Landry Jones
Encyclopedia
Landry Jones is an American football
quarterback
for the Oklahoma Sooners
.
in his hometown where he led the football team to two consecutive Class 4A state championships, throwing for a combined 7,013 yards and 89 touchdowns. As a senior in 2007, Jones threw for 3,433 yards and 45 touchdowns. Artesia won its second consecutive Class 4A championship, against Goddard High, in which Jones threw for 325 yards and seven touchdowns, a school record. Jones was later named New Mexico's 4A Player of the Year and was a finalist for the Joe Montana Quarterback of the Year Award.
Jones was a highly regarded recruit and was among the highest rated quarterbacks for the 2008 class by several ratings publishers including a four-star rating by both Scout.com
(sixth rated quarterback) and Rivals.com
(sixth rated pro-style quarterback). He was recruited by many schools including Colorado
, Oregon
, Stanford
, UCLA
, Virginia
and Wisconsin
. He later committed to Oklahoma.
, third-string quarterback Keith Nichol transferred to Michigan State
, leaving senior Joey Halzle and Jones, who was redshirt
ed his freshman year, as backups to Sam Bradford
. In 2009
, in the season opener against Brigham Young, Jones took over as the starting quarterback for the Sooners after Bradford suffered an injury to his shoulder; the Sooners went on to lose the game. However, in the next game, his first as the starter, Jones completed 18 of 32 passes for 286 yards, with three touchdowns and an interception in the Sooners 64–0 win against Idaho State
. In his second start, Jones threw a Sooner-record six touchdown passes with two interceptions in a 45–0 win against Tulsa
. Later that week, Jones was named AT&T All- America Player of the Week
.
Jones started the next game against the Miami Hurricanes due to Sam Bradford not being fully recovered from his shoulder injury. The Sooners lost the game 21-20. Jones threw for 1 TD, but also had a fumble deep in Sooner territory that resulted in a Miami score on the next play. The next week against Baylor, Sam Bradford was able to return and Landry was relegated to the backup quarterback spot once again. The Oklahoma offense was sluggish and inconsistent at times, but was easily able to beat the Bears and was looking forward to the Red River Rivalry with Texas. On the second offensive series of the game, Bradford went down again with the same shoulder injury and Landry was thrust back into action against a very stout Texas defense. Marred by turnovers and mistakes by an inexperienced offense, the Sooners lost a close battle with the Longhorns 16-13. Jones managed a TD pass to WR Ryan Broyles to tie the game in the 3rd Quarter.
Jones would become the starter for the rest of the season as Sam Bradford announced he would have season ending surgery on his shoulder and would then be leaving early for the NFL draft. With big shoes to fill, Jones slowly progressed throughout the season in wins against Kansas, Kansas State, and Texas A&M as well as some poor performances in losses to Nebraska (5 INTs) and Texas Tech. With a dominant victory over BCS-hopeful Oklahoma State, the Sooners received a bid to play in the 2009 Sun Bowl
against Stanford. Landry Jones had his best passing performance of the year with 418 yards and 3 touchdown passes to Ryan Broyles, giving the Sooners their first bowl win since 2005 and propelling the team towards an optimistic 2010 in which Landry would have a full spring and fall camp to prepare as the starting quarterback.
In 2010
, Landry Jones continued his starting job as Oklahoma's quarterback and guided the team through its first four out-of-conference victories. He would continue his dominant performance heading into the 2010 Red River Shootout, and defeated Texas
by a score of 28-20. After the strong start, Landry Jones would suffer his first setback against Missouri
by losing the game, 36-27. He would lead Oklahoma on a rebound with a few top-notch performances before suffering the second and final setback of the season against Texas A&M
. After the defeat, Landry Jones would lead the team on another rebound by winning the rest of the way, including a highly-anticipated matchup against the Oklahoma State Cowboys
in the annual Bedlam Series
. The match was settled in the last minute, but Landry Jones' incredible passing performance led Oklahoma past its in-state rival by a score of 47-41.
