UTEP football: Oklahoma Sooners' Jones comes full circle - Alamogordo Daily News

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Landry Jones

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At the dawn of 2009, Oklahoma's biggest hope for freshman Landry Jones was that he wouldn't see a significant snap that season.

The Artesia, N.M., native, then behind reigning Heisman Trophy holder Sam Bradford, was a promising prospect, a Plan B for a team with goals for a second consecutive trip to the national championship game.

Then Bradford went down with a shoulder separation and Plan B ended up being a Jones-led trip to the Sun Bowl.

In college football,

four years represents a circle and that's the journey the Sooners have made since. When Jones returns to the Sun Bowl on Saturday night, he's a Heisman candidate on the No. 4 team in the country, one with the goal of playing for the championship trophy in January.

Just as Bradford, who turned down a chance to go pro after 2008, was the Sooners' leader in '09, Jones, who turned down a chance to go pro after last season, is the leader and captain now.

"I think for a quarterback, that is always a focus," Jones said. "You are always typically looked at as a leader in the offense. So I think it comes with the position. You grow into that, the more games you play and the more time you spend with the team. You grow into that position."

Coach Bob Stoops sees the growth in Jones.

"A bunch of guys this year through camp have demonstrated a lot of good leadership," he said. "Landry, with the experience and maturity he has, demonstrates it on a daily basis."

Jones' ascent has been steady. By the time he arrived in El Paso for the 2009 Sun Bowl, he was already fulfilling the promise that brought coaches from all over the country to Artesia. Though starting almost the entire season wasn't in the script, the prime time he got set a nice stage for the years to follow.

He already holds Oklahoma's career records in passing yards, attempts, completions, 300-yard games, 400-yard games, touchdown passes, total offense and starts, and with 29 victories, needs only three more to match that school record. This is for a program that recently produced Bradford, Josh Heupel and Jason White.

Jones enters the game against UTEP ranked 18th all-time in the NCAA in passing yards (12,379) and needs 60 more to catch the Miners' Trevor Vittatoe for 16th.

What has Oklahoma especially encouraged is that Jones seems even better now than he was the previous three years. "I think mobility is something I really worked on," he said. "Moving around in the pocket and being

able to throw on the run and in tighter spaces are definitely some things I focused on this offseason.

"I expect us to be a great offense. If you are not going into the year and expecting to be a great offense, then what are you really doing? So I expect us to do great and be able to run the ball and throw it around a little bit."

"He's improved," Stoops said. "He's throwing the ball really well, really accurately. I think the ball is getting there quicker. He is more mobile. He's worked hard on that all spring and summer - avoiding pressure and keeping some plays alive. I've noticed it through camp."

What hasn't changed is Jones' humility and pride in his Artesia roots. When asked how he would spend the long Saturday killing time until the 8:30 p.m. kickoff, he said he'd read his Bible.

Jones isn't a person who relishes talking about himself, but he does enjoy talking about Artesia. "It's great to have a hometown that remembers you, and it is great to have a hometown that keeps up with you and follows you throughout your career," he said. El Paso "is just three hours southwest of us, so it is not too bad of a drive. I hope a lot of people get to come out to the game.

"I never thought I would go to El Paso to play (another) football game. That is exciting and fun to be able to do."

His teammates, meanwhile, are excited to follow Jones anywhere.

"He's elevated his leadership from last year," defensive captain David King said. "For him to come back and say no to the NFL and the opportunity he had there ... he did that for the guys here. We want it to be special for him, since it's his last year.

"I wanted to be co-captain with him to learn from him and learn his leadership abilities. I'm excited for him and our offense."

In many ways, that excitement mirrors the excitement Oklahoma felt the last time they had a Heisman candidate at the controls.

Bret Bloomquist may be reached at bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; 546-6359. Follow him on Twitter @bretbloomquist.

Season opener

• What: UTEP vs. Oklahoma in the Miners season opener.
  
• When: 8:30 p.m. Saturday.
  
• Where: Sun Bowl.
  
• On TV: FOX Sports Network.
  
• On radio: KOFX-FM 92.3-FM; Maria 1650-AM (Spanish).
  
• Tickets: Range from $25 to $70 for the Oklahoma game; family packs, $198; season tickets, $60-$90.
  
• Information: 747-5234; ticketmaster.com.