Urban Meyer Comments on Cardale Jones' Time at Ohio State, Future in NFL, More

Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer believes quarterback Cardale Jones has the tools to be a great NFL quarterback, but that success won't come right away.

Meyer said in April whichever team takes the man who led Ohio State to the 2014 national championship will need to have a quarterbacks coach willing to be patient and "earn his trust."

"There's going to have to be a great relationship there; he's a relationship-type guy," Meyer said, per Marla Ridenour of the Akron Beacon Journal. "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."

Two years ago, Jones was a third-string quarterback thrown into the fray when QBs Braxton Miller and J.T. Barrett went down with injuries. Jones started the Big Ten Championship Game and threw for 257 yards and three touchdowns.

Known as the Ohio State quarterback who tweeted "we ain't come to play school" (h/t ESPN.com), Jones led Ohio State to wins over Alabama and Oregon to win the national championship in the first-ever College Football Playoff.

Meyer even suggested Jones may benefit from being able to focus on football exclusively, per Ridenour:

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“A really good skill set, intellectual, very smart, wasn’t necessarily very good at school. 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.”

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There was much speculation that Jones would declare for the 2015 NFL draft after only starting three games, and according to Fox Sports Ohio's Zac Jackson, even an NFL executive thought he would go in the top 10 or 15 had he gone pro.

"[Scouts] all rank them 1 to 10, and we certainly do the same thing," Meyer said, per Ridenour. "His size [6'5", 253 lbs] 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."

Meyer benched Jones in the 2015 season in favor of Barrett due to inconsistencies in his game, which caused a hit to his draft stock. He has the size and arm strength that NFL coaches could work with, but his 2015 season suggests it will take time before Jones gets a shot to compete for a starting NFL job.