Big 12 Championship Game 2010: The Sophomore Trials Of Landry Jones

I'm going to start with Landry Jones.

Watching him against the Oklahoma State defense, Jones was less accurate than I expected. He seemed out of rhythm until later in the game when he connected on some big plays to seal it for the Sooners.

What's your assessment of Jones' play this year and what are his strengths and weaknesses?

CCM: I've actually been higher on Jones than many Sooner fans. He's just a sophomore and is a ways of from being the finished product but this season has shown tremendous maturity. Last Saturday was a perfect example of this. If the first half he threw 3 interceptions (two of them were fantastic plays by the defenders with one being an all-time great play) and the Landry Jones of last year would not have rebounded from that. Instead, he came back in the second half and went 17-of-27 for 274 yards with two touchdowns and no turnovers. It still wasn't a perfect half because there were some throws that he'd like to take back but the bottom line is that he recovered from a bad half and won the game. That's something we're just starting to see from him and, at least to me, is a sign of maturity.

Landry has a strong arm and the ability to roll the pocket and throw on the run. Offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson is doing a good job at using that to help avoid pressure. He still needs to work on his decision making and being patient enough to check down through his progressions.