Ohio State’s Cardale Jones finds focus, maturity after daughter’s birth

COLUMBUS, Ohio – During quarterback Cardale Jones’ 30-minute interview at Ohio State media day, his 9-month-old daughter, Chloe, sat on his lap, toying with his wristbands.

Although he once called her “the growler” for making normal baby noises, she had her mother watching nearby and was well-behaved.

Chloe Jones has had a calming effect on her father as well.

Jones said he’s matured since Chloe’s birth. She and his girlfriend, Jeaney Durand of Cleveland, moved Saturday to Columbus, where Durand said she will be a senior at OSU.

Asked how Chloe changed him, Jones said: “Understanding that every day you wake up everything you do is no longer just for you. I definitely want my daughter to have a 10 times better life than I had growing up. I have a chance to make that dream into a reality.”

He passed up the NFL draft, saying Sunday that “education was 80 percent of the reason.”

“I don’t think I was ready to go play in the NFL. My degree is more important than having a career in the NFL,” Jones said.

Whoever wins the battle for the starting job between Jones and J.T. Barrett will also be considered among the favorites for the Heisman Trophy, along with teammate Ezekiel Elliott. That had nothing to do with Jones’ return, he said.

“The only individual award I came back for was a degree, aside from playing for my teammates,” Jones said.

Jones went 3-0 as OSU captured the national championship in 2014, but Durand said Jones isn’t nervous about who coach Urban Meyer will pick to lead the team this season.

“I feel like it’s a little pressure because everyone’s watching because of the three games to see if he can live up to what he did,” Durand said. “I feel like he can. Cardale’s an amazing athlete and an amazing quarterback. I’m not really nervous about it; I know Cardale’s not really nervous about it.”

Jones is good friends with Barrett, and Durand said she remains unbiased.

“I love J.T. No bias at all,” she said. “J.T.’s an amazing quarterback, too. Whoever gets the spot, they earned it.”