Urban Meyer Didn't Offer the Strongest Endorsement of Cardale Jones

Cardale Jones arguably hurt his NFL Draft stock by returning to Ohio State this past year. After leading the Buckeyes on an improbable national title run during the end of the 2014-15 season, Jones, who never lost a game he started in college, was benched for J.T. Barrett by mid-October.

When asked about the quarterback’s pro prospects by the Akron Beacon Journal, Urban Meyer praised Jones but also offered conditions to his future success, including a close, engaged relationship with the quarterback coach like Jones eventually developed with Tom Herman.

Meyer said that although he feels Jones is smart, he “wasn’t necessarily very good at school,” and that not having that element of responsibility could be a positive for him in the NFL. Nevertheless, the coach returned to the implication that Jones is susceptible to distractions:  “The quarterbacks that weren’t — we’ve witnessed a couple tough situations in the NFL the last couple years — are the ones that are all over the place, more worried about social stuff going on and they fail. This will be big. How he attacks this opportunity is going to be key.”

Nothing that Meyer said is necessarily inaccurate, though as the Beacon Journal noted that last quote sounded ominously like a comparison to Johnny Manziel. (It goes without saying that’s not a good thing right now.) The traditional tone amongst college coaches this time of year, at least publicly, is praise of their former players (and Meyer did also give immense credence to Jones’ physical gifts in the ABJ story). Jones is projected by CBS as a 3rd or 4th round pick; at that point, teams know they’re not picking a sure thing. If he does end up in the right city with the right coaches and the right teammates, there’s a chance he could be a valuable lottery ticket.