Ohio State Buckeyes

Ohio State QB Cardale Jones says he plans to enter NFL Draft

Published Dec. 30, 2015 2:41 p.m. ET

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Ohio State quarterback Cardale Jones confirmed the suspicions of many Wednesday, telling reporters at Fiesta Bowl media day he plans to enter the 2016 NFL Draft.

"I want to be remembered for the positive things I did here," he said as the seventh-ranked Buckeyes prepare to face No. 8 Notre Dame on New Year's Day. "I think I had more ups and downs. I think I'm going to leave a pretty good legacy here."

In November, Jones tweeted he had played his last game at Ohio Stadium after the Buckeyes lost to Michigan State in their home finale, but he had not specified whether he would enter the draft or transfer.

At 6-foot-5 and 250 pounds with a rocket right arm, Jones fits the profile of an NFL quarterback, but he will leave college likely having started only 11 games.

He is 11-0 as a starter, a run that began last year when he helped the Buckeyes to victories in the Big Ten championship game over Wisconsin and then in the College Football Playoff against Alabama and Oregon.

He started the first eight games of this season but was benched at times in several games for ineffective play.

J.T. Barrett -- a sophomore who started the first 12 games for the Buckeyes last season before his injury opened the door for Jones' historic postseason run -- started the last four games of the season and by all appearances is the Buckeyes' starter long term.

Though he has a year of eligibility left, Jones is already more than four years removed from high school after spending the fall of 2011 at a prep school and redshirting at Ohio State in 2012.

He is on track to graduate in June and could have played immediately at another school as a graduate transfer, but said that was never an option.

"My heart is at Ohio State," he said. "I would come back and sit another year before I would transfer to any school."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.