From the Tulsa World:
John Klein: Landry Jones is OU's unquestioned leader on offense By JOHN KLEIN Senior Sports Columnist
Published: 4/18/2012 1:38 AM
Last Modified: 4/18/2012 2:12 AM
NORMAN - There is little mystery to Oklahoma's offense.
What you've seen the past three years is pretty much what you should expect next fall.
No quarterback in OU history has started more games than Landry Jones.
If he leads Oklahoma to four victories he'll pass Steve Davis as the winningest OU quarterback, too.
Thus, this is clearly Jones' team.
The Sooners will pretty much do what Jones has been doing for three years.
Jones has started 37 games at OU, including 34 straight since taking over for the injured Sam Bradford.
Thus, there wasn't a need for Jones to do much this spring.
"We did not need to get him a whole bunch (of plays in the spring)," said OU coach Bob Stoops. "He did well."
Jones played just the first series of OU's spring football game last Saturday and he was done for the day.
In his only public appearance of the spring, Jones hit 4-of-8 passes for 23 yards. His one drive resulted in a short field goal.
"I think we are making progress," said Jones. "We made a lot of strides in the spring. Our offensive line got better.
"I think we are moving in the right direction."
Let's be honest. You don't need to see Jones in the spring game. We've already seen him in just about every situation during his career.
You know what you are going to get from him.
"I think I've gotten better this spring," said Jones. "I was able to go through my reads.
"There have been a couple of things (he learned). I am able to find a spot a little higher when I'm throwing."
Most of the spring was for his backups to jockey for position.
There's no decision on the No. 2 quarterback. Stoops seems fine moving forward without a definite No. 2 behind Jones.
Stoops said he liked what he saw from Drew Allen, Blake Bell and Kendal Thompson this spring. Allen and Bell have apparently been waging a tight battle to be the backup.
Thompson showed promise in the spring game.
But, unless something bad happens, OU's offense revolves around Jones.
Jones has already passed two Heisman Trophy winners (Sam Bradford and Jason White) in passing yards and passing touchdowns.
He'll have a chance to start knocking on the door of Big 12 records this fall.
OU offensive coordinator Josh Heupel believes Jones can get better.
"He's been working on being more consistent," said Heupel. "He's been working on being more of a leader.
"I believe he can continue to get better."
Stoops knows everything he needs to know about Jones. No quarterback in OU history has started more games for Oklahoma than Jones.
If Jones had elected to come out this spring for the NFL draft, most believe he would have been a first-round pick.
Jones certainly would have been in the discussion to be picked high in the draft after Stanford's Andrew Luck and Baylor's Robert Griffin III.
So, the expectations for Jones will again be high. He has certainly shown signs of brilliance. He's also had some notable mistakes.
Still, OU knows it will likely get a very high level of play at quarterback next fall.
Stoops believes others around Jones will be better, too.
"Our offensive line made a significant improvement (this spring)," said Stoops. "That just comes with experience and maturity."
Trey Metoyer's emergence at wide receiver should help veterans like Kenny Stills.
"Kenny has been solid all spring," said Stoops.
Oklahoma will be the preseason choice to win the Big 12 Conference and be a national title contender.
Much of that optimism rides on the arm of Jones.
If he performs at a high level, and gets help from those around him, then OU has a chance for a big season.
Read more from this Tulsa World article at
www.tulsaworld.com/sportsextra/article.aspx?subjectid=203&articleid=20120418_203_B1_NRAhrs801995