Kejuan's sour grapes

[GDC]

http://www.tulsaworld.com/SportsStory.asp?ID=060429_Sp_B1_Kejua40388_1

[Big Red Ron]

no password bro

[sooneron]

yes, plez paste

[OUFan22]

Kejuan Jones: Coaches hurt draft position
By DAVE SITTLER World Sports Writer
4/29/2006

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In his mind, this was supposed to be Kejuan Jones' day. He's dreamed about this particular Saturday ever since he discovered he loved to run the football and was really good at it.

Like every kid who puts on the pads the first time, Jones fantasized about hearing NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue say: "A first-round pick in the 2006 draft is Oklahoma running back Kejuan Jones."

Reality often forces one to alter those dreams. Instead of the first round, Jones will be thrilled if he's selected in any of the seven rounds when the NFL conducts its draft today and Sunday in New York.

Perhaps reality hasn't sunk in all the way for the former Jenks High School standout. If he's drafted late, or not at all, Jones said this week that he feels it will be because of the way he was handled in his last two seasons at OU.

A lot of Jones' frustration is driven by his desire to provide financial security for his mother. Tracy Jones got pregnant with Kejuan when she was 15, raised him after his father deserted them, and won a fight with abdominal cancer that often scared her teenage son when he listened helplessly to her painful screams.

If Jones is forced to make an NFL team via the free-agent route, he left little doubt that he believes

it's because he was misused his junior and senior seasons.

"Those last two years at Oklahoma," Jones said, "put a big dagger in my chances to go in a higher round."

Jones saw plenty of action his first two seasons. But his college career changed dramatically when Adrian Peterson arrived on campus.

It's hard to argue with the OU coaches' decision to give Peterson the bulk of carries. Peterson became so good so fast, rushing for 1,925 yards and 15 touchdowns as a true freshman, that he was the Heisman Trophy runner-up.

With Peterson carrying the ball 339 times in 2004, Jones became a situational back. He was used mostly in third-and-short situations.

Jones is convinced that had he not sat out a redshirt season he could have jumped to the NFL after his junior year, before Peterson even played for the Sooners.

"If I would have came out then, I would have been projected to go in the second or third round," Jones said.

That, of course, is debatable. And something we'll never know.

Jones understands Peterson has all-world talent. But he believes OU should have used them both, like USC tapped the skills of Reggie Bush and LenDale White.

Bush is expected to go early in the first round, while White is projected to either go late in the first round or early in the second.

"I just feel they (OU coaches) didn't utilize me as well as they should have," Jones said. "Look at the Reggie Bush-LenDale White situation."

In fairness to OU coach Bob Stoops and his staff, it should be pointed out that White (6-foot-2, 235 pounds) and Bush (5-11, 211) are bigger than the 5-9, 190-pound Jones. Bush also won the Heisman Trophy this past season.

And when the OU staff used a two-back formation, they went with 6-foot, 237-pound fullback J.D. Runnels instead of Jones because Runnels' blocking ability was superior.

Jones said his OU frustrations started at the end of his redshirt sophomore season, when OU played LSU in the Sugar Bowl for the national championship.

Trailing 21-14 in the fourth quarter, OU mounted a drive when Jones ripped off runs of 9, 8, 4 and 5 yards. Then, inexplicably, offensive coordinator Chuck Long called 10 consecutive pass plays, which gained a net 7 yards.

On the ninth pass, quarterback Jason White badly overthrew Jones, who was wide open in the end zone.

"Why did we even start throwing the ball when I was getting 8 or 9 yards a pop?" asked Jones. "The whole (LSU) defense was dead tired. But we tried to go another way and throw the ball, and that's the reason why we lost the national championship."

Jones said Long, who left OU after last season for the head coaching job at San Diego State, acknowledged that he had second thoughts about his play calling after the loss.

"Coach Long came up to me when we were getting on the bus and said, 'It's my fault. I should have kept giving you the ball,' " Jones recalled.

Stoops said Friday that Jones was entitled to his opinion, but strongly defended how his staff has handled the players in his seven seasons coaching the Sooners.

"We as coaches feel more than comfortable in the way we've played Adrian and Kejuan, and their production supports that," Stoops said. "But I can see where any individual selfishly looks at his own situation and feels he should have done more, could have done more and should have been used more.

"But I feel the way we used both of them played to their strengths."

