2010 Oklahoma Football Preview: Quarterbacks

The quarterback position is the, "elite" position on any offense and its also the most pressure packed position. As the trigger man for the Sooners, Landry Jones is going to have to big shoes to fill from last year.

Of course those shoes that Landry Jones has to fill are his own. Jones was the victim of not being Sam Bradford last season and was unfairly held to the standard of Oklahoma's latest Heisman winner. However, it should be noted that the only freshman to have a better season at quarterback than Jones was actually Bradford. Even at that Jones broke a record held by Bradford, Jason White and Josh Heupel when he threw six touchdown passes against Tulsa last season. He also set a Sooner bowl record with 418 passing yards against Stanford in the Sun Bowl.

Jones needs to work at trusting his offensive line protection (he was understandably gun shy last season) and reading through his progressions in 2010. To do that his blockers are going to need to block and his receivers are going to need catch the ball when opportunity comes, both of which were miserably bad last year. As fun as the position of quarterback may be, its also a position that solely relies on the performance of others for success.

Drew Allen seems to have locked up the backup spot behind Jones. After taking a redshirt last season Allen had a good showing in the spring and has continued that through the summer by bulking up a bit and learning the offense.

"We're really excited about Drew and the way he's continued to improve. He's much more accurate, and he's getting his body in better position. He had a great summer, but I think he's really progressed through two-a-days here." - Josh Heupel

Now it looks like Blake Bell will be heading for a redshirt.