M-Borg vs. THE Flavortown U Thread, Orig. by Buckeye Paul, absconded w/by talent.

[Hannibal]

Jones's best bet is to stay at OSU for four years and then try and go the Russell Wilson route, unless he beats out JTB for the starting job. If Jones leaves early then it would involve a staggering amount of stupidity on somebody's part -- either his for leaving early or an NFL team for drafting him high enough to make it worth his while.

[iam416]

I think Jones should stay. But, at the same time, I think an NFL team may take a 3rd or 4th round flier on him. It only takes one. That's roughly $500K signing bonus and a $2-3M contract. However, that pick would be purely talent-based and his talent ain't going anywhere, even if UFM decided that JTB or Braxton is a better fit for the OSU system.

But, I think he should stay. Unfortunately, if he stays then that actually raises a possibility that Braxton may transfer. If Cardale declares, Miller is 100% back, IMO. If Cardale stays it might only be 80%.

From an OSU perspective, I'd rather have Cardale than Braxton right now. Miller's shoulder is still in rehab and he really won't have a chance to start throwing until summer. And then, who knows where his should is? And even if he recovers, his injury history suggests he may not make it through the season. Now, I'd take a healthy Braxton over Cardale all day, but that's where we stand right now.

[iam416]

This is from the O-Zone and the points about Savage and Logan Thomas really solidify my opinion that he'd go no lower than the 4th round.

If you are supposed to strike while the iron is hot, then there is no hotter iron right now than Ohio State quarterback Cardale Jones.

Just days after finishing out the most improbable three-game stretch of football that you may ever see, Jones now has to decide whether to cash in on his new-found fame and declare for the NFL Draft, or stick it out in college and fight for a starting spot that he has still never been able to win at Ohio State.

It may not be a popular opinion here in Columbus, but you can go ahead and put me in the camp that says Jones needs to emphatically strike that red-hot iron and declare himself eligible for the 2015 NFL Draft.

So he hasn't gone through an entire season as a starter, so what? He's played three of the four best teams on Ohio State's schedule, and done very well, so why don't you go ahead and project that out against a Cincinnati or an Indiana if that makes you feel better.

ESPN's NFL Draft experts Mel Kiper and Todd McShay have suggested that Jones could be drafted anywhere from the second to fourth round, and that's just based on what they've seen from him to this point.

Just imagine when he gets to throw in a combine environment. His arm is basically the quarterback equivalent of Ted Ginn's mystical 40-yard dash.

Kiper has said that Jones would be the No. 3 quarterback in this draft. If that is true, then this is an absolute no-brainer for Jones. The last time the third quarterback drafted wasn't taken in the top three rounds was 1997, when Danny Wuerffel was the third pick of the fourth round (No. 99 overall).

And let's not pretend like being drafted 99th overall is a slap in the face. Look at former Rutgers and Pitt quarterback Tom Savage, who was drafted in the fourth round last year at No. 135 overall. He signed a four-year contract worth $2.5 million total, with a $300,000 signing bonus.

Savage had a ton of film to scrutinize, and there was plenty not to like. But the NFL was still intrigued by his big arm.

There is an even better example to examine in former Virginia Tech quarterback Logan Thomas. Thomas, physically, looks the part. He is 6-foot-6 and 250 pounds, and has the ability to run a bit. He is very similar to Jones in that regard.

Thomas went 15 spots higher than Savage, and this was after throwing 39 interceptions over his final three seasons in Blacksburg. And he's making more than Savage this season.

The NFL thinks that they can turn anybody with a big arm into a professional quarterback, and they're willing to pay those kinds of players millions of dollars to be proven wrong.

Just imagine what they're thinking about Jones.

Watching Monday night's game between Oregon and Ohio State, which quarterback looked like the possible No. 1 overall pick in the draft to you? Cardale Jones or Marcus Mariota?

It has been said that if Jones comes back for another season, he could possibly play his way into a Top 5 spot in the draft overall, which would bring him a contract of around four years and $19 million total.

Or it could bring him another season of backing up one — or two — of his OSU teammates.

Jones himself has said he is not ready for the NFL, which is why leaving now makes more sense than leaving a year from now.

Right now, no NFL team would draft him with designs on him being their starter in 2015 or maybe even 2016. But you'd have 30-odd teams that wouldn't mind seeing what he could do in 2017 after two years of seasoning.

That's the kind of pressure that somebody who isn't ready for the NFL could handle.

Look at the other possibility mentioned — he comes back to Ohio State, lights it up, and is a Top 5 pick in the 2016 NFL Draft. If that happens, there isn't going to be much of a seasoning period. That doesn't happen anymore. He will be asked to step in and battle for a starter's job immediately.

That's a lot to ask for from a guy who still may not be as mature as he needs to be.

Or maybe he comes back, is once again a backup, and then faces the same decision that is currently in front of him. Only by then, he will have missed out on the $600,000 that he could have made in 2015.

