Cardale Jones Doesn't Hold Back On Expectations At Ohio State
01/07/2025 02:52 PM
10 years ago Cardale Jones surprised everyone by taking over as starting quarterback of the Ohio State Buckeyes late in the season and leading them to a national championship in the first-ever College Football Playoff. With his Buckeyes back where he was 10 years ago and now the favorites to win it all, he's made it very clear what he and everyone else expect from his former team.
Appearing on The Triple Option with his former head coach Urban Meyer and Fox Sports' Rob Stone, Jones acknowledged that expectations at Ohio State will always be high because of how much success and history they have - not just going back decades, but even within the past few years.
Jones recalled the controversial comments that Ohio State alum and ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit made about the "lunatic fringe" within the Buckeyes fanbase and believes that they're simply more passionate.
"I'd call them more passionate, and I think Ohio State has put itself into a position traditionally, and Coach Meyer can attest to this, that the expectation is like no other around college football," Jones said Sunday. "I would argue being the head coach at Ohio State, and then the quarterback, are probably the second- and third-most powerful positions in the whole state behind the governor when it comes to just notoriety and the effect you can have on other people with your performance."
Jones joked that if Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day can lead the Buckeyes to a national title he could probably win an election for governor. He believes that Day has had an unenviable task of being the follow-up act to Meyer, who won a national title and never lost to Michigan.
"But, if Ohio State can pull this thing off in the next 2.5-3 weeks, it may be Governor Day," Jones joked. "When you look at that, I think it's all just based off the tradition-rich history we have here of not just winning, of togetherness and the expectations are extremely high here. And I think Ryan and his whole team is kind of got the backend of that because they were replacing – like we say all the time, you don't want to be the guy replacing the guy. So, when you're replacing (Urban Meyer) who won a national championship and went 7-0 against the team from up North (Michigan), and all those things, people expect you to pick up that sword and keep fighting.
"People expect you to have no drop-off in performance. You look at the quarterback transition, and I remember when the Buckeyes fans were calling for CJ Stroud's job after his first game vs. Minnesota, and this guy goes on to be a Top 2 pick and that's the same for Justin (Fields) and Dwayne (Haskins).
"We've been spoiled with great coaches and great players where we want to see a 59-0 game every game and we know that's not the reality of college sports because you have a lot of great teams in college football and we're all fighting for the same thing."
Will the Buckeyes win the national title?
Related: ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit Sounds Off On 'Embarrassing' Ohio State Fans
