Ducks’ Mariota and Buckeyes’ Jones took unlikely paths to CFP title game

On Monday, Oregon's Marcus Mariota and Ohio State's Cardale Jones will face off in the first-ever College Football Playoff National Championship game. But while the two quarterbacks are just a win away from a title, neither was projected to achieve gridiron greatness when they were high school recruits.

The two signal callers were not heavily recruited, and there was legitimate doubt about the Power Five conference potential of Jones and Mariota at various points in their recruitments. Both were classified as three-star, pro-style quarterbacks in the 2011 class, with Jones coming out of Cleveland Glenville Academic Campus and Mariota from Honolulu St. Louis.

Suffice it to say, both took unlikely paths to the championship game.

 

Staying the course

Unlike several other Ohio State quarterbacks - like former starter Braxton Miller, who was ranked the No. 1 dual-threat signal caller in the 2011 class - Jones received relatively minimal recruiting attention. In fact, he didn't receive an offer from Ohio State until just days before National Signing Day.

"It didn't seem like Ohio State was serious about him until the very end of the process," Rivals.com Midwest recruiting analyst Josh Helmholdt said. "Only Toledo was recruiting him heavily that I knew of."

Publicly, in the days leading up to receiving Ohio State's offer, he stated the Buckeyes and Toledo were his top choices. Privately, LSU was an option Jones was seriously considering - especially early in the process.

"He thought LSU was at the top," Glenville assistant coach Robert Andrews said. "The way they used their quarterbacks, we felt like Cardale could fit that mold. There were times we felt LSU was the best suitor for him."

According to the Rivals.com database, nine schools offered Jones before Ohio State, including Michigan, Penn State and West Virginia. But aside from Toledo and, early on, LSU, none of the programs that extended scholarships were strongly pursuing him.

Jones had some off-field concerns and maturity issues, but Andrews believes the primary reason schools stayed away was because of a perception that Jones had his heart set on Ohio State.

"This is a guy who went to the Elite 11 and competed in the Nike 7 on 7 and went to the championship game," Andrews said. "He competed against (Teddy) Bridgewater and people knew about Jones and liked what they saw. He went head-to-head with Braxton (Miller) in Cardale's junior year and we won, like, 50-20, or something. People knew who he was.

"But it was that stage in time where everyone thought any talent at Glenville would end up at Ohio State."

The Glenville-Ohio State pipeline was established by longtime Glenville coach Ted Ginn Sr. According to the Rivals.com database, Glenville has sent 22 players to Ohio State in the nearly two decades Ginn Sr. has been there, including his son Ted Ginn Jr., Heisman winner Troy Smith, Donte Whitner and Jonathan Newsome - all of whom reached the NFL.

Andrews said that because of Ginn's relationship with then-Buckeyes coach Jim Tressel, Ohio State was the best fit, even if it meant a season at Fork Union (Va.) Military Academy and another as a red-shirt for the Buckeyes. 

"Coach Ginn felt Ohio was the best fit for Cardale because he knew coach Tressel would care for the kid," Andrews said. "Not that LSU wouldn't have cared for him, but the personal relationship between coach Ginn and Tressel was there because they'd already dealt with that situation with Troy (Smith). He wasn't heavily recruited either, same as Cardale."

So after years of recruiting Jones without extending an offer, Ohio State finally pulled the trigger. Days later, in February, 2011, Jones committed to the Buckeyes.

Though he would have to wait until 2013 to receive even limited playing time, Jones was Ohio State's starting quarterback for their two most important games of this season. He went 2-0 with wins against Wisconsin in the Big Ten championship game and Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. Now, he's one more win away from a national title in just his third career start.

Andrews said he isn't surprised that Jones has arrived at this point. He'd seen the Buckeye signal caller shine on the big stage before. Andrews recalled a USA Today Super 25 showdown between No. 22 Glenviille and No. 23 Warren Central of Indianapolis in 2010. Jones led Glenville 80 yards in the final 49 seconds for the victory.

"We saw the kid every day," Andrews said. "We watched him. We told him to just stay the course and you'll be alright. He listened and stayed the course.

 

Ducks 'loved what they saw'

While Jones flew relatively below the radar during the recruiting process, Mariota was just about unheard of.

"He was at Square One in his recruitment going into his senior year," said Rivals.com's Greg Ladky, who at the time was a recruiting analyst. "A lot of quarterbacks had a top three or were even committed. But he wasn't on anyone's radar."

The reasons Mariota wasn't gaining much attention from colleges had nothing to do with a lack of talent. Rather, it was attributable to a lack of exposure. Mariota had yet to start a varsity game heading into his senior year, so there was little tape on him. Moreover, he hadn't established a presence in the recruiting world through participating in camps on the mainland, either.

By the start of summer before his senior year, the 6-foot-4, 185-pound Mariota had received just one offer, from Memphis.

"And that was because the there was a relationship between the St. Louis staff and a coach at Memphis," Ladky said. "I don't even know if Memphis laid eyes on him."

Heading into his senior season, Mariota visited the mainland, which included trips to the Los Angeles NIKE camp, where he was one of the top quarterbacks, and to Oregon, where he toured the campus and worked out for the Ducks staff, then led by Chip Kelly.

Ladky, who attended the NIKE camp, remembers seeing Mariota struggle during his performance, but also remembers potential.

"He had created a little buzz because with some incredible numbers at a (previous) combine," Ladky said. "Then he shows up and he was OK, certainly not great. I remember what really stood out about him was having a live arm, but I felt like he was nervous because he knew it was a big day for him. It's rare that a kid from Hawaii comes to the mainland and compete, so he was probably nervous and didn't do as well as he could have."

A few months later, in June, Mariota was in Eugene for his first visit to Oregon's campus. The trip was arranged after the Ducks coaching staff attended a St. Louis practice earlier in the year and liked what they saw from Mariota. They eventually extended him an offer.

DucksSportsAuthority.com publisher A.J. Jacobson was on hand to see Mariota throw during his visit.

"The coaches had him visit because they wanted a deeper look at him, even though he'd never been a starter," Jacobson said. "They loved what they saw."

Mariota committed to Oregon shortly after returning home from his unofficial visit to Eugene. Johnny Manziel committed to Oregon a week later, but eventually flipped to Texas A&M.

Both would go on to win Heisman Trophies.

That's not something many expected Mariota could achieve when he was an unheralded high school prospect. Now, as a redshirt junior likely headed for the NFL draft as a high first-round pick, he'll try and lead the Ducks to their first-ever national title.

To do so, he'll need to outduel the Buckeyes' third-string quarterback. But Jones isn't your average third-stringer, and like Mariota, he has already exceeded expectations.