Disappointed over the Sugar Bowl's outcome, Jones still felt his NFL dream was on track. He had set an OU freshman record with 14 touchdowns while also rushing for 607 yards. Although he started only four games as a sophomore, he still rushed for 929 yards and 13 touchdowns.

"If I could have had just one more good year, I know Kejuan Jones would definitely be a high draft pick this year," Jones said. "But then came my junior year, and I was basically just in there on third downs."

With Peterson on the scene, Jones' numbers dropped drastically his final two seasons, when he rushed for a combined 778 yards and seven touchdowns.

Jones said he was born an OU fan and remains proud he's a Sooner. But he wonders what might have happened had he gone to one of the other schools on his final list, which included Tennessee, Alabama and TCU.

"OU really didn't have to recruit me because I'm from Tulsa and I'm real close to my family," Jones said. "I wanted to stay close to home."

It's the love he has for his mother and two sisters that made him quietly accept his fate at OU and now motivates him to make it in the NFL. There's also the resentment he feels toward his father, who Jones said once tried unsuccessfully to reconnect with him when he thought his son was going to make big money in the NFL.

His father wasn't around when Jones had to drive his sick mother to hospital on the days they could afford it. When they didn't have money to pay the medical bills, he had to be the man of the house and console his sisters as they listened to their mother suffer before three operations put her cancer in remission.

"My mom would scream at the top of her lungs," Jones said. "But she's doing great now.

"When he (father) decided to go his own way, my mom easily could have put me up for adoption. But she's a strong, black woman who raised three kids on her own and got me to where I am today."

Where Jones' football future is right now is in limbo. One scouting service ranks him as the 48th best back in this year's draft. Every draft list projects him as a free agent.

The NFL scouts question his strength at the point of attack, a lack of quickness to get outside and his durability to play a 16-game NFL season because he was often injured at OU.

That doesn't deter Jones. He returned home a few weeks ago, hired an agent and started a rigorous workout schedule at Velocity Sports Performance in Broken Arrow to mold his body into top shape.

"My agent is telling teams if they look at my first two years at OU, I stack up against any other running back in the country," Jones said. "Up there (NFL) they want playmakers, and I know I'm a playmaker.

"I'm not worried if I end up as a free agent. I just want a shot. And once I get my foot in the door, I've got to take care of myself."

And take care of those three women he loves in Tulsa. That's the day all of Kejuan Jones' dreams will come true.

[sooneron]

Maybe if he had done awesome at the combines and made a name for himself there, he would have more hype about him.

It's too bad he feels this way. Did he really expect a lot of playing time with Q in 02?

[Newbomb Turk]

Maybe if he had done awesome at the combines and made a name for himself there, he would have more hype about him.

It's too bad he feels this way. Did he really expect a lot of playing time with Q in 02?

werd.

[Big Red Ron]

Hard to argue with this...


Trailing 21-14 in the fourth quarter, OU mounted a drive when Jones ripped off runs of 9, 8, 4 and 5 yards. Then, inexplicably, offensive coordinator Chuck Long called 10 consecutive pass plays, which gained a net 7 yards.

On the ninth pass, quarterback Jason White badly overthrew Jones, who was wide open in the end zone.

"Why did we even start throwing the ball when I was getting 8 or 9 yards a pop?" asked Jones. "The whole (LSU) defense was dead tired. But we tried to go another way and throw the ball, and that's the reason why we lost the national championship."

[Big Red Ron]

I am so happy that Chuck is gone.

[Newbomb Turk]

Hard to argue with this...

true, but the play call was perfect. Kejuan was wide open - Jason didn't execute.

[tulsaoilerfan]

Kejuan is delusional if he thinks he would have played in the NFL; he's too slow and is too easily tackled in the open field; i appreciate all he did at OU, but he's dead wrong on this issue.

[sooneron]

Hard to argue with this...
I hate thinking about what could have been in that offensive series. We could have powered the ball into the endzone and gone for two by lining up quickly to win the game.

[Big Red Ron]

true, but the play call was perfect. Kejuan was wide open - Jason didn't execute.10 consecutive pass play calls was not perfect. I'm sure one play out of ten should woek but damn Chuck lost the championship game, period.

[jkm, the stolen pifwafwi]

and is too easily tackled by yard lines

fixed

[sooneron]

true, but the play call was perfect. Kejuan was wide open - Jason didn't execute.
and wasn't kejuan already falling down as the pass was thrown? :O

That guy could trip on a thread.

