Cardale Jones announced Thursday afternoon that he will remain a student-athlete at Ohio State for the 2015 football season. The redshirt sophomore, having been three years removed from high school, was eligible to enter April’s NFL Draft in Chicago, and many analysts were talking about his draft stock being extremely high. However, Jones will be back with the Buckeyes for at least one more year.

This has been a six-month whirlwind for the Cleveland native. At the start of the Buckeyes’ preseason camp, Jones was the third-string quarterback, behind Braxton Miller and J.T. Barrett. When Miller was injured before the season opener against Navy, Jones moved into the second-string role, and came on to see Ohio State past Michigan after Barrett suffered an injury. Through three games as a starter, he has led the Buckeyes to a Big Ten championship, a national championship, and overcame struggles in his last two games to lead his team to victory. On Thursday, he became the focus of the nation’s sports media, announcing his intentions in a manner somewhat similar to LeBron James in 2010.

Tyvis Powell, Jones’ roommate and the defensive MVP from Monday’s national championship game, took to Twitter to express his feelings about the decision:

With Jones staying in Columbus, the main question about Ohio State will be who the starting quarterback is come September. Jones never said during Thursday’s conference that he was the guaranteed the starting role by head coach Urban Meyer. This offseason will be one to watch as the Buckeyes compete for a second straight title.

Ohio State opens the 2015 season on September 7 (Labor Day) at Virginia Tech.