Tag: Cardale Jones

Urban Meyer is back in college football in an unconventional way

Urban Meyer is back in college football, but not in the way you think.

It was announced that Urban Meyer is joining the board of THE Foundation, which is an organization that Cardale Jones made news with and co-founded with Brian Schottenstein to pay basketball and football players to work with charities.

Meyer may have been forced out of the NFL and his opportunity with the Jacksonville Jaguars ended with a certain level of embarrassment, but there is no denying his importance to the history of Ohio State football and his understanding of how to help elevate a college football program.

The NCAA has transformed into the wild wild west with the new Name, Image, and Likeness rules, and THE Foundation’s goal is to help athletes to better navigate these choppy waters.

This is all still in its infancy with NIL so we’ll follow how things go as it gets off the ground.

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Five former Ohio State players who may be selected in the USFL Draft

Five former Ohio State players who may be selected in the USFL draft #GoBucks #USFL

The United States Football League is back and I have never been more excited. If you are not familiar with the greatness that was the USFL, please take a second to dive into the history. The USFL has had some exciting talent in its former glory including Steve Young, Herschel Walker, and Reggie White. They all shined before heading to the NFL, but like most leagues, they could not compete with the financial juggernaut that is the NFL.

If you are curious which former Ohio State players shined in the original version of the league, have no fear that information is here. Now, it is highly unlikely that this league will be as successful as the original based purely on the money available, but hey I have no problem watching any kind of football year-round. The following are five former Buckeyes that could hear their name called during the USFL draft.

CFL-XFL merger brings back former Ohio State player memories

The news of the CFL and XFL merging brings up memories of several former Ohio State players that carved out a name in one of the leagues.

A lot has happened since the arrival of the second version of the XFL last season. Since it folded due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the most famous man in the world, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, has now purchased the company. Apparently the former WWE superstar and CFL player had big plans with the most recent announcement of the league merging with the Canadian Football League.

The CFL has been around for over 60 years and their formula of three-down chaos has been consistently successful, which is the exact opposite of the XFL who has had two separate tries almost two decades apart. With that said, the COVID-19 pandemic put a huge strain on the CFL. It had to cancel its 2020 season, which has almost put the league in jeopardy. Teaming up with a wealthy “The Rock” might be the juice the league needs to keep the train chugging along.

All of this news about spring football returning and the merger of these alternative leagues forced me to think about all of the former Ohio State Buckeye legends who suited up for these two leagues and below are some of the more notable names.

 

Cardale Jones claps back at Nick Saban’s daughter for critical tweet of Ohio State COVID-19 rumors

Former Ohio State QB Cardale Jones had perfect response to Nick Saban’s daughter after accusations that OSU was using COVID-19 to buy time.

We could all learn a lesson from the missteps of many, especially when it comes to social media habits. In case you’ve been away recently, let us bring you up to speed.

Reports and rumors have been running around about some issues Ohio State has had still with COVID-19 infections. So much so that — according to a report from AL.com — the College Football Playoff, Alabama, and Ohio State have at least had initial discussions about what the potential of postponing the national title game would entail.

Well, once that got out there, the criticism hit the Buckeye program faster than an Ohio State receiver through a porous Clemson defense (too early?). So much so that even Nick Saban’s daughter sent out a Tweet accusing the Buckeyes of trying to buy more time so that Justin Fields is fully healthy.

Remember, the OSU QB took a vicious hit from Tigers’ linebacker James Skalski, but remained in the game and toughed out what appeared to be some pretty significant pain.

But, Kristen Saban Setas went all conspiracy theory on everyone with the below Tweet.

OK? I mean, it’s not like Ohio State has been dodging infections all along in a very hard hit part of the country or anything right? And, in the midst of a global pandemic, this is the narrative we want pushing?

Anyway, to make a long story even longer, Saban Setas deleted the tweet just ten minutes after she sent it out into the Twitterverse for everyone to see, log, and screenshot

for eternity. She has since apologized, but the damage is done.

Not one to let things go quietly into the night, former Ohio State quarterback Cardale Jones had the perfect response. He drummed up his own past exploits against Alabama and had slung arrows straight back.

Ouch. Of course, the end of the 2014 season has nothing to do with what we’re about to witness, but it’s still a good comeback from 12-gauge.

