The headline read, "Cardale Jones Needs To Step Out Of The Spotlight."
The article set itself up very nicely for a blistering I-told-you-so sequel eight months into the future as we dig out from the rubble of a shocking 8-5 season. See? Ohio State's burgeoning football dynasty fell apart all because Cardale tweeted at Joakim Noah.
It's 2015, and Cardale Jones is a public figure - a little too public for some people's tastes. Public enough that it might compromise his ability to focus on what's really important, like extending the Buckeyes' winning streak well into next January.
Just a kid from Akron with a kid from Cleveland.
This, of course, is dependent on him winning the Buckeyes' starting QB job, which...well, that decision is the most fascinating story in college football for a reason. Jones has only won three more games as a starting quarterback than you have, so why is he asking the Cleveland Indians out on a date?
He's relishing the spotlight. Whether it's a burrito or a Cavs game, Cardale is on the scene commentating. He rarely hides from the glare.
Why does he have so much free time? Consider that instead of quietly showing up unannounced to help out with Meals on Wheels recently he could have been studying, or working on his footwork. He apparently watches a lot of sports, too. And tweets about it. Sports! Tweets!
At his core, Cardale is a college student with an iPhone who eats at Chipotle a lot and plays video games. This makes him every college student. No wonder his teammates hate him so much.
He also finds time to maintain a very public and cheeky father/son relationship with his dad roommate Tyvis Powell, who recently told the Browns to wait until the 2016 draft to pick a quarterback so they could take his child.
So both father and son publicly engage with Cleveland sports teams. It's obvious they're related.
But imagine if they weren't so public, and spent more time studying instead of tweeting or playing grab-ass in plain sight; just imagine where they could be academ-
Last final complete, I'm officially a graduate of THE HIO STATE UNIVERSITY! And they use to say I would never..... Silly lil rabbits
— Tyvis Powell (@1Tyvis) May 1, 2015
Cadale said today he'd be the first one in his family to graduate from college. http://t.co/i5fgpDAE53
— Pete Thamel (@SIPeteThamel) January 15, 2015
Yes, Powell already has his Bachelor's degree and Cardale knows exactly what he walked away from - and why he chose to do so: he's betting on himself. He's also having the time of his life during a period in which he has unimaginable pressure for a college student.
Remember that most fascinating decision in college football drama that he chose to have a starring role in rather than go pro? In related news, Devin Smith got a nice little $2.5MM signing bonus over the weekend. Cardale could be cashing a similar check right now. He chose to wait; probably because the thought of armchair life coaches making social decisions on his behalf was too attractive to pass up.
the best football players in the country don't go to Ohio State to AVOID THE SPOTLIGHT.
When he created a new holiday last week he was poking people exactly like this in the eye. This is the same guy who openly planned to raid the White House fridge prior to meeting the President. Perhaps he should tense up, be hyper-serious and revel in the pressure of being an accidental celebrity in private. In other words - the exact opposite of who he is.
What he can't do is be stupid in public, which he already did and learned from, just as publicly. There probably isn't an Ohio State football player this century who has grown up more than Cardale Jones, and that's in large part because he had the most growing up to do.
People who get nervous about college athletes having too much fun are generally scared of something bad happening to the program. The author of Cardale Jones Needs to Step Out of the Spotlight expresses these jitters:
The NCAA has an eye on Ohio State – and everything that happens within the athletic department – like possibly no other program in the country. And I am not saying that the NCAA doesn’t have a reason, because they absolutely do.
Jones has earned and relishes attention. DeMocker/Nola.com
Many people (no one reading this column, I assure you) regularly reach deep into their own butts and dig out interesting thoughts to share. The ominous NCAA warning above has all the markings and rich aromas of having been pulled out of these fabled Hot Takes Fecal Mines.
Here are some stubborn facts I gathered without digging into anyone's rectum:
- Ohio State football is not currently on probation or being investigated.
- The NCAA has an eye on everyone. That's what it does.
- OSU AD Gene Smith was recently honored with National Association for Athletics Compliance Organizational Leadership Award, for "demonstrating outstanding commitments to promoting compliance within (Ohio State) and on a national level."
But but but
Ohio State self-reported 22 violations in the first half of the 2014 calendar year, with six of those stemming from the football program.
Yes, it's true. Here are the details of the only serious football one, which is the sole violation that came with sanctions:
That violation stemmed from a football recruit’s visit to the university from Dec. 13 to 15, 2013. The prospect and his parents, who are separated, were each reserved their own hotel room during the visit. The OSU football staff was unaware of the fact that the player’s mother chose not to attend the visit, and so the prospect’s brother checked into the room instead.
It's got death penalty written all over it. If only Cardale had just avoided the spotlight.
Leave that kind of attention-grabbing to his head coach, who has been everywhere, recruiting infants and having body parts removed. Or his backfield mate Ezekiel Elliott who both visited his hometown and skipped a Reds game in favor of attending a stats class - while garnering consideration for a Nobel Prize - all in plain sight.
Cardale CHOSE SCHOOL OVER THE NFL. HE'S BETTING ON HIMSELF TO BE GREAT IN THE BRIGHTEST SPOTLIGHT.
Or Joel Hale, who's planning to drop a mixtape soon. Or Braxton Miller, who ventures into the heart of the South in a far more gentle way than Elliott ever did - and is about to do it again with Elliott.
Or Joey Bosa, who goes to hockey games and spies on people texting about him. Or any other Ohio State football player who dares to venture out of the library to mingle socially with fellow students only to be misidentified as other Ohio State football players.
Jones is not about to suddenly become shy or bashful.
The point is the best football players in the country don't go to Ohio State to live under the radar. They deliberately choose Columbus to be in the spotlight. Meyer specifically wants players and coaches who relish competition and pressure.
If you peer outside the bubble of Ohio State football you'll quickly realize that there are no similar complaints about players enjoying the spotlight too much in places like Iowa, Iowa State, West Virginia, Iowa State again, Ole Miss, Arkansas, Arkansas, Alabama, Alabama, Alabama, Alabama or Auburn.
Try and figure out why that is. Those fans wish their players tweeting about burritos or at the Cleveland Indians was cause for concern. The spotlight isn't bad - especially if you have easy access to it and are equipped to handle the pressure, which 3-0 Cardale Jones appears to be.
Sure, it might make some people nervous, but if you're one of those shy or hyper-cautious types you can make decisions on how public you want to be for yourself. That's because Don't Be Too Interesting isn't a bumper sticker someone like Jones will ever apply to his life.
And if that makes you uncomfortable, it's not his problem.
