Oklahoma Sooners

During a simulated scrimmage in Oklahoma's first practice of the spring in full pads, Blake Bell used his BellDozing legs to escape the pocket, but the right-hander was rolling to his left to escape the rush.

Bell, channeling his inner Brett Favre, tried to find a receiver on the right side of the field, throwing across his body to try and make the throw. The toss predictably floated and was intercepted.

"He just shook his head," Sooners coach Bob Stoops said. "A classic example where it has sting a little bit and you’ve got to learn. Hopefully he’s learned a valuable lesson since then, that you can’t be careless with the football."

That's the bad news.

The good news is Stoops has seen plenty of evidence to suggest Bell absolutely learned his lesson from that early throw. The proof was in every throw from that point forward.

"Since that day, you haven’t seen a mistake like that," Stoops said. "Just being smart with the football is such a big deal."

In fact, it's the biggest deal for Stoops. For a yet-undecided quarterback competition, Bell's ability to take care of the ball bodes well for him keeping his status as the likely heir to four-year starter Landry Jones.

"The important part for all of them will be decision-making," Stoops said. "Who can make the right reads and decisions and getting the football where it needs to be."

He outplayed his younger competition, Trevor Knight and Kendal Thompson, in the Sooners' spring game, completing 14-of-23 passes for 213 yards and a pair of scores, validating a strong spring that left him looking like the Sooners' best option. Most importantly, he didn't turn the ball over, and both Knight and Thompson couldn't say that after the Sooners' spring finale.

Those 213 passing yards are one short of doubling Bell's total passing yards in 2012, but most college football fans know him best as the BellDozer, bulling his way to 24 rushing touchdowns over the past two seasons in the Sooners' signature short-yardage package.

"He’s always been able to throw the football well, we’ve just chosen his role to this point has been short yardage and goal line, getting the extra blocker when you’re running your quarterback," Stoops said. "Plus, he’s a big strong guy to fall forward and get a yard when there isn’t one there. He throws a great deep ball."

Oklahoma's rarely employed a mobile quarterback, but that seems likely to change this season as the Sooners' personnel no longer fits the statuesque style of Jones or predecessors like Heisman Trophy winners Sam Bradford and Jason White who helped Oklahoma win eight Big 12 titles since Stoops' arrival.

"All our guys, when we recruit them, it’s all about how they throw, not how they run. We’re just fortunate that this group of guys, along with throwing the football, have the ability to run, too," Stoops said. "We’ll see what that other dimension can do for us."

NORMAN, Okla. -- Those hoping for some grand revelation to come out of the quarterback competition this spring -- or for that matter, Saturday’s Red-White spring game -- might want to sit back.

This could take a while.

Blake Bell, Kendal Thompson and Trevor Knight all entered the spring vying to be Oklahoma’s next starting quarterback. Barring something unforeseen in the next week, they’ll all exit the spring doing the same.

“None of those guys have earned it yet,” said offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Josh Heupel. “It doesn't mean they're not playing well. It's just nobody has earned that spot.”

While evenly splitting up time with the first-team offense, all three quarterbacks have had their moments. Had their mistakes, too.

During Sunday’s two-hour scrimmage , Bell, Thompson and Knight all engineered touchdown drives. All three had nifty dashes out of Heupel’s new-look offense that relies on the legs of the quarterback.

But Knight threw a pick-six to freshman safety Ahmad Thomas. Thompson was also intercepted while trying to make something happen downfield. And Bell took two sacks on his first series, which ended with a three-and-out.

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After recruiting them for several months, Oklahoma's coaching staff was finally able to talk publicly about the players the Sooners added to the program on signing day. Over the next week or so, SoonerNation will review some of the key things coaches had to say about the players signed at each position group during their signing day webcast on Soonersports.com. Quarterback Cody Thomas (Colleyville, Texas/Heritage) will kick off the series.

“He’s extremely athletic, we love his overall competitiveness as a baseball player. Because he’s a baseball player he hasn’t spent a ton of time developing himself, he doesn’t have a quarterbacks coach. He’s athletic enough to run with the football, accurate with the football to every area of the field. We feel like he has a ton of upside.” - Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Josh Heupel.