By rule of a tie-breaker, Oklahoma went into the Big XII Championship Game
facing its storied rival Nebraska
. After trailing by 17 points, Landry Jones led the Sooners to a comeback 23-20 victory. After the win, Oklahoma went into the Fiesta Bowl
as the champion of the Big 12 Conference
, facing Connecticut as the champion of the Big East Conference
. Oklahoma entered the game looking to break its recent streak of BCS bowl losses, while Connecticut was playing its first BCS bowl ever. Landry Jones had a great night and carried his team over Connecticut by a lopsided score of 48-20 to break the BCS bowl losing streak and to win Oklahoma's first BCS bowl since 2002.
Pro Football Hall of Fame
coach Tom Landry
.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
for the Oklahoma Sooners
Oklahoma Sooners football
The Oklahoma Sooners football program is a college football team that represents the University of Oklahoma . The team is currently a member of the Big 12 Conference, which is a Division I Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletic Association...
.
Early years
Jones attended Artesia High SchoolArtesia High School (Artesia, New Mexico)
Artesia High School is the public senior high school of Artesia, New Mexico. It is a part of the Artesia Public Schools. The colors of AHS are: Orange, Black and White, their mascot is a Bulldog. Enrollment at the school currently stands at 751....
in his hometown where he led the football team to two consecutive Class 4A state championships, throwing for a combined 7,013 yards and 89 touchdowns. As a senior in 2007, Jones threw for 3,433 yards and 45 touchdowns. Artesia won its second consecutive Class 4A championship, against Goddard High, in which Jones threw for 325 yards and seven touchdowns, a school record. Jones was later named New Mexico's 4A Player of the Year and was a finalist for the Joe Montana Quarterback of the Year Award.
Jones was a highly regarded recruit and was among the highest rated quarterbacks for the 2008 class by several ratings publishers including a four-star rating by both Scout.com
Scout.com
Scout.com is an integrated sports publishing company that produces both an Internet and print product. Scout has more than 2.1 million visitors...
(sixth rated quarterback) and Rivals.com
Rivals.com
Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting. The network was started in 1996 and currently employs more than 300 personnel.-Schools:The individual collegiate sites can be found...
(sixth rated pro-style quarterback). He was recruited by many schools including Colorado
Colorado Buffaloes football
The Colorado Buffaloes football program represents the University of Colorado at Boulder in college football at the NCAA Division I FBS level. The team is currently a member of the Pacific-12 Conference, having previously been a charter member of the Big 12 Conference. Before joining the Big 12,...
, Oregon
Oregon Ducks football
The Oregon Ducks football program is the intercollegiate American football team for the University of Oregon located in the U.S. state of Oregon. The team competes at the NCAA Division I level in the Football Bowl Subdivision and is a member of the Pacific-12 Conference. Known as the Ducks, the...
, Stanford
Stanford Cardinal football
The Stanford Cardinal football program represents Stanford University in college football at the NCAA Division I FBS level and is a member of the Pac-12 Conference's North Division. Stanford, the top-ranked academic institution with an FBS program, has a highly successful football tradition. The...
, UCLA
UCLA Bruins Football
The UCLA Bruins football program represents the University of California, Los Angeles in college football as members of the Pacific-12 Conference at the NCAA Division I FBS level. The Bruins have enjoyed several periods of success in their history, having been ranked in the top ten of the AP Poll...
, Virginia
Virginia Cavaliers
The Virginia Cavaliers, also known as Wahoos or Hoos, are the athletic teams officially representing the University of Virginia in college sports. The Cavaliers compete in 25 NCAA Division I varsity sports and are members of the Atlantic Coast Conference...
and Wisconsin
Wisconsin Badgers football
The Wisconsin Badgers are a college football program that represents the University of Wisconsin–Madison in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision and the Big Ten Conference. They play their home games at Camp Randall Stadium, the fourth-oldest stadium in college football...
. He later committed to Oklahoma.
College career
In 20082008 Oklahoma Sooners football team
The 2008 Oklahoma Sooners football team represented the University of Oklahoma in the college football season of 2008-2009. It was the 114th year of season play for the Sooners. The team was led by head coach Bob Stoops, a two-time Walter Camp Coach of the Year award winner, who has a contract...