[Newbomb Turk]

10 consecutive play calls was not perfect. I'm sure one play out of ten should woek but damn Chuck lost the championship game, period.

I'm not sure what you mean here. Are you saying that Kejuan was NOT wide open in the endzone?

[Newbomb Turk]

and wasn't kejuan already falling down as the pas was thrown? :O

only if a defender got a finger on him.

[sooneron]

I'm not sure what you mean here. Are you saying that Kejuan was NOT wide open in the endzone?
I hear what you're saying, but it was like Chuck was just trying to call the brilliant play insead of playing smart hard nosed football that got us to that fiel position.

[bri]

Remembering that drive makes me sad.

You guys wanna be wusses and try to pretend the Orange Bowl never happened? The SUGAR BOWL hurt a million times worse...:(

[Newbomb Turk]

I hear what you're saying, but it was like Chuck was just trying to call the brilliant play insead of playing smart hard nosed football that got us to that fiel position.

I know I'm not going to win a Chuck Long argument here. However, I just find it odd that fans complain that he's too vanilla. But when he calls a good pass play that isn't executed, he gets blamed.

[Big Red Ron]

I'm not sure what you mean here. Are you saying that Kejuan was NOT wide open in the endzone?He called 10 pass plays after we pounded the ball all the way down there. He tried to get cute and blew it. Even he knows it...


Jones said Long, who left OU after last season for the head coaching job at San Diego State, acknowledged that he had second thoughts about his play calling after the loss.

"Coach Long came up to me when we were getting on the bus and said, 'It's my fault. I should have kept giving you the ball,' " Jones recalled.

[sooneron]

I believe I said, "Why are we throwing the ball?" About 6 of those ten pass attempts.

[Newbomb Turk]

Remembering that drive makes me sad.

You guys wanna be wusses and try to pretend the Orange Bowl never happened? The SUGAR BOWL hurt a million times worse...:(

yes it did.

[sooneron]

The last three were obvious, we were trying to score with no time left.

[Big Red Ron]

I know I'm not going to win a Chuck Long argument here. However, I just find it odd that fans complain that he's too vanilla. But when he calls a good pass play that isn't executed, he gets blamed.I never complained about him being vanilla. I always complained about his play calling and clock management. He was a horrible OC and cost us at least one NC.

[Big Red Ron]

The last three were obvious, we were trying to score with no time left.Yeah, the first seven were just plain stupid.

[Newbomb Turk]

After I'll I've said here, I do believe that Wilson will be a good OC.

[OUTrumpet]

I wonder if Kejuan posts on message board about Fire Chuck Long threads?

[sooneron]

His handle is OU Martin

[Newbomb Turk]

I wonder if Kejuan posts on message board about Fire Chuck Long threads?

Probably - he wasn't a big Calvin Simpson fan either. ;)

[oumartin]

why is everyone always picking on me?

[Newbomb Turk]

why is everyone always picking on me?

like my Dad says to my wife - "When I stop giving you crap, is when you should worry".

:D

[SoonerJedi]

I agree, Chuck Long blew that drive. Kejuan was starting to gain momentum and he should have been given the ball at least once in ten plays (although that we got 10 plays indicates that 1 or 2 worked since there are only 4 downs).

Still you can't blame that for Kejaun's position in the draft. If he was the next "thing" some NFL scout would have picked up on it by now.

[Sooner_Bob]

Remembering that drive makes me sad.

You guys wanna be wusses and try to pretend the Orange Bowl never happened? The SUGAR BOWL hurt a million times worse...:(


Yep . . .

[Big Red Ron]

I agree, Chuck Long blew that drive. Kejuan was starting to gain momentum and he should have been given the ball at least once in ten plays (although that we got 10 plays indicates that 1 or 2 worked since there are only 4 downs).

Still you can't blame that for Kejaun's position in the draft. If he was the next "thing" some NFL scout would have picked up on it by now.We netted 7 yards in ten consecutive pass plays. :O

He's not blaming his draft position on that game...said he was mishandled at OU by Gundy and Chuck once AD got there but that it all started back in the sugar bowl.

[GDC]

no password bro

Okay, sorry, someone posted elsewhere the Tulsa paper was now free on line, so I thought I wouldn't have to cut and paste anymore.