[froot loops]

His situation is a conundrum, he needs reps and games. He's not guaranteed that if he stays, goes to the NFL or transfers. It's hard to develop in the NFL as a project. You get no reps.

[Hannibal]

If I were an owner and my GM picked Jones with anything but the last pick, I would walk down to the war room and fire him immediately.

Jones has first round measurables and updside. He should find a starting spot somewhere in college. At OSU if he can, somewhere else if he can't.

[froot loops]

Understand that if you were the owner of the team, you'd probably be in the war room. Thus it would save you the effort of having to walk there. A 3rd day pick would be fine for Jones.

[iam416]

The word is no decision, yet, but Cardale is leaning heavily to staying. And that's consistent with his own assessment yesterday when he said he wasn't ready for the NFL.

Won't have to wait a great deal longer to resolve this QB quandry. Then it's on to whether Braxton transfers or not.

[iam416]

Heh. This is pretty good and ought to be the view of all M fans: http://www.everydayshouldbesaturday....national-title

[hodgkal]

I can't match the creativity of that guy but his take on the game matches mine. As the game started I literally did not know which team I was for. But after just one play all doubt disappeared. In fact I cannot remember when I ever favored Ohio State in a FB game. I may support the Big Ten but I hate Ohio State more.

All that professed ambivalence among the faithful prior to the game reminds me of the hidden racism among "liberals" now being exposed by scientific studies.

[hack]

LOL! Well, it's a generational thing. That's why it's important not to hide our hatred of Ohio State or pretend it doesn't exist. If we hide our hatred how will our children understand how to grow up properly hating Ohio State?

[hack]

I can't match the creativity of that guy but his take on the game matches mine.

For the record, she's a she. Read this: http://mgoblog.com/content/hold-0. That is the spirit of it all. Nails it. She's in her mid-20s. In another era, she hooks on with a sports section somewhere and has a great career channelling that passion and talent into columns fans love to read. Give that talent a classic playoff run to write about and she'll win awards. Instead, today, she's slogging through in DC as a freelancer. Is a shame. She's awfully good, but journalism doesn't have very many places anymore to put people like her where she can shine and make an honest living at the same time.

[Hannibal]

Re: Jones

How many examples are there of guys who left too early and fucked up by doing it? How many examples are there of guys who made a mistake by staying? In all of my years I can only think of one -- Tyrone Wheatley. He should have left early. There might be examples of guys who didnt benefit from staying but I can't think of them off the top of my head.

Look at all of the quality NFL QBs over the past 20 years. How many of them didn't play four years in college? There are some outliers here and there but by and large, the NFL is a vast wasteland for guys who decide to leave early. Especially if they don't have a few years of starting experience ala Ben Roethlisberger or Matt Ryan. Meanwhile, some very not physically gifted guys like Drew Brees have had really good careers. The NFL is not a place to go if you aren't ready. You either need to be a senior or you need to be a robot who started as a freshman and got tons of reps.

I want Cardale to leave early so that OSU loses a good player but the guy really needs to stay.

[iam416]

As the game started I literally did not know which team I was for. But after just one play all doubt disappeared.

You're a proper fan, Doc.

She's awfully good, but journalism doesn't have very many places anymore to put people like her where she can shine and make an honest living at the same time.

Yeah, her best bet is to hook on with a Michigan blog or something. Though I suspect she can write about much more, it seems to me the best writing springs from passion, and she certainly is passionate about M.

She reminds me of Ramzy from 11W.

Look at all of the quality NFL QBs over the past 20 years. How many of them didn't play four years in college? There are some outliers here and there but by and large, the NFL is a vast wasteland for guys who decide to leave early. Especially if they don't have a few years of starting experience ala Ben Roethlisberger or Matt Ryan. Meanwhile, some very not physically gifted guys like Drew Brees have had really good careers. The NFL is not a place to go if you aren't ready.

I'm with you, Hanni. I agree. And I think he will come back (he may declare today, but he has 3 days to pull his name out of that hat and return). His talent isn't going anywhere. Whether he plays or not, he'll still have a goddamn cannon for an arm an still be a rhinoceros in the backfield. I think the biggest thing he needs to show NFL guys is maturity. Things were really dicey with him as late as, well, this season. He's managed to grow up a bit over 3 games, but I think he needs to display that for a full season.

[hack]

From a football perspective that's very compelling. From a financial one, not so much. A year from now it very well may be clear to everyone in the world that Meyer could platoon the two trained monkeys who post as iam416 and still have the same success, and back off Jones. Right now the focus is on his arm, size and ability to perform under pressure. He could transfer somewhere that's a poor fit with a bad offense and flunk out. He's got one shot at signing a multi-million dollar contract.

[hack]

Ramzy's pretty damn good too. Of course as a writer it's really all about your material, and Coaston's is just so much richer in comparison. You wonder what Ramzy could do as a writer if he had a worthwhile beat.