, third-string quarterback Keith Nichol transferred to Michigan State
Michigan State Spartans football
The Michigan State Spartans football program represents Michigan State University in college football as members of the Big Ten Conference at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level...
, leaving senior Joey Halzle and Jones, who was redshirt
Redshirt (college sports)
Redshirt is a term used in American college athletics that refers to a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen his or her period of eligibility...
ed his freshman year, as backups to Sam Bradford
Sam Bradford
Samuel Jacob "Sam" Bradford is an American football quarterback for the St. Louis Rams of the National Football League. He was the first overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft, and played college football at Oklahoma. In 2008, as a redshirt sophomore, Bradford became the second sophomore to win a...
. In 2009
2009 Oklahoma Sooners football team
The 2009 Oklahoma Sooners football team represented the University of Oklahoma in the college football season of 2009-2010. It was the 115th year of season play for the Sooners. The team was led by head coach Bob Stoops, a two-time Walter Camp Coach of the Year award winner, who has a contract...
, in the season opener against Brigham Young, Jones took over as the starting quarterback for the Sooners after Bradford suffered an injury to his shoulder; the Sooners went on to lose the game. However, in the next game, his first as the starter, Jones completed 18 of 32 passes for 286 yards, with three touchdowns and an interception in the Sooners 64–0 win against Idaho State
Idaho State Bengals football
The Idaho State Bengals football program represents Idaho State University in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision . As of the end of the 2010 season they have an all-time record of 449–463–20...
. In his second start, Jones threw a Sooner-record six touchdown passes with two interceptions in a 45–0 win against Tulsa
Tulsa Golden Hurricane football
The University of Tulsa's Golden Hurricane football team represents Tulsa in Conference USA. Tulsa is currently coached by first-year head coach Bill Blankenship. The football team was coached by Todd Graham until he accepted the head coaching job at Pittsburgh....
. Later that week, Jones was named AT&T All- America Player of the Week
AT&T ESPN All-America Player
The AT&T ESPN All-America Player is a joint marketing venture between AT&T and ESPN that allows fans to select college football's player of the week and player of the year respectively. Each "vote" counts as an entry into an AT&T sweepstakes, usually for a trip to the BCS National Championship...
.
Jones started the next game against the Miami Hurricanes due to Sam Bradford not being fully recovered from his shoulder injury. The Sooners lost the game 21-20. Jones threw for 1 TD, but also had a fumble deep in Sooner territory that resulted in a Miami score on the next play. The next week against Baylor, Sam Bradford was able to return and Landry was relegated to the backup quarterback spot once again. The Oklahoma offense was sluggish and inconsistent at times, but was easily able to beat the Bears and was looking forward to the Red River Rivalry with Texas. On the second offensive series of the game, Bradford went down again with the same shoulder injury and Landry was thrust back into action against a very stout Texas defense. Marred by turnovers and mistakes by an inexperienced offense, the Sooners lost a close battle with the Longhorns 16-13. Jones managed a TD pass to WR Ryan Broyles to tie the game in the 3rd Quarter.
Jones would become the starter for the rest of the season as Sam Bradford announced he would have season ending surgery on his shoulder and would then be leaving early for the NFL draft. With big shoes to fill, Jones slowly progressed throughout the season in wins against Kansas, Kansas State, and Texas A&M as well as some poor performances in losses to Nebraska (5 INTs) and Texas Tech. With a dominant victory over BCS-hopeful Oklahoma State, the Sooners received a bid to play in the 2009 Sun Bowl
2009 Sun Bowl
The 2009 Brut Sun Bowl game was the 76th edition of the annual college football bowl game known as the Sun Bowl. The Oklahoma Sooners defeated the Stanford Cardinal 31–27 on December 31, 2009. It was the two teams' fifth meeting...
against Stanford. Landry Jones had his best passing performance of the year with 418 yards and 3 touchdown passes to Ryan Broyles, giving the Sooners their first bowl win since 2005 and propelling the team towards an optimistic 2010 in which Landry would have a full spring and fall camp to prepare as the starting quarterback.
