SandyMalonePort Clinton, OH – A National Football League (NFL) quarterback and Ohio State legend has become an honorary sheriff’s deputy in Ottawa County.
Cardale Jones, a current Los Angeles Charger and former Ohio State Buckeye, was about to be fitted with his own official sheriff’s deputy uniform.
“Cardale will be helping us to make sure we have the bond with our young people,” Ottawa County Sheriff Steve Levorchick told the Port Clinton News Herald. “They don’t want to hear from a 55-year-old sheriff, but they’ll listen to Cardale.”
Jones was in Elliston on Friday to speak as the guest-of-honor at a church’s father-son dinner.
He was sworn in to the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office last summer, and his duties include representing the sheriff’s department at special events, and assisting in youth outreach projects, Sheriff Levorchick said.
“When he shows up in a sheriff’s office uniform instead of a football uniform, they’re going to realize cops aren’t necessarily all bad,” the sheriff said. “What a great ambassador to have for the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office.”
Jones is best known for leading The Ohio State University Buckeyes to a national championship as their third string quarterback in 2014.
As a sophomore, he was called on to step in for an injured J.T. Barrett during the Big Ten Championship that year, and went on to lead the Buckeyes to win the first-ever College Football Playoff for the National Championship title.
He graduated from Ohio State and was picked by the Buffalo Bills in the 4th round of the 2016 NFL Draft. Jones was traded to the Los Angeles Chargers in 2017.
This was not the first time a professional athlete has put on a law enforcement uniform
NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal became a reserve officer in 2015 with the Doral Police Department in Florida with largely the same responsibilities as are being assigned to Jones. O’Neal also served as a reserve officer for Miami Beach and Golden Beach in Florida, Tempe, Arizona, and the Port of Los Angeles, ESPN reported.