Top Five Big Ten Starting Quarterbacks Entering Spring Practice
Jan 12, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Cardale Jones (12) runs in the open field during the second quarter in the 2015 CFP National Championship Game at AT&T Stadium. Ohio State Buckeyes defeated Oregon Ducks 42-20. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
No. 3: Cardale Jones- Ohio State
This quarterback situation and competition at Ohio State is going to be fun to watch over the course of this spring and summer. But for the purposes for this piece, let’s select Cardale Jones as the starting quarterback.
Jones was the biggest surprise of the Buckeyes’ season with a doubt. Arguably the favorite to win the starting job over Barrett, Jones presents a quarterback with a huge arm who also has some nice rushing ability as well for a quarterback at his size.
In his three starts, Jones completed 56 of 92 passes for 860 yards to go along with seven touchdowns and two interceptions.
Jones seems to have the raw skill to be ranked higher on this list, but there are some things that hold him back.
He only had three starts at Ohio State last season and looked great. However, when looking closer at his performances, there are some flaws.
For example, Jones’ performance in the Sugar Bowl against Alabama is slightly overrated. Out of his 35 pass attempts, Jones was only able to compete 18, a 51.4% completion percentage. He was not a major reason that Buckeyes came out on top over Alabama, it was all due to Ezekiel Elliot. During the game, Jones threw an interception that could easily have been avoided. It would lead to an Alabama touchdown.
Against Oregon, Jones did complete 69.6% percent of his passes but he only threw the ball 23 times. The hero of the game was once again Ezekiel Elliot, who rushed for four touchdowns. In simplicity, it’s easier for a quarterback to complete more passes when he has a game changing running back in the backfield like Elliot. Why? The defense is unbalanced.
Now, don’t take this the wrong way, Jones is a great quarterback and has potential to be even better and take it to the next level however he still has a lot of work to do.