CLEVELAND -- As Drake's "Started from the Bottom" blared from speakers, local public figures in suits glad-handed and Cardale Jones emerged 15 minutes late in a gray "12 Gauge Buckshot" T-shirt, this was a spectacle that the quarterback admitted didn't have to be.

The national championship-winning QB is going back to Ohio State. At least some of the few hundred people inside Ginn Academy's auditorium expected the opposite.

"I don't know why you guys made such a big deal," Jones said jokingly, minutes after bypassing the NFL draft late Thursday, the deadline for NFL hopefuls to declare. "Like I said, it was very simple for me."

The 6-foot-5, 250-pound redshirt sophomore teased NFL draft enthusiasts with the announcement of a 4 p.m. ET news conference, and he warned on social media that a "life-changing decision" was looming. Logic said Jones would test the NFL, which, according to Jones, had second-round or late-first-round potential based on feedback from Ohio State coaches and Ted Ginn Sr., for whom Jones' high school was named.

Sure, Jones left money on the table. For comparison, a late-second-round quarterback from last year's draft, New England's Jimmy Garoppolo, got a contract with $1.1 million guaranteed and a bonus of $853,744.

Not A Passing Fancy This is the sixth time in the past seven seasons that the QB who won the national title returned the next season. Returned? Cardale Jones

(Ohio State, 2014) Yes Jameis Winston

(FSU, 2013) Yes AJ McCarron

(Alabama, 2012) Yes AJ McCarron

(Alabama, 2011) Yes Cam Newton

(Auburn, 2010) No Greg McElroy

(Alabama, 2009) Yes Tim Tebow

(Florida, 2008) Yes -- ESPN Stats & Information

Jones' name might never be hotter. He's fresh off a stellar three-game run through the Big Ten championship, Allstate Sugar Bowl semifinal and College Football Playoff National Championship Presented by AT&T, amassing 742 passing yards and six total touchdowns (one rushing) on the way to Ohio State's first title since after the 2001 season. Jones played in place of the injured J.T. Barrett, who played most of the regular season in place of preseason Heisman Trophy candidate Braxton Miller.

As of now, all are scheduled to return, which paints an explosive but muddled quarterback picture in Columbus.

Coach Urban Meyer, in an appearance on "The Late Show with David Letterman" that is scheduled to air Friday night, said nothing to clear it up.

"We're digging into some pretty serious stuff here," was all he would say when Letterman asked about the QB plans for 2015.

Ginn said a Thursday morning visit from Meyer and offensive assistants Ed Warinner and Tim Beck "meant a lot" to Jones. The visit lasted about an hour and a half, and helped Jones finalize his decision.

Jones wants to be an NFL quarterback but wants the "time to be right" -- he wants to be a college graduate first.