No JT Barrett, No Problem for Buckeyes

Cardale JonesRedshirt sophomore Cardale Jones looks to replace JT Barrett and try to continue Ohio State’s national championship dreams.

JT Barrett famously came in for injured senior Braxton Miller before the season began and while the team got off to a rocky 1-1 start after a disheartening 35-21 loss to Virginia Tech, Barrett would go on to lead the team to 10 straight with a 47.4 point per game average in that span.

Barrett, a redshirt freshman, unfortunately went down with a broken ankle against Michigan last week and will be lost for the season but according to some college football aficionados, one might start to believe Ohio State’s season is also lost…

It’s as if every person that watched that game forgot that Barrett was injured with a bulk of the fourth quarter left with only a seven point lead at 28-21 in Columbus. Cardale Jones’ first full drive featured a 18-yard scramble that he converted for a first down on 2nd and 15 and a six-yard screen pass to Corey Smith that helped set up Ezekiel Elliot’s big 44-yard touchdown run that forced Michigan into their hurry-up offense.

The Buckeyes go up against the Wisconsin Badgers in Indianapolis for the Big-Ten Championship Game and a chance to show that they’re still one of the most dominant teams in the nation but even more importantly, Cardale Jones has a chance to show the world that he’s a phenomenal prospect as well as one of the best quarterbacks in college football that nobody knows about.

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Cardale Jones is one of the highest ranked quarterbacks on our 2017 Big Board due to his length, range, running power and the uncanny explosiveness he possesses for a man his size. He is an aggressive runner outside of the pocket with a chip on his shoulder that shows up when he delivers bone crushing blows to punish would-be tacklers.

He has just as much arm strength as JT Barrett or Braxton Miller but manipulating his passing arch and altering his throwing platform is still holding him back at this point. He has the ability to put the football on a line and throw that frozen rope but in many instances Jones puts just too much zip on the ball.

The Cleveland native is an outstanding arm talent at times but his lack of reps has limited his chances to show off the cannon that resides on his right shoulder. Jones was able to find his comfort zone this season against Illinois in the last 27 minutes of the game when he lobbed a beautiful touch pass for 27 yards to Dontre Wilson in stride with just a flick of his wrist but also displayed his deadly scrambling range, ability to juxtaposition his pocket location and keep defenses honest with his rare athleticism.

Cardale Jones will afford Ohio State a legitimate dual threat quarterback that can hurt a defense with his arm as well as his legs at 250 pounds plus. The Buckeyes clearly have an embarrassment of riches at the quarterback position and the rest of the nation is about to find out just how rich on Saturday in Columbus.

2 Comments

  1. Good call on Cardale Jones man! 🙂

  2. Cardale Jones is a star! Lock it up, the kid is legit.

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