Ohio State coach Urban Meyer probably wanted to say he is confident Cardale Jones will make it in the NFL.
But like nearly everyone who has evaluated the quarterback who led the Buckeyes to the 2014 national championship, Meyer attached some caveats to Jones’ professional future even though he left Columbus with an 11-0 record as a starter.
“I think it’s the situation he’s going to get put in,” Meyer told the Beacon Journal in a phone interview this month. “I think there’s going to have to be patience, an excellent quarterback coach that’s going to have to earn his trust. There’s going to have to be a great relationship there; he’s a relationship-type guy. He and [former OSU offensive coordinator] Tom Herman were very close and that took three years.
“It’s going to be dictated by the team that takes him, the amount of patience and the relationship he develops with the quarterback coach.”
In previous years, that would all but rule out the Browns as a possible destination, despite the private conversation Jones and owner Jimmy Haslam had at the Greater Cleveland Sports Awards in January 2015. But three months ago, the Browns hired coach Hue Jackson, considered a quarterback whisperer, and Jackson will have help with the position from Pep Hamilton, who spent 2½ seasons as Andrew Luck’s offensive coordinator in Indianapolis.
So should the Browns decide not to use their second overall pick on April 28 on a quarterback after adding ex-Redskin Robert Griffin III in free agency, they will likely go after one on Day 2 or 3.
That might prompt a draft room discussion on Jones, a Glenville High School product.
But playing in his hometown might present problems. At the NFL Combine, Jones dismissed possible distractions from friends and family in Cleveland, saying he had more in Columbus.
“I think every city you’re going to play in is going to have its own obstacles,” Jones said at the combine. “I don’t think it’s a pro or a con to play in Cleveland. I want to play for a great organization, and as long as I have the right mindset, I don’t think anything on or off the field will distract me.”
Asked if Jones could handle that situation, Meyer wasn’t so sure.
“Hmmm,” he said, pausing. “I don’t know. I’d probably have to digest that, talk to him about it. I’ve had a lot of experience over the years where guys do better when they get away and I’ve had some guys that should have went away and they didn’t and there’s too many people involved. I’m not ready to answer that one yet.”
Meyer said last season Jones was hurt by the departure of Herman, who became coach at the University of Houston after the national championship game, and go-to receiver Devin Smith to the NFL. Meyer said Jones’ confidence, fundamentals and lack of experience were also issues. Meyer eventually benched Jones in 2015 for J.T. Barrett, whose running skills made him more effective in the red zone and on third down.
Asked to evaluate the arm strength of the 6-foot-5, 253-pound Jones, Meyer went further than that.
“They all rank them 1 to 10 and we certainly do the same thing,” Meyer said in reference to pro scouts. “His size is obviously a 10 as far as what he’s able to do with that big body, athleticism. Arm strength is a 9, pretty close to a 10. Accuracy is something that’s got to continue to improve, that’s probably an 8. Believe it or not, knowledge of the game and knowledge of coverages is pretty high, an 8.”
Overall, Meyer said evaluating Jones “is a tough one.”
“A really good skill set, intellectual, very smart, wasn’t necessarily very good at school,” Meyer said. “I wonder if that kind of set him back a little bit. That’s one difference between pro and college — now he doesn’t have to worry about classes and going to school and all that stuff. He can focus completely on football.”
But that’s not a given either, Meyer said.
“I think he’s a very sharp person. He loves football,” Meyer said. “Discipline will be big — when I say do the right thing, the best quarterbacks are complete students of the game and that’s all they do.
“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.”
Browns fans and even the front office might shudder at what sounds like a reference to Johnny Manziel.
In Nolan Nawrocki’s NFL Draft 2016 Preview, an unnamed scout said much the same thing about Jones.
“He kind of went off the cliff after winning the national championship. He can’t stay focused ... he’s not ready yet,” was the scout’s take. “He had his three games of fame and could not get through it.”
Echoing those fears are draft analysts, most notably Mike Mayock of NFL Network.
“I have him as a wild card,” Mayock said of Jones earlier this year. “I have no idea where he’s going to go [in the draft]. He’s a big, good looking kid who throws a beautiful football with a lot of bad tape.”
Jones has been working on his mechanics in San Diego with quarterback guru George Whitfield Jr., a Massillon native whose father, George Sr., is principal at Smith Elementary School in Akron.
Asked if improved fundamentals can fix Jones’ accuracy issues, Meyer said, “That and just practice reps, the approach to practice. Usually it’s the way you set your feet. He’s a very smart guy [in] understanding what we’re trying to get accomplished and on the same page as the wideouts. There’s a multitude ... I don’t think you can just put it on one thing with Cardale. But the fundamentals of being a pocket passer is certainly one of them.”
Meyer is still amazed at how far Jones has come since he arrived at Ohio State in January 2012, about a month and half after Meyer was hired.
“Oh, my goodness, yeah. I remember watching him at first and saying, ‘There’s no chance this guy’s going to play,’” Meyer said. “Nothing major. There were no legal issues or drug issues or any of that stuff, it was just the seriousness towards academics. The Ohio State of old, you’d get by with it. The Ohio State of new, where you’re in class with 30 ACT people and how hard this school is ... It was not an easy journey for him or for us.”
As for what he’s telling NFL teams, Meyer knows it may be incongruous with how the league works.
“Whoever drafts him will have to have a little bit of patience,” Meyer said. “The unfortunate thing in the NFL: There’s not a whole lot of patience.”
Marla Ridenour can be reached at mridenour@thebeaconjournal.com. Read her blog at www.ohio.com/marla. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MRidenourABJ.