In 2010
2010 Oklahoma Sooners football team
The 2010 Oklahoma Sooners football team represented the University of Oklahoma in the college football season of 2010–2011. It was the 116th year of season play for the Sooners. The team was led by head coach Bob Stoops, a two-time Walter Camp Coach of the Year award winner, who has a contract...
, Landry Jones continued his starting job as Oklahoma's quarterback and guided the team through its first four out-of-conference victories. He would continue his dominant performance heading into the 2010 Red River Shootout, and defeated Texas
2010 Texas Longhorns football team
The 2010 Texas Longhorn football team represented the University of Texas at Austin in the 2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by Mack Brown, who has a contract lasting through the 2016 season...
by a score of 28-20. After the strong start, Landry Jones would suffer his first setback against Missouri
2010 Missouri Tigers football team
The 2010 Missouri Tigers football team, in their 121st season, represented the University of Missouri in college football's 2010 season. The team was coached by Gary Pinkel, who returned for his tenth season with Mizzou, and played their home games at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium. The team...
by losing the game, 36-27. He would lead Oklahoma on a rebound with a few top-notch performances before suffering the second and final setback of the season against Texas A&M
2010 Texas A&M Aggies football team
The 2010 Texas A&M Aggies football team represented Texas A&M University in the 2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was led by third-year head coach Mike Sherman and played their home games at Kyle Field in College Station, Texas. The team's defense was led by first-year coach Tim...
. After the defeat, Landry Jones would lead the team on another rebound by winning the rest of the way, including a highly-anticipated matchup against the Oklahoma State Cowboys
2010 Oklahoma State Cowboys football team
The 2010 Oklahoma State Cowboys football team represented Oklahoma State University in the 2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by 6th year head coach Mike Gundy and played their homes game at Boone Pickens Stadium. They played in the Big 12 Conference in the South Division...
in the annual Bedlam Series
Bedlam Series
The Bedlam Series refers to the athletics rivalry between the University of Oklahoma Sooners and the Oklahoma State University Cowboys, of the Big 12 Conference...
. The match was settled in the last minute, but Landry Jones' incredible passing performance led Oklahoma past its in-state rival by a score of 47-41.
By rule of a tie-breaker, Oklahoma went into the Big XII Championship Game
2010 Big 12 Championship Game
The 2010 Big 12 Championship Game was played at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, December 4, 2010, at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas to determine the 2010 football champion of the Big 12 Conference. It was the final championship game for the conference as two members of the Big 12 had announced their...
facing its storied rival Nebraska
2010 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team
The 2010 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team represented the University of Nebraska in the 2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by Bo Pelini and played their home games at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska. They were members of the North Division of the Big 12 Conference...
. After trailing by 17 points, Landry Jones led the Sooners to a comeback 23-20 victory. After the win, Oklahoma went into the Fiesta Bowl
Fiesta Bowl
The Fiesta Bowl, now sponsored by Frito-Lay and named with their Tostitos brand, is a United States college football bowl game played annually at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. Between its origination in 1971 and 2006, the game was hosted in Tempe, Arizona at Sun Devil...
as the champion of the Big 12 Conference
Big 12 Conference
The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference of ten schools located in the Central United States, with its headquarters located in Las Colinas, a community in the Dallas, Texas suburb of Irving...
, facing Connecticut as the champion of the Big East Conference
Big East Conference
The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletics conference consisting of sixteen universities in the eastern half of the United States. The conference's 17 members participate in 24 NCAA sports...
. Oklahoma entered the game looking to break its recent streak of BCS bowl losses, while Connecticut was playing its first BCS bowl ever. Landry Jones had a great night and carried his team over Connecticut by a lopsided score of 48-20 to break the BCS bowl losing streak and to win Oklahoma's first BCS bowl since 2002.
Personal
Landry was named after Dallas CowboysDallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
Pro Football Hall of Fame
Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional football in the United States with an emphasis on the National Football League . It opened in Canton, Ohio, on September 7, 1963, with 17 charter inductees...
coach Tom Landry
Tom Landry
Thomas Wade "Tom" Landry was an American football player and coach. He is ranked as one of the greatest and most innovative coaches in National Football League history, creating many new formations and methods...
.