Is Landry Jones second-team All-America of third-team All-Big 12?
Published: 5/31/2012 8:36 AM
Last Modified: 5/31/2012 12:26 PM
Athlon has ranked Oklahoma No. 5 in its preseason college football top 25. No surprise there, since the Sooners sit behind USC, Alabama, LSU and Oregon in just about every other early-summer poll as well.
Much more interesting is Athlon's preseason Big 12 quarterback rankings. Geno Smith of West Virginia is No. 1. That shouldn't be too big of a surprise. Smith is a terrific talent you'll enjoy watching during the Mountaineers' maiden Big 12 voyage.
The double-taker is at 2 and 3 – Collin Klein of Kansas State followed by the Sooners' Landry Jones. Klein is the toughest player in the conference, if not the country, who has done nearly as much to restore K-State's shine as Bill Snyder. He is also a glorified fullback.
Jones is a potential Heisman Trophy candidate on target to become a first-round NFL draft pick. He just made Phil Steele's second-team All-America squad. He's on a few other preseason All-America squads.
And yet here, he is essentially third-team All-Big 12 behind a guy who threw for 2,545 fewer yards last season.
It doesn't add up… Until you read the fine print put together by Athon's Steven Lassan and Braden Gall. They remind you that Jones' completion percentage dropped and interception rate rose from his sophomore to junior year. They remind you that Jones is .500 in true road games as a starter. They remind you what you don't need reminding – how Jones fell off the statistical map after Ryan Broyles went down late last season.
It is a paragraph that sort of sums up how mystifying OU's senior quarterback can be. From second-team All-American to third-team all-conference? Well, yeah. Depending on your criteria, you could actually make that case.
Written by
Guerin Emig
Sports Writer