[OklaPony]

and wasn't kejuan already falling down as the pass was thrown? :O

I seem to remember it being that Jason was falling backwards with a defender in his face. However, I've worked diligently to block most of that trip out of my mind so it may be wiser to depend on something other than my memory. Anyone got the tape / DVD?

[soonerscuba]

Dear Mr. Jones,

Thousands of kids dreaming of suiting up in the crimson and cream, starting, and going to college for free. Life ain't all bad.

Signed,
Oklahoma.

[bri]

I seem to remember it being that Jason was falling backwards with a defender in his face. However, I've worked diligently to block most of that trip out of my mind so it may be wiser to depend on something other than my memory. Anyone got the tape / DVD?

I'd check the tape, but that would result in seeing Jessica Simpson's FieldTurf sweater again...:D

[Newbomb Turk]

I'd check the tape, but that would result in seeing Jessica Simpson's FieldTurf sweater again...:D

better than seeing (and hearing) Ashley Simpson in the Orange Bowl!

[bri]

better than seeing (and hearing) Ashley Simpson in the Orange Bowl!

LA-LA!!!

[goingoneight]

werd.

did he really think he should have got play time with AD in 2004 or in 2005? Dude is good, but he was no superstar. That, and that alone, is why he only carried at 3rd and short.

[Big Red Ron]

did he really think he should have got play time with AD in 2004 or in 2005? Dude is good, but he was no superstar. That, and that alone, is why he only carried at 3rd and short.If you read it close, it says he thought he could have been the Lendail White or Bush type situation.

[Newbomb Turk]

If you read it close, it says he thought he could have been the Lendail White or Bush type situation.

He ain't no Lendale White and he ain't no Reggie Bush.

[bri]

He could have been our LenDale White...if LenDale White would have been suspended every time he was needed to fill in for Reggie Bush.

[Scott D]

somewhere Donta Hickson is laughing ;)

[bri]

Dear Kejuan,

Shut the hell up.

Signed,
Mike Gaddis

[SoonerLB]

The thread title says it all, "Sour Grapes"! NFL scouts have a pretty good idea about talent, and if they thought he was worthy, they would have had him on their boards. Bad-mouthing the coaching staff probably won't work in his favor either.

[GDC]

For contrast, here's the Dusty article from today.


Dvoracek anxious about NFL draft
By JOHN E. HOOVER World Sports Writer
4/29/2006

He is projected to be taken anywhere from the second to fourth rounds.
Five years at the University of Oklahoma prepared Dusty Dvoracek for this day -- and beyond.

After Dvoracek's name is called either Saturday or Sunday and he is drafted by an NFL team, he will at some point reflect on his days as a defensive tackle at OU and draw from the lessons he learned on and off the field.

"The things physically, I mean, they taught me everything about playing defensive line and football and what it means to be a team player and how close a team can be and what it takes to be a champion," Dvoracek said. "And obviously, I learned a big lesson about life and about growing up and being accountable for yourself and your actions."

Dvoracek, a 6-foot-3, 298-pound senior from Lake Dallas, Texas, said he's "getting a little anxious, a little nervous" about this weekend's NFL draft. He said he won't station himself in front of a television for the two-day ESPN marathon, but will instead try to just get away from it all, either shopping or fishing with family and friends.

"I don't want to be cooped up in the house in front of the TV," he said. ". . . I'd rather be out with my dad and my little brother trying to keep my mind off it.



". . . I'm going to put my phone in my shorts and let it ring. It'll ring all day, I'm sure, and that's fine. At some point, some coach or GM is going to call me and say, 'Congratulations, we drafted you.' That's all I'm waiting for."

The lesson is simple: Whatever happens will happen in its own time. It's a lesson Dvoracek learned the hard way in his final two years at OU.

Named a preseason All-American in 2004, he was being projected as a first-round pick in last year's draft. But an addiction to alcohol and an inability to contain his rage (three documented incidents in two years) got him expelled from the football team two games into the '04 season.

Dvoracek sought counseling for his problems, kept his grades in order, straightened out his personal life and was ultimately granted an additional season of eligibility for medical hardship. He was reinstated to the team in January 2005 and has been a model citizen ever since.

Dvoracek returned to All-Big 12 status last season when he led the nation's interior linemen with 17 tackles for loss. He had strong workouts at the NFL scouting combine and on the OU campus, and has visited with or spoken to a dozen or so teams.

