The Cleveland Legend
Every quarterback that enrolls in the Ohio State University dreams of winning the National Championship. They dream of holding up the National Championship trophy and being the one that leads them to victory. But they probably don’t dream of doing it the way Cardale Jones did.
Cardale’s rise to stardom is the first of its kind. When’s the last time a 3rd string quarterback took his team to the championship? I can’t think of one. Stories like this just don’t happen. The only comparable story I can think of is Tom Brady starting the year as a backup and leading the Patriots to the Super Bowl. But Brady took over in the 3rd game of the season and wasn’t thrown into the fire like Jones was. Cardale took over in a championship game. That’s the difference.
It’s still hard to imagine a guy who was the 3rd string quarterback at the beginning of the year was able to come in and win on the biggest stages. Especially when the Buckeyes were underdogs in every game. Jones hasn’t started a game where there wasn’t a trophy ceremony at the end. If someone would’ve told me that Ohio State was going to win the National Championship after J.T. Barrett was carted off the field, I simply wouldn’t have believed it. To be honest I don’t think anybody would’ve believed it, but that’s exactly what happened. And the thing is the Buckeyes didn’t win despite Jones, they won because Jones.
We don’t know who is going to be the starting quarterback next year. But no matter what Cardale Jones will go down in history as an Ohio State legend. He’ll always be remembered as the 3rd string quarterback that brought Ohio State back to the pinnacle. When we think of Buckeye legends we think of names like Archie Griffen, Rex Kern, Howard Cassady, and Troy Smith, but now we’ll throw in a new name. Cardale Jones.
It’s hard to put what Cardale Jones did in perspective right now. There is no story in the entire sports world that we can accurately compare it too. This is a once in a generation sports story. It’s something that we’ll learn to appreciate as time moves on.
Cardale is a kid from Cleveland who overcame all the odds to win on the biggest stage. Thanks for showing the world what Cleveland is about. You represented us well. Keep making us proud Cardale.
@CST_JacksonF
