COLUMBUS, Ohio — Jameis Winston isn’t around to create headlines anymore.
Johnny Manziel is no longer jet-setting around the country.
Jadeveon Clowney’s time to ponder skipping his junior season has come and passed.
But despite college football’s biggest stars of yesteryear having moved on to the professional ranks, the sport still has a face. It’s just not one you’d expect to be looking for.
Since leading Ohio State to the first-ever College Football Playoff championship last month, Cardale Jones has managed to consistently stay in the news this offseason. But unlike Winston, Manziel and Clowney before him, he’s doing so for all the right reasons.
Jones was the unlikely face of the Buckeyes’ national championship team, a one-time third-string quarterback who led underdog Ohio State to postseason wins over Wisconsin, Alabama and Oregon. Just as he starred on the field, Jones has been the center of attention off of it this offseason, after announcing his return to school three days after the Buckeyes’ national title victory.
“My education is going to take me 10 times further than my athletic ability,” said Jones, a potential first-round pick who was previously best known for an ill-advised anti-education tweet. “At my point in my career, I feel like it’s best for me to go back to school. One of the most important things for me to do is graduate.”
The goodwill around Jones didn’t stop there, with the 6’5″, 250-pounder…
Continue Reading: Cardale Jones Is the Unlikely Face of College Football’s Offseason