Dvoracek is projected by analysts to be chosen in the second, third or fourth rounds. He's big, strong, quick, mean and tough. But Dvoracek has an additional quality: a remarkable intellect. He was on the Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll as a freshman, was a three-time Academic All-District VI and was Academic All-Big 12 as a junior and senior.

At the combine in February, Dvoracek recorded this year's highest Wonderlic score, a 41 out of 50. That's the test on which Texas quarterback Vince Young reportedly scored a six and retook the test to score a 15.

"They give you 12 minutes to answer 50 questions, and you've got to think quick, you've got to answer fast, be able to read stuff and analyze stuff quickly in your head," Dvoracek said. "I don't know exactly what it measures, but I think some teams in the NFL use it to tell if a guy is a total moron or not. If a guy can't score but a couple points, maybe he can't pick up a playbook. Which may be wrong. A guy who may do poorly on that may be a very smart football player."

The Wonderlic has drawn public scorn and ridicule, but teams do pay attention to the scores.

"Probably for a defensive tackle it isn't quite as important as a quarterback or somebody who has to read the field. But certainly it doesn't hurt," said Colin Lindsay, editor of the Great Blue North Draft Report. "One of the big problems kids have coming out of college is learning the schemes, and one of the things you would figure with a really bright kid is that he's going to pick it up quick and should be able to play fairly early."

Dvoracek is being considered as a tackle by teams that play a four-man front and as an end by teams that play a three-man front. Lindsay said that makes sense because although Dvoracek played in a 4-3 at OU, he is tall enough and quick enough for the skills needed in a 3-4.

"The other thing is he goes so hard," Lindsay said. "In our notes here, he's a bit of a gambler. He'll try to jump around people, which can burn you as a defensive tackle in a 4-3, but it's the kind of thing you can do as a 3-4 defensive end."

With a lifelong dream just days away from being fulfilled, Dvoracek looked back on his days growing up in the Dallas area.

"I remember countless tackle football games in the front yard, fistfights and bloody noses, just getting after it and having fun," he said. "That's where I got so tough on the football field, playing in the front yard . . .

"I always dreamed of playing in the NFL. I thought I was good, but I never dreamed it was possible. I'm just so excited. It'll hit me Saturday that I'll be going into some locker room and see all these guys that I've been watching my whole life, that I'll be their teammate right then."



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


John E. Hoover 581-8384
[email protected]

[Jimminy Crimson]

If he gets picked or signed in free agency, you think he'll go out and celebrate with a threesome? :D

[bri]

If he gets picked or signed in free agency, you think he'll go out and celebrate with a threesome? :D

He's gonna get a couple of waitresses and pull a Fredo...

[sooner13f]

Well I feel for the dude. Reality is hard to deal with sometimes. However calling out the coaches is not called for at all. The guy had many chances to make himself a pro. If he had "it" the NFL would be looking. I think he is too slow and not to be hard on him, profited a lot from Q. Getting to take it in to the endzone after Q did all the hard work.

By the way calling out Chuck is everyones right !

[bri]

Seriously, does anyone else remember that surreal game last year where we were playing a 5'4' MexiQ and a sixth-string DB in the tailback spot because Kejuan was too busy sulking to go to class?

I love Ke as much as the next Sooner fan, but I lost all respect after that. Well, I THOUGHT I'd lost all respect for him. This article actually reached deep down, found a shred of respect that I had missed, and ripped it right out of me. :D

[jk the sooner fan]

well, Kejuan always has his degree in "african american studies" to fall back on......

[Collier11]

I have always loved and respected Kejuan and I respect that he wants to do well for his family but he needs to take a look at his life...if he hadnt played at OU he wouldnt have played for 2 natl titles, gotten an extremely valuable degree and I gaurantee you whatever chance he may have of being picked up out of OU, his chances would have been alot worse out of tulsa or puke state.

[stoops the eternal pimp]

well, Kejuan always has his degree in "african american studies" to fall back on......

Sounds like the career plan of someone who wants to support his family...a free education most people would dream of and uses it to get a diploma about as valuable as a degree from the Sally Struthers school

[Crimsontothecore]

I've been a huge Jones fan ever since he played at Jenks but he obviously sees more talent in himself than others do. To say he was misused the last two years is a weak argument considering the fact that AD was hurt most of last year. That was Jones window of opportunity to step up and make a statement. He did neither. He just needs to come to terms with the fact that there were better backs on the team. Last year, even Allen Patrick showed more potential than Kejuan.

