COLUMBUS, Ohio — The cliche goes that you play for the name on the front of your jersey, not the one on your back. But Cardale Jones knows that when he takes the field for the Sugar Bowl on New Year’s Day, he’ll be playing for both.
That shouldn’t come as a surprise, given Jones’ status as Ohio State’s third option at quarterback this season. When you’re as unproven as Jones, who has started just one game in his college career, every opportunity is a chance to show just what you’re capable of and why you’re deserving of more playing time.
Only most auditions don’t come on a stage as large as Jones’ will, a national semifinal matchup with Alabama in the first-ever College Football Playoff. But that’s exactly the situation that the redshirt sophomore signal-caller currently finds himself in, with a still-uncertain future looming past Jan. 1.
Because even as Jones has the opportunity to lead the Buckeyes to a national championship, the future of Ohio State’s quarterback position still appears to be J.T. Barrett.
A third-team All-American and the Big Ten Quarterback of the Year, Barrett rewrote the Buckeyes’ record book as a redshirt freshman in 2014 and is expected to be fully recovered from the fractured ankle he suffered against Michigan in time for the start of 2015 fall camp.
Jones knows this, which is why as the 2014 regular season drew to a close, he questioned whether or not he’d remain with the Ohio State program moving forward. According to Sports…
Continue Reading: Sugar Bowl Will Be Monumental Audition for Ohio State’s Cardale Jones
