ShareThisNORMAN, Okla. - Oklahoma sophomore quarterback Landry Jones was not pleased with how he played in Thursday's scrimmage.
"I didn't play very well in the scrimmage," Jones said. "I had a lot of mental busts. I have to come back and keep working, keep striving. Put it in the back of my mind, forget about this one and get better."
The 90-play closed scrimmage was OU's final one scheduled for the preseason.
Highlights of the scrimmage included a long bomb to freshman wideout Joe Powell. But after scoring on the opening drive, the offense struggled to get going, Jones said.
"We still had too many penalties," Jones said. "We gotta be better. I have to be clean, can't have those mental mistakes."
Coach Bob Stoops, however, wasn't nearly as hard on his quarterback.
"He's looked good. Strong," Stoops said of Jones, who threw for 3,198 yards with 26 TDs and 14 ints. as a freshman last yeaer. "Throwing a great ball, making good decisions. We're happy with him. Been a good leader."
Stoops, however, wasn't as pleased when asked about the consistency of his wide receivers, outside Ryan Broyles and a couple of freshmen.
"So far, they've just been OK," he said. "Ryan Broyles has been really good. Kenny Stills has come on. We need some other guys to be more consistent. Joe Powell is making a move, doing some good things. Those two (Stills and Powell) seem to stand out the most. Guys that have played need to play better."
At least the OU receivers are trying to do that. Since the summer, the group has caught hundreds of balls each day after workouts or practice.
But not necessarily footballs.
Instead, the receivers have brought out the tennis ball machine.
"Hurts your hands," Broyles said. "You get hit in the throat, the lip trying to catch those balls coming out of that thing."
Broyles said the receivers have caught about 3,500 tennis balls so far, and get the drill in before and after practice.
"We used to be the first group out," Broyles said. "Now, we're out there with the defensive line," a unit that notoriously stays out late to get in extra work with line coach Jackie Shipp.
(Contact Jake Trotter at jtrotter(at)opubco.com.)
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
Must credit Oklahoma City Oklahoman