[Collier11]

I will always take from that game though, HOW LOUD the OU fans were at the end of the game, I was in OU's endzone in the 4th qt and me and my buddy went ape-sh*t cus we thought clayton had caught that td pass, but we talked to some LSU fans after the game that were in the opposite endzone and they said they had never heard anything like it, the whole stadium was shaking and it was one of the coolest experiences ive ever felt.....of course until we lost F*CK

[OUGreg723]

...........:( Stop the crazy talk, Kejuan....

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

We need to bring Blake back, a time when no one expected to get drafted ;)

[Cam]

Lord, it's hard to be humble.

[stoopified]

Personally I do not recall the plays you all are talking about in the Sugar Bowl.Hell I don't even recall that Sugar Bowl at all.Then again I keep having people make reference to a USC-OU Orange Bowl the following season that I also have no recollection of.It has been suggested I have selective amnesia, but I really don't remember who.

Honestly I feel for KJ and think he SHOULD have got more carries wehn AD was a frosh.Having said that I think he would still have been a LONGSHOT to make the NFL.I hope he can make it although I would say his only chance is as a special teams player in the mold of Spencer Tillman.Even that seems like a remote possibility but I do wish him nothing but the best.

[bri]

Kejuan COULD be a solid 3rd-down back. You know, if he wasn't a whiny idiot. ;)

[King Crimson]

he's right about the Sugar Bowl. that's for sure. i was sitting in that endzone.

LSU couldn't have stopped us running the ball in any way. they were on their heels.
the delay screen to Kejuan was a great call, and JW overthrew it....but it didin't have to be that way. my dad was yelling "run the ball out of the gawddamned I" all game long.

Stoops would have gone for two and the win. that would have been easier to live with. win or lose.

[TXBOOMER]

I like Key. But, he does not have NFL speed. I wish him luck though.

[Newbomb Turk]

He might make a good 3rd down back for the right team. He was very good catching the ball out of the backfield.

[Big Red Ron]

I think he'll get a shot.

[colleyvillesooner]

I cannot do the LSU/Long/Playcalling thing again.

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

It's Calvin Simpson's fault!!

[Big Red Ron]

I cannot do the LSU/Long/Playcalling thing again.This pretty well sums it up...


"Why did we even start throwing the ball when I was getting 8 or 9 yards a pop?" asked Jones. "The whole (LSU) defense was dead tired. But we tried to go another way and throw the ball, and that's the reason why we lost the national championship."

Jones said Long, who left OU after last season for the head coaching job at San Diego State, acknowledged that he had second thoughts about his play calling after the loss.

"Coach Long came up to me when we were getting on the bus and said, 'It's my fault. I should have kept giving you the ball,' " Jones recalled.

[OUGreg723]

Let's not ever talk about chuck again. It makes me even more angry with time..

[MamaMia]

I can see both sides. He has had a habit of speaking his mind. Whether I agree with him or not I cant help but to respect him for that, eventhough it did get him benched a couple of times. I sure do wish him well though. :)

[NickZeppelin]

Kejuan was a good player. Nice kid. Did his job. If he was an NFL talent then he would be getting a look by a lot of NFL scouts. He came in pretty highly touted and had a good year in 2003 as a part time starter. I think he had 800-900 yards. But there's a reason he's not getting drafted and it had nothing to do with the way he was coached.

Most college players aren't good enough to get drafted in the NFL. Only about 250 players are drafted in the NFL. And there are probably about 1,000-1,500 college players. Right around 70-80% of all college players don't get drafted. And even amont those drafted I bet a lot of em never make an NFL roster.

[usmc-sooner]

Kejuan aint pro material, maybe Canada, however in the Sporting News draft preview Travis Wilson also questioned Chuck Long's play calling.

[rhombic21]

I agree that he was misused, but I disagree that it cost him draft spots. There are all kinds of guys getting drafted who played very little in college. He didn't set the world on fire when he played. He was servicable, but not a gamebreaker. What truly killed his playing time was the fact that he had injury problems his Junior year, and then had injury and discipline problems his senior year when AD got hurt. He had an opportunity to make a name for himself if he'd have been healthy and available during that stretch between the Texas and Baylor games.

