Post by nmsooner80 on Aug 3, 2011 6:51:45 GMT -7
Landry Jones is OU's key component
By JOHN E. HOOVER World Sports Writer
Published: 8/3/2011 2:29 AM
Last Modified: 8/3/2011 3:56 AM
NORMAN - One school of thought says a quarterback is only as good as the talent around him. A different opinion posits an offense is only as good as its quarterback.
If Oklahoma is indeed equal to its offseason hype, if the Sooners reel in the program's eighth national championship come January, OU's Landry Jones may need to do more than just use the weapons in his arsenal. He may need to win a game or two himself.
"A quarterback makes a mistake," offers OU coach Bob Stoops, "it's a lot different than someone else making it."
OU players report for football practice on Wednesday and open drills at 7 a.m. Thursday. OU is considered an early candidate for the Bowl Championship Series national title game because the offense is equipped with experienced pass-catchers and blockers and the defense is replete with veteran playmakers.
But Jones is now the Sooners' key component. He's started 24 games and already holds career records for most pass attempts (1,066), completions (666) and 400-yard games.
"He's very much in the same mold as the other great quarterbacks that we've had, and we've been fortunate to have a lot of 'em," Stoops said. "And he has the attitude, the work ethic, the humility where players love him and want to play for him. And he's got skill. He's a big guy, he's got a huge arm. He's bright."
Like former offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson said in 2009, OU coaches knew Jones had something special before he ever stepped on the field.
OK, it was just a few minutes before, in a game the Sooners would probably rather forget. But they knew.
"When I really felt it - because you don't know until they're thrown into the fire - he came out that second half of the BYU game (from) the locker room," Stoops said. "See, you can't fake it with guys who know it. Guys who have played. You can't fool a player. Players can't fool players. And as a coach, I could tell a guy, when he's real and when he isn't. And he was ready to go. He genuinely couldn't wait to get out there and, 'Let me go play, finally.' "
Stepping in for Sam Bradford in the second half of what turned into a 14-13 season-opening loss to BYU in Cowboys Stadium wasn't exactly a career highlight for Jones. Just off a redshirt season during which he questioned his faith, his morals and even his passion for football, Jones completed 6-of-12 passes for 51 yards. On the Sooners' final two drives, with chances to put the game away or win it, he hit just 3-of-8 passes and never looked comfortable.
"I remember being surprised that I was getting to play and questioning if I was ready to play," Jones said. "I remember getting in the game and being really excited."
Said Stoops: "He knew it wouldn't be easy. We didn't go in expecting this (success) to happen. But he genuinely embraced it. And I could tell, leaving the locker room, I said, 'Boy, that's encouraging.' As opposed to a guy that's, 'Oh geez, I gotta go play.' I felt it right there, that this guy was ready to go play."
The rest of Jones' redshirt freshman season had plenty of ups and downs. Two weeks later against Tulsa, he set a school record with six touchdown passes. Later in the year at Nebraska, he set a school record with five interceptions.
Last season, Jones' speed bumps came in road games, but even there he eventually learned to block out his mistakes and consistently deliver in the fourth quarter. After three first-half interceptions at Oklahoma State, he threw for 195 yards in the fourth quarter and matched Bradford's single-game record of 468 yards with four touchdowns as the Sooners clinched the South Division.
Jones then became OU's sixth Big 12-winning quarterback with a career performance against the Cornhuskers and their maximum-security defense.
"I think he's that way," Stoops said. "I think he's figured out, 'There's a lot of plays; I've got to keep playing.' "
Jones' goals for the immediate future seem overly simplistic for someone regarded among the early Heisman Trophy frontrunners.
"Learning how to continue to play this game and not riding the wave of being on the road and the highs and lows," he said. "I want to be the 'Steady Eddie' kind of guy. That's one of the deals with playing quarterback."
