By GUERIN EMIG Sports Writer on Oct 19, 2012, at 11:00 AM Updated on 10/19 at 11:00 AM
OU SPORTS
Cornerback Aaron Colvin returned for his senior year at Oklahoma to win some games, win some awards and put himself in prime ...
Keeping with the Big 12 vs. SEC theme of the week, I found something pretty cool from a year ago, when the two conferences ...
We're still more than a year and a half from the first College Football Playoff, and the first CFP selection committee, and ...
It's just one draftnik's opinion, but if you consider Todd McShay's assessment of Landry Jones, you begin to think the Oklahoma quarterback would have been better off turning pro after his junior season. As it relates to his football future, anyway.
I asked McShay about Jones on an ESPN conference call this morning. Here, word for word, was the response:
"Landry is on a roller coaster ride. I went back and looked just to remind myself what it was that I fell in love with initially with his game. At one point he had won 11 straight games and had won a Big 12 championship and a Fiesta Bowl. And he was completing in that 11-game stretch close to 67 percent and was making a lot of plays and was distributing the ball. But he peaked then, and he has not gotten better.
"I know the last two weeks it looks like he's playing with a little more confidence. But the thing that jumps out to me with Landry Jones is he has the arm, he has the ability. Everyone talks about he's a terrible athlete. I don't 100 percent agree. He can do a little bit more, but the statistics don't agree. He can do a little bit more when there is conflict and he does have to move around.
"The bottom line is I've never seen a quarterback with his ability and his potential be so inconsistent with his confidence in the pocket. That's the whole thing. There are times when he gets back there and he gets to the top of his drop and he knows where he wants to go with the ball with his initial read and he delivers a strike. But there are a lot of times where he gets back there and maybe the defense isn't showing what he expected, and you can just see he gets the happy feet, if you will. He's not comfortable. He drifts inside the pocket, and it's almost like you're watching someone experience a panic attack. And that doesn't work.
"It's something you keep on hoping is going to click for him, and he's going to get that confidence, and he's going to understand the importance of being poised and calm and relaxed. But also determined and confident in his abilities to get it done. I haven't seen him turn that corner. You have to, at this point, with all the experience he has, wonder if it's ever going to click.
"I don't want to say I've given up on that. But I've gone from thinking he's a mid-to-late first-round prospect to dropping him all the way down to the third round. Right now, unfortunately, he's looking at maybe being the seventh or eighth quarterback taken."
Only active print or digital subscribers of the Tulsa World are allowed to post comments on stories posted to Tulsaworld.com. After you fill out the form below and click submit, your comment will be published instantly online along with your screen name.
By clicking "Submit" you are agreeing to our terms and conditions.
