National Championship Preview: Cardale Jones
The first College Football Playoff National Championship Game is finally upon us and Dr. Saturday has your pregame prep covered. Every day leading up to the game, we’ll breakdown a piece of each team and preview its role in the upcoming title game. Previous previews: Ohio State's front 7, Oregon's front 7, Ohio State's secondary, Oregon's secondary, Oregon's O-line, Ohio State's O-line, Oregon's running game, Ohio State's running game, Ohio State's receivers, Oregon's receivers and Marcus Mariota.
Season highlight: It's hard not to talk about the Big Ten Championship Game against Wisconsin, isn't it? Thrust into the starting role after J.T. Barrett broke his ankle against Michigan, Cardale Jones entered the game with not only the weight of the Big Ten title on his shoulders, but also a College Football Playoff berth. He has big shoulders. He threw for 257 yards and three touchdowns as the Buckeyes routed Wisconsin 59-0. You know what happened next.
Strengths: By now, you've probably heard about Jones' arm strength. He boasts he can throw the ball 80+ yards. That arm strength can come in handy, because he can make lots of throws that other quarterbacks can only dream about making. Plus, he's a viable runner as Alabama's offense showed. Jones was brutally effective as a runner too, punishing Alabama defenders when he scrambled and on designed runs.
Weaknesses: The arm strength pro can also be a con. While having a howitzer for an arm means you can elicit oohs and ahhs from opposing teams and fans, it can be a nasty temptation too. Jones needs to avoid thinking he can make a throw that may not be there or attempt to throw a missile into a porthole. He was also much more effective running north and south against Alabama and running over defenders. If Oregon flushes him from the pocket, the Ducks will want to push him towards the numbers.
Overview: Here's where we'll mention the maturity Jones has found over the past season. While he's still known for his infamous tweet about school and sports, Jones has been able to redefine himself over Ohio State's last two games. And it's an opportunity that he's taken advantage of because he's made changes.
"Physically he's a very talented guy that he's always been that way," Ohio State coach Urban Meyer said Saturday. "However, in the last six months, yeah, he's really grown up as a person that can use his skill – you know, a guy that's very talented but just is immature and doesn't use it, it's kind of a waste of time. But he's really grown up here, and especially the last couple weeks, his practice routine and his attention to detail is off the charts right now."
It's not just Meyer saying those things about Jones, either. His roommate, safety Tyvis Powell, raves about how Jones has changed and so do other teammates. Yes, he started out as Ohio State's third-string quarterback, but there's no lack of confidence in him.
And now in his third start, Jones is on an even bigger stage. Yes, Marcus Mariota is the best quarterback in the game, but that's not an indictment of Jones. That's a statement that's probably true no matter the opponent.
Jones has very capable receivers in Devin Smith, Michael Thomas, Jalin Marshall and others. And there's Ezekiel Elliott, too. All he needs to do is take what the Oregon defense is giving him in the passing game.
Yes, that's an extremely broad statement, but the Alabama game is a perfect example. The Buckeyes knew that they could throw on Alabama from the start, but Jones' confidence didn't start to bubble until he started hitting his receivers crossing the field in the middle of a wide open Alabama secondary.
If Ohio State can find a similar hole in Oregon's pass defense, Jones is capable of exploiting it. If he does, his confidence, which has skyrocketed over the last month, will keep growing. If it matches his arm strength, an Ohio State win is far from a crazy thought.
For more Ohio State news, visit BuckeyeGrove.com.
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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
