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Oklahoma wins Landry Jones lottery
A few television stations in Oklahoma are reporting Artesia star quarterback Landry Jones orally committed to Oklahoma. Jones, a 6-foot-5 junior who led the Bulldogs to a state championship, is one of the hottest QB prospects nationally. He was getting serious attention from big-name schools and obligatory offers from little fish like New Mexico and New Mexico State.
The Sooners apparently won Jones' heart. I don't really fault the Lobos for losing out on this recruit, although I'm sure there will be tons of people who will argue the UNM football staff wasn't aggressive enough going after Jones. I do think it's fair to say that fellow Artestia grad Kole McKamey's career didn't go as well as many had hoped and that easily could have steered Jones away from the Lobos. McKamey had to deal with constantly changing offenses that didn't always protect him and a heavy rotation of new coaches.
Ultimately, I think it would have been a huge longshot for UNM or New Mexico State to land Jones. He had a chance to make a bigger splash at a bigger school and decided to chase his dreams. Good for him. I know it's hard for UNM fans to cheer on hometown heroes who spurn the Lobos, but Jones could bring a lot of love to New Mexico if he lives up to expectations.
Jones' commitment is not binding, but I wouldn't look for him to change his mind. Cooper Henderson, the Artesia football coach, is one of the greatest New Mexico high school coaches in any sport I have ever met. He values honesty and integrity in his athletes, and I'd be shocked if Jones backed out of his commitment after giving his word.
Posted by ilimon at 05:14 PM | Permalink
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Posted by: Ruben | March 31, 2007 08:52 PM
Iliana, I think McKamey was given every chance to succeed here. Coaches gave him a fair shot and he was a 3 year starter. At the end he just came up a little short because of injuries. Also he had a tendency to lock in on the primary receiver too quickly. The reason Landry didn't come her was that he was more heavily recruited. Had Kole had a chance to attend UCLA or Oregon or OU, he probably doesn't come to UNM either. We lose all the top 4 star recruits to the major out of state programs. It's hard to accept, but that's the reality.
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Posted by: Daniel | March 31, 2007 03:59 PM