Oh yeah, and about jumping to conclusions — Ohio State and the College Football Playoff have confirmed that the game is still on for Monday. Somewhere in there is a good lesson about jumping to conclusions and pausing before you hit the post button. This goes for Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and any other social media post.

When will folks learn?

Cardale Jones trolls Michigan and Penn State after historically bad starts

Former Ohio State QB Cardale Jones takes to Twitter to roast Big Ten rivals Michigan and Penn State after their tough starts to 2020.

In the time-honored tradition of kicking your rivals when they’re down, Twitter is a great place to take some jabs.

Michigan and Penn State have started the eight-game Big Ten season in memorable fashion. Unfortunately for Wolverine and Nittany Lion fans, it’s memorable for all the wrong reasons. But in the world of college football fandom, one team’s misery is another team’s joy, and former Ohio State quarterback, Cardale Jones, didn’t miss the opportunity.

After Michigan was thoroughly dominated and embarrassed at home and Penn State became the first team in 30 plus years to be ranked in the preseason top 10 and start 0-4, Jones took to social media to fan the flames while giving some love to former Ohio State defensive coordinator, Luke Fickell.

Jones posted a “Breaking News” story, mocking the two the East division bottom dwellers, saying the Big Ten has sent them to the American Athletic Conference in return for the Cincinnati Bearcats.

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Ouch! Expectations were high for both Michigan and Penn State at the beginning of the season, but things have soured quickly.

While I’m sure Michigan and Penn State fans are none too happy with the trolling, just remember, it’s all in good fun, as we older Buckeye fans remember all too well from the 80s and 90s. We’re just thankful those days were well before the time of social media.

Things may turn someday. Until then, we’ll keep giggling with Jones at the expense of our rivals.

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Cardale Jones invited to workout with Las Vegas Raiders

Former Ohio State quarterback Cardale Jones is reportedly set to workout for the Las Vegas Raider over the next day or so.

Twelve-gauge is loading the barrel once again.

According to multiple reports, former Ohio State quarterback Cardale Jones will be working out with the Las Vegas Raiders in an attempt to find a home this upcoming season. He is a part of several players the organization will be bringing in to get a look at.

You know the story of Jones well at this point. He was a third-stringer at OSU before injury befell both Braxton Miller before the 2014 season and J.T. Barrett at the tail-end of the year. In stepped Jones and embraced the challenge, winning every game he started on the way to a postseason run that many will never forget, eventually beating Alabama in the Sugar Bowl and capping it off with a win over Oregon in the first-ever Collge Football Playoff national championship game.

Jones decided to come back for one more year in 2015 but didn’t have quite the same success, eventually losing the starting job to J.T. Barrett midway through the 2015 season. Still, with his rocket arm and size, Jones was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the fourth round of the 2016 NFL Draft. He has since struggled to find a home in the NFL, eventually landing on the rosters of Los Angeles Chargers and Seattle Seahawks as well.

With the reboot of the XFL, Jones also tried his hand as one of the stars of the league as the quarterback for the D.C. Defenders but struggled with consistency before the league was canceled in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

Now, Jones gets another crack to impress the NFL’s Raiders and head coach John Gruden in Sin City.

We’ll keep an eye on how this all goes down for Jones. He’s a shiny toy nobody has quite been able to corral and figure out how to use yet, and you figure this could be one of his last opportunities to stick somewhere.

Let’s look back at the last time Ohio State and Alabama played… because we love it

With the two teams playing two huge games in a few years, let’s look at the last time Ohio State and Alabama met on the football field.

Ohio State’s resurgence under Urban Meyer came to the forefront in the 2014 college football season. The Buckeyes needed redemption after a few (relatively) disappointing performances in the national spotlight since 2005, and the road to redemption was always going to go through the SEC.

But, of course, why am I recapping this? Every Buckeye fan knows this. It was Ohio State’s redemption from a decade of being second-best. It was finally a (second) bowl win over an SEC program, after the Sugar Bowl win over Arkansas was vacated. And, perhaps most importantly, it was a huge win by a great program that no one gave a chance.

Well, with Ohio State and Alabama announcing a home-and-home series this decade, let’s look back on that game. And yes, I am using this as an excuse to write about the game, because, in all honesty, what Buckeye fan wouldn’t?

In fact, I think we here at the Buckeye Wire should look back at this game every chance we get. Heck, we should look back on it every day if we can. Honestly, the most popular Ohio State website could definitely be one that just plays highlights of this game over and over.

