Cardale Jones’ Teammates Joke About His Decision to Stay at Ohio State

Cardale Jones became an improbable hero on Monday when the third-string quarterback led Ohio State to a national championship over Oregon. Though Jones went from mostly unknown to NFL contender in a few short months, he surprised many Thursday by opting not to enter the NFL draft and spend another year in Ohio.

But Jones’ teammates wouldn’t let him get away with his announcement without poking some fun at the new star. The redshirt sophomore scheduled a news conference at his Cleveland high school at 4 p.m. to explain why he was staying put. Before, during and after the conference, his teammates gleefully tweeted about Jones’ miniature version of LeBron’s “The Decision.” Jones’ roommate and teammate Tyvis Powell kicked off the Twitter frenzy:

Then came the inevitable LeBron comparisons:

As Jones walked up to the podium to make his announcement at 4:15 p.m., Drake’s “Started From the Bottom” began playing in the gymnasium.

During the conference, Jones said he plans to study financial planning and pursue that career when he’s done playing football, prompting this two-part tweet from his roommate:

With teammates like these, it’s no wonder Jones didn’t want to leave college early.