Cardale Jones

Cardale Jones

Jones in 2015
No. 7 Buffalo Bills
Position:	Quarterback
Personal information
Date of birth:	September 29, 1992
Place of birth:	Cleveland, Ohio
Height:	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Weight:	253 lb (115 kg)
Career information
High school:	Cleveland (OH) Glenville
College:	Ohio State
NFL draft:	2016 / Round: 4 / Pick: 139
Career history
Buffalo Bills (2016–present)
Roster status:	Unsigned draft pick
Career highlights and awards
Fiesta Bowl champion (2016) Big Ten champion (2014) Big Ten Championship Game MVP (2014) Sugar Bowl champion (2015) CFP national champion (2015)

Cardale Jones (/ˈkɑːrdeɪl ˈdʒoʊnz/; born September 29, 1992) is an American football player. A quarterback attending Ohio State University, he was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the 2016 NFL Draft. At the beginning of the 2014 season, Jones was listed as third on the Ohio State depth chart at quarterback. He ended up as the starter after injuries to Braxton Miller ^[1] in August and J. T. Barrett in November.^[2] That year he was the starter for the Buckeyes in the College Football Playoff National Championship. Jones was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the fourth round of the 2016 NFL Draft.

Early years

Jones attended Glenville High School in Cleveland, Ohio, where he played football for Ted Ginn, Sr., leading the Tarblooders to the OHSAA D-I Championship game in 2009.^[3] While at Glenville, Jones also lettered in basketball and track. Jones was ranked by Rivals.com as a three-star recruit.^[4] He committed to Ohio State University in October 2011. In order to improve his academic standing, Jones attended Fork Union Military Academy for a semester prior to his enrollment at Ohio State University in January 2012.

College career

2014 season

Jones at the 2014 Ohio State spring game.

After entering the 2014 season as a redshirt sophomore, third on the Buckeyes' depth chart, Jones made his first start of his college career in the Big Ten Championship Game in place of J. T. Barrett, who had been injured the prior week versus Michigan. Jones led the #6 (AP) ranked Buckeyes squad to a 59–0 victory over the #11 ranked Wisconsin Badgers, on the eve of the NCAA football committee's inaugural playoff selection.^[5] Jones was named MVP of the game.

Cardale Jones made the second start of his college career, and the Ohio State Buckeyes defeated #1 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide 42–35 in the Allstate Sugar Bowl to advance to the College Football Playoff National Championship against the Oregon Ducks. In the championship game he excelled once again and led the Buckeyes to a 42–20 victory over the Ducks. Jones recorded 280 all-purpose yards, scoring two touchdowns. He completed 16 of 23 attempted passes for 242 yards, with one touchdown and one interception and ran for another 38 yards and a touchdown.^[6] The day after winning the National Championship, Jones discussed his future football career. In a news conference, Jones said that while he did not officially rule out declaring for the 2015 NFL Draft, he believes that he is "not ready for that level yet," partly because he has only started in 3 college football games.^[7] Jones confirmed on January 15, 2015 that he would not declare for the 2015 NFL Draft, and would stay with Ohio State for at least another year, most probably until he graduated.^[8]

Twitter controversy

While red-shirting as a freshman, Jones posted the following on his Twitter account:

“	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	”
	— Cardale Jones, Twitter: October 5, 2012.[9][10][11][12][13]

The tweet received heavy criticism and Jones was suspended for one game.^[14][15][16] The tweet was featured as an example of bad social media behavior in the "Best Practices on Social Media" section of a textbook for "The Ole Miss Experience," a freshman year class at the University of Mississippi.^[17][18] In March 2014, Urban Meyer described Jones as a "different guy" who was "making progress in the classroom."^[19] Later, Jones provided context for the tweet:

“	I remember I was in class, and I think I got, like, a B on a [sociology] exam. It was just something so stupid; of course I didn't feel that way about academics, and I don't. Nobody in this program feels that way, we actually take that stuff very serious around here. It was just a dumbass thing to do. I definitely didn't think that would happen. It was just a stupid thing to do at that time. It was something where I just got pissed because I studied my ass off.	”
	— Cardale Jones, December 2014.[20]

2015 season

After a competition with Barrett that lasted the entire offseason, Jones was named the Buckeyes' starting quarterback immediately before gametime in Ohio State's season opener at Virginia Tech. Both he and Barrett remained listed as co-starters on the depth chart headed into September 12 meeting with Hawaii.^[21][22] After Ohio State's final home game he apparently announced his intention to enter the 2016 NFL Draft.^[23]