However, we probably should have used him more in the passing game. He had really good hands, and I would have loved to see some sets with both him and AD on the field at the same time. I wouldn't compare him to Reggie Bush by any means, but I do think that he could have been a bigger part of our passing game, especially early in the year when our WRs and TEs were struggling. Of course, you could say the same thing about AD. Passing to the backs out of the backfield hasn't really been a big part of our offense since Q was here.

[KC//CRIMSON]

Kejuan has zero chance of getting into the NFL. The guy was lucky if he could run ten yards without tripping over his own shadow.

[bri]

I look back at the incredible play he had against Union his senior year at Jenks, and then watch him be unable to stay on his feet for more than five yards at a time and wonder, "wtf?!?"

[stoops the eternal pimp]

I agree that he was misused, but I disagree that it cost him draft spots. There are all kinds of guys getting drafted who played very little in college

Good point...How many games did Chris Chester start..or even play in....
sorry if you want to play in the NFL and your 5'7 185, the you have to run faster than a 4.6

[KC//CRIMSON]

I look back at the incredible play he had against Union his senior year at Jenks, and then watch him be unable to stay on his feet for more than five yards at a time and wonder, "wtf?!?"

Stay vertical, Ponyboy.

[tbl]

Instead of whining about where he is now, he should be making strides to prove the coaches wrong. That should have started at the combine... but he'll probably get a chance with somebody. I hope he makes it, but it won't have anything to do with the OU coaches if he doesn't...

[Sooner24]

Okay, sorry, someone posted elsewhere the Tulsa paper was now free on line, so I thought I wouldn't have to cut and paste anymore.


That was me. I got an e-mail from them saying it would be free starting May 1 but I was able to access it yesterday. Today not so much. :mad:

[SouthFortySooner]

Here is my audio version of kejuan's running style.

Che Che Che Boink, Che Che Che Boink.

Che Che Che= little legs churning
Boink=him going down quickly

I wished he had left me with the allusion of unselfishness.

[sanantoniosooner]

Here is my audio version of kejuan's running style.

Che Che Che Boink, Che Che Che Boink.

Che Che Che= little legs churning
Boink=him going down quickly

I wished he had left me with the allusion of unselfishness.
That's exactly same as the audio version of my bedroom.

[TheGodfather889]

I felt bad for Kejuan when he didn't get many carries in 2004. I really feel bad for him now. I hope somehow he gets drafted or he atleast gets a shot.

[The Consumate Showman]

Kejuan won't be a good pro-style RB. If he was speedy then he would be a high pick. Kejuan's problem is his height. He is a really hard runner, but he lacks the size to back it up in most instances. Q had success because of his shiftieness, Kejuan doesn't have that. Kejuan was a good college RB. I wish him nothing but the best, but I really don't see him making a roster in the NFL.

[TheGodfather889]

He could always sell cars to Adrian Peterson.:D

[jackietreehorn]

i felt worse for him before he started b*tching. :rolleyes:

[MamaMia]

It didnt take much to bring him down. Those pro teams like their ball carriers to be able to drag people a ways. Maybe he can play that arena football, or go to Europe and play. That would be fun. :)

[Taxman71]

Sounds like Kejuan has been listening to his peeps too much since the Holiday Bowl. He doesn't have NFL size or speed or elusiveness or tackle-breaking ability. Before this article, I thought he thrived on hard work and unselfishness. Very strange.

[PDXsooner]

it's ok for him to feel that way, he should just keep his mouth shut. even if he's right (which he's not) it makes him look like a whiner. he'll learn in time.

[sanantoniosooner]

Before this article, I thought he thrived on hard work and unselfishness. Very strange.
perhaps he DID believe in that until he felt like it didn't pan out of him.

I feel like I'm a pretty unselfish person, but there are times I get sick of people abusing it.

[yermom]

at least he waited until he was gone...

i'm not sure how much better he could have been in his last year with all the injuries and the suspension

i had previously admired the way he quietly played behind 2 of the best OU RBs in history

being unlucky enough to be overlapped by the two of them the way he was had to be tough, but the only real thing i can see the coaches did wrong was probably the end of the Sugar Bowl... that was tough to take, although i can see why it happened the way it did. hindsight is always 20/20 though

[bri]

I look forward to seeing Kejuan carry the ball for the Talons...As long as the coaches don't misuse him or anything.