Read more from this Tulsa World article at www.tulsaworld.com/sportsextra/OU/article.aspx?subjectid=92&articleid=20110803_92_B1_CUTLIN331530#
By JOHN E. HOOVER World Sports Writer
Published: 8/3/2011 2:29 AM
Last Modified: 8/3/2011 3:56 AM
NORMAN - One school of thought says a quarterback is only as good as the talent around him. A different opinion posits an offense is only as good as its quarterback.
If Oklahoma is indeed equal to its offseason hype, if the Sooners reel in the program's eighth national championship come January, OU's Landry Jones may need to do more than just use the weapons in his arsenal. He may need to win a game or two himself.
"A quarterback makes a mistake," offers OU coach Bob Stoops, "it's a lot different than someone else making it."
OU players report for football practice on Wednesday and open drills at 7 a.m. Thursday. OU is considered an early candidate for the Bowl Championship Series national title game because the offense is equipped with experienced pass-catchers and blockers and the defense is replete with veteran playmakers.
But Jones is now the Sooners' key component. He's started 24 games and already holds career records for most pass attempts (1,066), completions (666) and 400-yard games.
"He's very much in the same mold as the other great quarterbacks that we've had, and we've been fortunate to have a lot of 'em," Stoops said. "And he has the attitude, the work ethic, the humility where players love him and want to play for him. And he's got skill. He's a big guy, he's got a huge arm. He's bright."
Like former offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson said in 2009, OU coaches knew Jones had something special before he ever stepped on the field.
OK, it was just a few minutes before, in a game the Sooners would probably rather forget. But they knew.
"When I really felt it - because you don't know until they're thrown into the fire - he came out that second half of the BYU game (from) the locker room," Stoops said. "See, you can't fake it with guys who know it. Guys who have played. You can't fool a player. Players can't fool players. And as a coach, I could tell a guy, when he's real and when he isn't. And he was ready to go. He genuinely couldn't wait to get out there and, 'Let me go play, finally.' "
Stepping in for Sam Bradford in the second half of what turned into a 14-13 season-opening loss to BYU in Cowboys Stadium wasn't exactly a career highlight for Jones. Just off a redshirt season during which he questioned his faith, his morals and even his passion for football, Jones completed 6-of-12 passes for 51 yards. On the Sooners' final two drives, with chances to put the game away or win it, he hit just 3-of-8 passes and never looked comfortable.
"I remember being surprised that I was getting to play and questioning if I was ready to play," Jones said. "I remember getting in the game and being really excited."
Said Stoops: "He knew it wouldn't be easy. We didn't go in expecting this (success) to happen. But he genuinely embraced it. And I could tell, leaving the locker room, I said, 'Boy, that's encouraging.' As opposed to a guy that's, 'Oh geez, I gotta go play.' I felt it right there, that this guy was ready to go play."
The rest of Jones' redshirt freshman season had plenty of ups and downs. Two weeks later against Tulsa, he set a school record with six touchdown passes. Later in the year at Nebraska, he set a school record with five interceptions.
Last season, Jones' speed bumps came in road games, but even there he eventually learned to block out his mistakes and consistently deliver in the fourth quarter. After three first-half interceptions at Oklahoma State, he threw for 195 yards in the fourth quarter and matched Bradford's single-game record of 468 yards with four touchdowns as the Sooners clinched the South Division.
Jones then became OU's sixth Big 12-winning quarterback with a career performance against the Cornhuskers and their maximum-security defense.
"I think he's that way," Stoops said. "I think he's figured out, 'There's a lot of plays; I've got to keep playing.' "
Jones' goals for the immediate future seem overly simplistic for someone regarded among the early Heisman Trophy frontrunners.
"Learning how to continue to play this game and not riding the wave of being on the road and the highs and lows," he said. "I want to be the 'Steady Eddie' kind of guy. That's one of the deals with playing quarterback."
Read more from this Tulsa World article at www.tulsaworld.com/sportsextra/OU/article.aspx?subjectid=92&articleid=20110803_92_B1_CUTLIN331530#