Landry Jones has grown a lot since his freshman year.

Gone is the immaturity and inexperience.

What remains is a seasoned veteran, a fifth-year senior that has started all but one game during his tenure at Oklahoma.

“I think maturity, maturity as a leader,” Jones said in an email through OSU communications. “Really getting in and running the offense more. … I think being a young player and not having played in a college game, you don’t realize the speed and there’s so much emotion that goes into it.”

In 2009, after a redshirt season, Jones was thrown immediately into the fire. In the first game of that season against Brigham Young, reigning Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford injured his shoulder. Jones was a pedestrian 6-for-12 with 51 yards in the game as the then-No. 3 Sooners fell to the Cougars 14-13.

Bradford missed the entire season before going No. 1 overall in the 2010 NFL draft. Meanwhile, Jones had a season with plenty of highs mixed in with plenty of lows.

But the experience of playing for a national power as a freshman and being rushed into the spotlight was invaluable for Jones.

Over the next two seasons, Jones became one of the nation’s top quarterbacks. The signal-caller has dotted preseason Heisman Trophy watches in each season since that freshman year.

But even those seasons could be viewed as disappointments.

Last season, Jones was expected to make a leap. He had two full seasons of experience behind him, but Jones cooled down after an excellent start, and Oklahoma failed to qualify for a Bowl Championship Series game.

Jones was still viewed by many as a first-round pick, but the quarterback opted to remain in Norman, Okla.

“When I tried to make the decision on whether I would stay or whether I would leave for my senior season, I kind of went back and forth after the season,” Jones said. “Then, after my bowl game, I kind of prayed about it and felt like that’s what the Lord wanted me to do is come back and play my senior year. Just be a senior and get to be with this team one more year and go after a national championship.”

Now, a leap is once again expected out of Jones. The combination of tools and experience is certainly there for Jones to live up to his first-round billing and Heisman hype. Jones also spent this offseason adding another weapon to his versatile arsenal.

“I think mobility is something that I really kind of worked on,” Jones said at a news conference. “Moving around in the pocket and being able to throw on the run and in tighter spaces is definitely some things I kind of focused on this offseason.”

Jones’ teammates have noticed his progression, and that’s instilled a new level of confidence in the senior.

“I’m very confident in Landry just from how much he’s worked,” offensive lineman Gabe Ikard said. “Footwork, throwing the ball, everything is better. All the confidence in the world in him.”

But it’s not just his level of play that inspires his teammates. Jones is assuming more of a leadership role than ever before.

He was elected as one of the team’s four captains during the preseason, a role he’s embracing.

“I haven’t really noticed it much, but obviously the guys have been noticing it,” Jones said. “I think it is just confidence and knowing kind of what you want and setting those expectations.”

Part of the example Jones sets comes through his willingness to sacrifice for the team.

At times last season, head coach Bob Stoops would remove Jones from the lineup in short-yardage situations in favor of Blake Bell.

At 6 feet 6 inches tall and 254 pounds, “The Belldozer” was used in a pseudo-Wildcat role last season to pick up small chunks of yardage for first downs in key situations.

“I think Landry would like to stay in,” Stoops said at a news conference. “But that’s not his style to run the power, to run the counter. Blake just has a better feel for running up in there in tight spots. I don’t want to see Landry do it, to be quite honest with you. Landry isn’t 250, 260 pounds.”

Jones echoes the same sentiments as his coach, but overall, he’s mature about the whole situation.

“As a leader and as a competitor you want to be a guy that leads your team into the end zone, so yes, it is a little frustrating to come off the field to do those things,” Jones said. “But, like I said, at the end of the day we are out to win the game.”

And that’s Jones’ only goal.

During his redshirt season, Jones watched Bradford and Oklahoma fall to Tim Tebow and Florida in the national championship. In each of the three seasons Jones has started since, Oklahoma has slipped during the regular season and blown its chance at the national championship.

Finally getting there is all Jones wants, even if it means he won’t be on the field to do it.

“We’ve had some success around this place being a quarterback, but we haven’t been able to get to that big game.” Jones said. “We’ve had some stumbles and usually the regular season, that keeps us from that.

“So that’s a stepping stone that I want to take and I want to be able to accomplish in my career.”

Game of the Week

No. 8 Michigan vs. No. 2 Alabama at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

Without a doubt, the marquee matchup of college football’s opening weekend. The reigning national champions get an immediate test with Michigan coming off its most successful season in five years with a Sugar Bowl victory over Virginia Tech.

Heisman Trophy candidate Denard Robinson also has an excellent chance to take an early lead in the Heisman race with a big performance against one of the nation’s top defenses.

For Alabama, it could just be one step on the way to the national championship. For most programs, the turnover that the Crimson Tide went through since the end of last season would be cause for a rebuilding season.

 

 

Published on August 30, 2012 at 2:42 am

Contact David: dbwilson@syr.edu | @DBWilson2