College statistics

NCAA collegiate career statistics
Ohio State Buckeyes
Season	Passing							Rushing
	Comp	Att	Yards	Pct.	TD	Int	QB Rating	Att	Yards	Avg	TD
2013	1	2	3	50.0	0	0	62.6	17	128	7.5	1
2014	56	92	860	60.9	7	2	160.2	72	296	4.1	1
2015	110	176	1,460	62.5	8	5	141.5	64	193	3.02	2
NCAA career totals	167	270	2,323	61.85	15	7		153	617	4.03	4

Professional career

2016 NFL Draft

Pre-draft measurables

Ht	Wt	Arm length	Hand size	40-yd dash	10-yd split	20-yd split	20-ss	3-cone	Vert	Broad	BP
6 ft 5 in	253 lb	33 ^3⁄4 in	9 ^3⁄4 in	4.81 s					36 in
All values from NFL Combine,[24]

Buffalo Bills

Jones was drafted in the fourth round of the 2016 NFL draft, with the 139th overall selection, by the Buffalo Bills.

References

1. "Braxton Miller of Ohio State Buckeyes to miss season due to shoulder injury – ESPN". Espn.go.com. August 20, 2014. Retrieved January 22, 2015.
2. Fornelli, Tom. "Ohio State's J.T. Barrett out for season with fractured ankle". CBSSports.com. Retrieved January 22, 2015.
3. "Third time's the charm for Ohio State with Cardale Jones at the helm – The Lantern  : The Lantern". The Lantern. Retrieved January 13, 2015.
4. "Cardale Jones". Rivals.yahoo.com. Retrieved January 13, 2015.
5. "Wisconsin Badgers vs. Ohio State Buckeyes – Recap – December 06, 2014 – ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 13, 2015.
6. AT&T Stadium, Arlington, TX (January 12, 2015). "Oregon Ducks vs. Ohio State Buckeyes – Box Score – January 12, 2015 – ESPN". Scores.espn.go.com. Retrieved January 22, 2015.
7. "Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Cardale Jones says he's not ready for NFL yet – ESPN". Espn.go.com. January 13, 2015. Retrieved January 22, 2015.
8. "Cardale Jones makes 'very simple' decision to return to Ohio State". YouTube.com. January 15, 2015. Retrieved January 22, 2015.
9. Isaac Rauch. "Ohio State's Third-String Quarterback "Ain't Come To Play SCHOOL"". Deadspin. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
10. "Ohio State backup QB thinks classes are pointless because ‘we ain’t come to play SCHOOL’". Yahoo Sports. October 5, 2012. Retrieved January 13, 2015.
11. Ethan Grant. "Cardale Jones: Ohio State QB Shows True Colors With Football Tweet". Bleacher Report. Retrieved January 13, 2015.
12. "Who is Cardale Jones? 5 things to know about Ohio State's new QB". Sporting News. Retrieved January 13, 2015.
13. "Ohio State Buckeyes' Cardale Jones tweets 'classes are pointless' – ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 13, 2015.
14. Mike Hoag. "Ohio State Suspends QB Cardale Jones for Tweeting Classes Are Pointless". Bleacher Report. Retrieved January 13, 2015.
15. "Cardale Jones to lead Ohio State vs. Alabama as third-string quarterback". NCAA.com. Retrieved January 13, 2015.
16. "OSU QB Cardale Jones Suspended for Tweet". Rawsports.yardbreaker.com. Retrieved January 13, 2015.
17. "Cardale Jones' "We Ain't Come to Play School" Tweet Lives On". Eleven Warriors. Retrieved January 13, 2015.
18. "Infamous Ohio State tweet ends up in an Ole Miss textbook (Photo)". Yahoo Sports. October 22, 2013. Retrieved January 13, 2015.
19. "Remembering the 'famous tweet' of changed QB Cardale Jones; Greg Schiano visits practice: Ohio State Buckeyes Urban Meyer quick hits". cleveland.com. Retrieved January 13, 2015.
20. "Infamous Cardale Jones tweet a 'stepping stone' – ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
21. "Cardale Jones wins Ohio State Buckeyes starting quarterback job over J.T. Barrett". Retrieved September 10, 2015.
22. "Ohio State releases depth chart for Hawaii: Cardale Jones and J.T. Barrett listed as co-starters, other important details". cleveland.com.
23. "Cardale Jones, Ezekiel Elliott appear headed to the NFL". NBCSports.com. November 21, 2015.
24. "NFL Events: Combine Player Profiles - Cardale Jones". National Football League.

External links

• Ohio State profile Archive copy at the Wayback Machine
• Media related to Cardale Jones at Wikimedia Commons