentator/analyst May has to be one of the worst broadcasters around. I loved old man Holtz giving it to May. The sad thing is how May reacts when someone disagrees. He’s like a petulant child.
Right on. May’s reactions and facial expressions showed his deep-seeded hatred of Ohio State. Not sure why that is, but he was grasping desparately trying to make a case for TCU. It’s moronic that he actually thought TCU’s win at home vs Minnesota held more weight than their head-to-head with Baylor which they lost anyway. I don’t know how this guy is making the money he makes. I wouldn’t give him a mop job.