DALLAS >> Ohio State’s Cardale Jones gingerly folded his 6-foot, 5-inch, 250-pound frame into a telephone-booth-sized interview stand Saturday at the College Football Playoff National Championship media day and somebody marveled at how quarterbacks have grown.

But for all his break-the-mold size, the real growth in the Buckeyes’ starting quarterback has been in maturity.

"He’s really grown up here, especially the last couple of weeks, his practice routine and his attention to detail is off the charts right now," Ohio State coach Urban Meyer marveled.

That the Buckeyes would be in Monday’s title game against Oregon without it is doubtful. 

Jones came off the bench out of last-resort necessity Nov. 29 against Michigan and has gone on to lead Ohio State to the Big Ten championship, 59-0 over Wisconsin, and manage the 42-35 upset of Alabama in the national semifinals.

Jones’ talent, including a throwing arm that teammates say can propel a football 85 yards, was never in doubt. The question that hung over him since arriving in Columbus in 2012 was maturity.

As Jones puts it, "I got pretty well known on campus for that stupid tweet  — ‘Why should we have to go to class if we came here to play FOOTBALL, we ain’t come to play SCHOOL classes are POINTLESS’" — he posted as a freshman.

That he started this season off third on the quarterback depth chart did little to inspire confidence that he had made significant progress. "It was very tough having two guys in front of you. It was tough to stay positive," Jones acknowledged.

The breakthrough came when a season-ending ankle injury to J.T. Barrett, the second starter at the position to depart, thrust Jones into the starting job. "It was a wake-up call, one that he needed," said his roommate, safety Tyvis Powell. "It got him back on track."

Suddenly, with a season on the line, he was looked at to be a leader. First, though, he had to lead himself. Quickly he began spending more time on video study and became more painstaking in his practice preparation. 

"Overnight he took a more serious and more focused approach to the game," Powell said. "He became the leader that we knew he could be, that we needed. It was a great thing to see."

The eye opener, Meyer said, came in an early series against Wisconsin when, after making a mistake, Jones came off the field and told his coach, "That one is on me" and went about correcting it.

In addition to providing leadership, Jones has given the Buckeyes’ offense a new, deeper dimension. His ability to rifle the ball deep makes it tougher for defenses that tend to sit back and try to keep everything in front.

These days, Jones will tell you he has stepped into another dimension as well and is recognized on campus for being a leader. 

"I get stopped by people for autographs. People want to take their pictures with me," Jones said. "It’s unreal. It’s like a movie or a book. I pinch myself. I can’t pinch myself any harder. (If it’s a dream), I don’t want to wake up."

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com or 529-4820.