NMSooner'80
7/12/2012, 12:46 PM
(this is from a Facebook post I saw earlier; and the entire article is in the Washington Post)
By Associated Press, Published: July 11
NORMAN, Okla. — Three years removed from his decision to stay in school at Oklahoma after winning the Heisman Trophy, St. Louis Rams quarterback Sam Bradford still believes he made the right move.
And he’s not about to question why current Sooners QB Landry Jones decided to follow in his footsteps.
“I know coming back was the complete right decision for me. There’s no way I was ready to leave college after two and half years,” Bradford said Wednesday during his youth football camp on the intramural fields at Oklahoma.
“Even though I came back and got hurt, the experience that I gained in that extra year was invaluable. There’s no way I would have been able to step into an NFL huddle and lead an NFL team at 21 years old.”
Bradford had just won the 2008 Heisman Trophy and led the Sooners to the national championship game — where they lost to Tim Tebow’s Florida Gators — during a record-setting offensive season when he decided to come back for another year in college. Defensive tackle Gerald McCoy, tight end Jermaine Gresham and offensive lineman Trent Williams, who would all become first-round draft picks the following season, also returned.
Bradford missed most of the season after injuring his right, throwing shoulder in an opening loss to BYU and Jones took over for him. Now, Jones is heading into his fourth season as a starter and erasing many of the career records Bradford set during his three years with the Sooners.
Because Bradford still works out in Norman during the offseason, he sees Jones a couple times a week and had a chance to counsel him on his choice to come back instead of entering this year’s draft.
“Obviously, it was his decision. If he feels like he made the right decision, then he did,” Bradford said. “I remember going through that process and people were telling me, ‘You should leave,’ or, ‘You should stay.’ At the end of the day, I was like, ‘It doesn’t matter what you think because you’re not the one who is going to live it.’
“I’m excited that he’s back. I think he’s a great player and I’m looking forward to seeing them play this year. Hopefully, they go all the way and win the national championship.”
Jones got married over the weekend to Whitney Hand, a starting guard for the Sooners’ women’s basketball team.
“I don’t care what kind of year it is, if you play quarterback at Oklahoma there’s going to be a lot pressure, especially coming into a season ranked as highly as they are right now,” Bradford said.
“I think Landry has always done a great job handling it. He’s plays well week in and week out. I don’t expect that to change this year. He’ll probably have the best year he’s ever had. I look forward to watching him play.”
By Associated Press, Published: July 11
NORMAN, Okla. — Three years removed from his decision to stay in school at Oklahoma after winning the Heisman Trophy, St. Louis Rams quarterback Sam Bradford still believes he made the right move.
And he’s not about to question why current Sooners QB Landry Jones decided to follow in his footsteps.
“I know coming back was the complete right decision for me. There’s no way I was ready to leave college after two and half years,” Bradford said Wednesday during his youth football camp on the intramural fields at Oklahoma.
“Even though I came back and got hurt, the experience that I gained in that extra year was invaluable. There’s no way I would have been able to step into an NFL huddle and lead an NFL team at 21 years old.”
Bradford had just won the 2008 Heisman Trophy and led the Sooners to the national championship game — where they lost to Tim Tebow’s Florida Gators — during a record-setting offensive season when he decided to come back for another year in college. Defensive tackle Gerald McCoy, tight end Jermaine Gresham and offensive lineman Trent Williams, who would all become first-round draft picks the following season, also returned.
Bradford missed most of the season after injuring his right, throwing shoulder in an opening loss to BYU and Jones took over for him. Now, Jones is heading into his fourth season as a starter and erasing many of the career records Bradford set during his three years with the Sooners.
Because Bradford still works out in Norman during the offseason, he sees Jones a couple times a week and had a chance to counsel him on his choice to come back instead of entering this year’s draft.
“Obviously, it was his decision. If he feels like he made the right decision, then he did,” Bradford said. “I remember going through that process and people were telling me, ‘You should leave,’ or, ‘You should stay.’ At the end of the day, I was like, ‘It doesn’t matter what you think because you’re not the one who is going to live it.’
“I’m excited that he’s back. I think he’s a great player and I’m looking forward to seeing them play this year. Hopefully, they go all the way and win the national championship.”
Jones got married over the weekend to Whitney Hand, a starting guard for the Sooners’ women’s basketball team.
“I don’t care what kind of year it is, if you play quarterback at Oklahoma there’s going to be a lot pressure, especially coming into a season ranked as highly as they are right now,” Bradford said.
“I think Landry has always done a great job handling it. He’s plays well week in and week out. I don’t expect that to change this year. He’ll probably have the best year he’s ever had. I look forward to watching him play.”