Does Cardale Jones deserve a statue at Ohio State? Urban Meyer thinks so

Urban Meyer feels Ohio State football should add another statue to the university's campus.

With a statue of Ohio State's winningest football coach Woody Hayes in front of the athletic facility bearing his name, Meyer did not mention any of the Buckeyes' former Heisman Trophy winners, players that had numbers retired or any former All-Americans enshrined in Buckeye Grove right outside Ohio Stadium.

Instead, the former Ohio State football coach mentioned a quarterback that led his team to its latest national championship.

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"To me, they ought to build a statue of Cardale Jones," Meyer said on the "All Things Covered" podcast. "Beat Wisconsin 59-0, beat Alabama and then he goes on to beat Oregon. And that's one of the greatest runs of certainly Ohio State history."

After Braxton Miller and J.T. Barrett each went down with injuries ahead of the Buckeyes' first College Football Playoff run, Jones led Ohio State to wins against Wisconsin, Alabama and Oregon, outscoring teams 143-55 to give the Buckeyes their eighth claimed national championship.

How did Cardale Jones do during Ohio State's 2014 national championship run?

Coming into the 2014 Big Ten championship with 188 passing yards and two passing touchdowns on 17 pass attempts, Jones was thrown into the fire against the Badgers.

In Ohio State's 59-0 win against Wisconsin, Jones completed 12 of his 17 pass attempts for 257 passing yards and three touchdowns, to help secure the Buckeyes' place in the first College Football Playoff.

Following up against Alabama and Oregon, Jones completed 55.2% of his passes for 485 passing yard, two touchdowns and two interceptions. He also added a touchdown rush in the national championship against the Ducks.

After his championship run, Jones split time with Barrett in 2015, throwing eight touchdowns and five interceptions in 10 games played.

 cgay@dispatch.com 

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Ohio State football schedule 2023

Here's what Ohio State's 2023 football schedule looks like.

• Sept. 2: Ohio State vs. Indiana, Memorial Stadium, Bloomington, Indiana

• Sept. 9: Ohio State vs. Youngstown State, Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio

• Sept. 16: Ohio State vs. Western Kentucky, Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio

• Sept. 23: Ohio State vs. Notre Dame, Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, Indiana

• Oct. 7: Ohio State vs. Maryland, Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio

• Oct. 14: Ohio State vs. Purdue, Ross-Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, Indiana

• Oct. 21: Ohio State vs. Penn State, Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio

• Oct. 28: Ohio State vs. Wisconsin, Camp Randall Stadium, Madison, Wisconsin

• Nov. 4: Ohio State vs. Rutgers, SHI Stadium, Piscataway, New Jersey

• Nov. 11: Ohio State vs. Michigan State, Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio

• Nov. 18: Ohio State vs. Minnesota, Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio

• Nov. 25: Ohio State vs. Michigan, Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor, Michigan

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Urban Meyer says Cardale Jones deserves statue on Ohio State campus