Is there any game in recent years that Buckeye fans, on the whole, love more than this one? Maybe one or two others come close. But this game defined the 2010s for Ohio State football, and Buckeye fans aren’t soon to forget it.

First, let’s start with the pre-game. When I said above that no one gave Ohio State a chance, I meant it. Here’s the ESPN pregame, where everyone picked Alabama to win.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rm2O-hSCMs&w=560&h=315]

I don’t want to go through every single highlight right now, and can definitely save that for another post (or ten, because this will be written about nonstop when Ohio State’s next game against Alabama approaches), but let’s skip through the first quarter. Ezekiel Elliot had a great run and Devin Smith a great catch, but the Buckeyes couldn’t pay off those drives with touchdowns, and turnovers let Alabama jump out to a 21-6 lead.

I’m even going to skip through the Buckeyes’ touchdown drive to bring it to 21-13, because I want to focus on just the biggest and best plays here.

Speaking of which, the Buckeyes ended the first half on what remains, to this day, the very best single play in College Football Playoff history. It’s a trick play, a perfect throw by a wide receiver, and a great catch by Michael Thomas, getting his foot down an inch away from the sideline. (Yes, I have a video of my reaction to this play. No, I will not be sharing it. Let’s just say that I ran up to the television in my college dorm lounge so I could point to the sliver of green between Thomas’ shoe and the sideline.)

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhsISsfUsZA&w=560&h=315]

The next highlight I want to focus on came a bit later. After the Buckeyes took the lead on a beautiful touchdown pass from Cardale Jones to Devin Smith, the Buckeyes stretched their lead to 13 points on the most beautiful “big guy touchdown” in recent Buckeye history.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjgL0hHvIUI&w=560&h=315]

The next 15 minutes didn’t go so well for the Buckeyes. They never relinquished the lead, but it got stressful for a time. Let’s not overly focus on that section. I also don’t want to focus on the final play of the game (maybe I’ll do a separate post on that), because that Hail Mary throw came dangerously close to being caught. (Yes, it was intercepted by Tyvus Powell. But Powell was behind two Alabama receivers, and if that ball comes down half a yard shorter it could have been caught.)

Instead, let’s cap the game off for its most memorable moment:

85 Yards Through the Heart of the South.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9WwaeV9IoA&w=560&h=315]

LOOK! Former Ohio State quarterback Cardale Jones trolls Michigan helmet

Former Ohio State quarterback Cardale Jones couldn’t help himself and dunked on the Michigan Wolverine football helmet.

The Ohio State vs. Michigan rivalry runs deep. So deep that well after a participant’s playing days, each can still find a way to get under the skin of the opponent. There are bets made, arguments of superiority played out in the media, and hurt feelings seemingly 365 days a year.

Enter former Buckeye quarterback Cardale Jones. You know his story well. His first three games as an Ohio State starter resulted in confetti falling from the sky, culminating in an eventual national championship with him as a third-string quarterback pulling the trigger.

He got it all started against TTUN when starting quarterback J.T. Barrett went down with an injury in 2014. He never knew what it was like to lose to Michigan, as OSU beat the Wolverines in 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015 while he was “playing school.”

So, it’s not surprising that Jones couldn’t help himself when a graphic of a winged-Michigan helmet was shared to Twitter by UNISWAG asking if the Wolverine helmet was the most recognizable in college football.

Jones agreed, but for a reason most people wouldn’t guess, though we’re sure Ohio State fans would nod in approval.

Cardale Jones calling the Michigan helmet a trash can is the type of troll you didn’t even know you needed on this Friday from a former national title-winning OSU QB, but there it is.

Way to spread the cheer Cardale.

Buckeye Battle Cry series: Best Ohio State football player to wear jersey No. 12

We continue on in our attempt to identify the best Ohio State football player to wear specific jersey numbers. Next up is number 11.

We’ve been going through a series here at Buckeyes Wire. It’s a debate on which Ohio State football player is the best to wear specific jersey numbers, and we’re now cruising along to No. 12.

