Cardale Jones is taking his next football step on the high school sideline.
The former Ohio State quarterback, who helped lead the Buckeyes to a championship, has joined Staples High School in Westport, Connecticut, as the varsity team’s new quarterbacks coach. It’s an unusual time of year to land a coaching job at the prep level, but Staples is in a different spot than most programs. The Wreckers don’t open their 2026 season until Sept. 10 against Westhill High School, so Jones is arriving before the games start.
For Staples, it’s a major addition. Jones brings a resume that stretches well beyond college glory.
He was a star recruit, an NFL practice squad player who appeared in one game for Buffalo in 2016, and he also spent time in the XFL, CFL and IFL. He’s currently an analyst for CBS Sports.
His name still carries real weight in college football circles because of what happened at Ohio State.
Jones played for the Buckeyes from 2013 to 2015, appearing in 23 games and throwing for 2,209 yards and 13 touchdowns with seven interceptions. He also ran for four scores.
But his legend was built in 2014, when he began the season buried on the depth chart behind Braxton Miller and J.T. Barrett.
Then the path cracked open. Miller was sidelined before the season with an injury.
Barrett stepped in and emerged as a Heisman Trophy candidate, only to break his ankle in the fourth quarter of the regular-season finale against Michigan. That pushed Jones into the starting role for the Big Ten Championship Game, where he led Ohio State to a 59-0 rout of No.
11 Wisconsin.
He followed that with his second college start against No. 1 Alabama in the Sugar Bowl and helped the Buckeyes pull out a 42-35 win. Ohio State’s run ended with a 42-20 victory over Oregon in the College Football Playoff national championship game, where Jones completed 16 of 23 passes for 242 yards, one touchdown and one interception, and added 38 rushing yards and a score.
Now that kind of experience is heading to Staples, a program that already has plenty of its own bragging rights. The Wreckers are a multi-time CIAC state championship team, and their quarterbacks just picked up a coach who’s been through the biggest stages the sport has to offer.
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