Before we get into all the fun, here’s an update on where we stand with all the jersey numbers we’ve debated to date:

Jersey No. 1 | Jersey No. 2 | Jersey No. 3 | Jersey No. 4 | Jersey No. 5 | Jersey No. 6 | Jersey No. 7 | Jersey No. 8 | Jersey No. 9 | Jersey No. 10 | Jersey No. 11

We’re doing this because while things are beginning to slowly open up, we’re all still a little stir crazy from getting cabin fever due to the measures put in place to help mitigate the spread of the coronavirus. Thank goodness for The Last Dance documentary about Michael Jordan. By the way, he’s the G.O.A.T., not LeBron.

But we digress. In the long, illustrious history of Ohio State football, there is sure to be some disagreement, but that only makes it more fun.

We will continue to keep going along his journey through the summer and will have the results of all of these polls further down the road.

Okay, Mark, you know the drill …

Next … Mark’s thoughts

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4

Where are they now: Gary Andersen

The “where are they now” series continues today with a shift in focus from the field to the sidelines as we catchup on former Wisconsin…

The “where are they now” series continues today with a shift in focus from the field to the sidelines as we catchup on former Wisconsin head coach Gary Andersen‘s career after spending two unforgettable seasons in Madison in 2013 and 2014.

The first of the two, the 2013 season, was understandably a tough one as Andersen was taking over from the successful Brett Bielema era after Bielema left to take a job at Arkansas. The team finished 9-4 that year, losing to No. 8 South Carolina in the Capital One Bowl, but showed promise with an improving quarterback in Joel Stave, a backfield of Melvin Gordon and Corey Clement and a defense headlined by Chris Borland, Michael Caputo and Sojourn Shelton.

What followed in 2014 was an absolute rollercoaster of a season, one which ended in turmoil and set the stage for Paul Chryst to step into the head coaching job going forward.

The 2014 campaign began with Andersen’s Badgers ranked No. 14 in the nation as they prepared to face the No. 13 LSU Tigers Week 1. The Badgers led 24-7 as one point in that game but ended up falling 28-24 and starting the season 0-1. In only one game there was already a peak and a valley, what seemed to be the theme during Andersen’s tenure.

The team then peeled off three out-of-conference victories, returning to No. 17 in the polls, but followed it up in Week 5 with a loss at unranked Northwestern that put them 3-2 on the season and out of the top-25. Valley number two.

Andersen’s unit then went on a seven game winning streak, all in-conference, with ranked victories against No. 11 Nebraska and No. 22 Minnesota. The most notable of the seven contests was the victory at Camp Randall against the Cornhuskers as Gordon broke the NCAA single-game rushing record with a 408 yard, four touchdown performance. Peak number three.

The team was riding high with 10-2 record entering the Big Ten Championship against No. 6 Ohio State who saw their starting quarterback J.T. Barrett break his leg the week prior, opening the door for sophomore quarterback Cardale Jones to start his first collegiate game.

As Badger fans know too well, Ohio State beat Wisconsin 59-0 that day, handing the Badgers their worst loss since 1972 and punching their ticket to the College Football Playoff in its inaugural year. Valley number three.

Andersen left the program four days later to take the head coaching job at Oregon State, giving way to Barry Alvarez to take over as interim head coach for the team’s 34-31 Outback Bowl victory against No. 19 Auburn.

It later surfaced that Andersen was unhappy with Wisconsin’s academic standards for athletes, something that was a driving force for him to leave the program in search of head coaching jobs elsewhere.

Gary Andersen’s tenure in Madison came to an end with a record of 19-7 (13-3 in the Big Ten) and the infamous 59-0 defeat in the 2014 conference championship game.

That became the coach’s best two seasons record wise during his coaching career as his team at Oregon State from 2015-17 held an abysmal record of 7-23 and he and the school parted ways after a 1-5 start to the 2017 season.

2018 saw Andersen return to The University of Utah, his alma mater and the place where he began his coaching career, as a defensive assistant and the assistant head coach.

Now on to last season, the coach returned to Utah State, the place he coached for four years before coming to Madison, and had a 7-6 record including a 51-41 Frisco Bowl loss to Kent State.

His quarterback was now-Green Bay Packer Jordan Love, a player who excelled in 2018 during the old coaching regime and struggled for the most part in 2019. Much was said during his draft process about the talent that graduated after 2018, but also about the coaching difference between Matt Wells, his coach for his first two years, and Andersen who led him last season.

Looking forward to 2020 the former Badger head coach is still at the helm at Utah State as he looks to improve upon the team’s 7-6 record from 2019 and reach his first conference championship game since the infamous 2014 defeat at the hands of Jones and the Buckeyes.