The Sooners clearly feel Thomas' best football is ahead of him and consider him terrific athlete at quarterback with plenty of room to grow and improve. It's a sign that being a quality athlete has become a priority as the staff searches for signal-callers.

"As he grows into his body, he’s going to continue to grow his arm strength. I love his makeup. He’s a great football player, great baseball player, likes competitive situations. He’s extremely bright, we believe he’s going to be an asset to our program. You have to be able to process things extremely quickly on the field, you have to be able to translate things from the quarterback room onto the field. He has the right makeup to be a special player down the road.” - Heupel

Heupel stressed some of the intangibles Thomas brings to the table along with his superb athletic ability. Thomas joins Trevor Knight and Blake Bell as quarterbacks who were lauded for their intangibles when they signed.

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IRVING, Texas -- For each of the past two seasons, Landry Jones began the season on the short list for the Heisman Trophy with a team ranked in the top 10, including a nod as the nation's preseason No. 1 team in 2011.

Each season, Jones piled up bushels of yardage but never more than 10 wins -- and, most importantly, no national titles or national championship game appearances.

"Everybody wants to have that chance to play in that championship game. Everybody wants to be an All-American. Everyone wants to win the Heisman, but there’s only a select few that actually get to do it, and those things were definitely left on the table for me," Jones said. "I wish I’d been able to accomplish them, but sometimes it doesn’t work out like that. I’ve always wanted to be in New York and do all those things, but sometimes it doesn’t work out that way."

Thing is, for Oklahoma quarterbacks it very often does work out like that. Jones' offensive coordinator, Josh Heupel, won a national title in 2000. Predecessor Jason White won a Heisman and played in national title games in 2003 and '04. Even the man Jones replaced in 2009, Sam Bradford, has a Heisman statue outside Owen Field and played in the BCS National Championship Game to cap the 2008 season.

Jones didn't do any of those things, but he'll leave Norman as the No. 3 passer in FBS history and will log his 50th start on Friday night at Cowboys Stadium. It's the same place his career began, when Bradford's essentially ended with a shoulder injury in the 2009 season-opening loss to BYU.

"I’m just really thankful. Not too many people get to play 50 games in their college career," Jones said. "I’m just really thankful for what I’ve been able to do and the position God’s put me in to be on this team and play as much as I have."

Jones acknowledged the high standards of Oklahoma fans, which have often led to criticism when he fell short of the sky-high expectations established by the quarterbacks before him under Bob Stoops, and legendary coaches and players before Stoops who won the program's first six national titles.

Jones was very, very good, but made the fatal mistake of not being quite as good as Bradford, the man who left Oklahoma as the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft, despite that shoulder injury that provided the opportunity for Jones to play 50 games.

After No. 50 is done, Jones will be gone, handing the torch to the man behind him, likely Blake Bell. This week, Jones certainly sounded like a man who's enjoyed his opportunities and is ready for the next step of his life.

"At this place, you know what Monday’s going to look like, you know what Tuesday’s going to look like, but I don’t know what the next chapter of my life’s going to look like. You could be first round, first pick, or you could go as a free agent," Jones said. "You just never know, and never know what teams are going to do and who they’re going to pick up and what your future’s going to look like. It’s exciting to walk out and see where you end up, and what God has in store for you."

Monday, Merv Johnson discussed his time as an assistant at Notre Dame. In the final half of his Q&A, OU’s director of football operations and color analyst for the Sooner Radio Network spoke with SoonerNation about his role in getting Troy Aikman to Norman, the best player he ever coached and his thoughts on the upcoming season:

Jake Trotter: You were the first one at OU to realize how special Troy Aikman was. How did that come about?

Merv Johnson: He was a kid from a small town over in Henryetta that really was a fine-looking specimen, all-around athlete, all sports and everything. Found out, we got him to agree to come to camp. I told Barry [Switzer], you need to look at him. Barry watched him throw, and that was it. There was no arm twisting. He watched him throw the football, and he was 100 percent sold.

Trotter: How did you hear about Aikman?

Johnson: He was kind of a local phenom over there, we get those things all the time. But once you go and eyeball him and see what a physical specimen he is, his personality, then you really get excited.

Trotter: Aikman is one of many Oklahoma kids who went on to great college careers. OU obviously has taken a more national approach to recruiting in recent years. But how important is it to still recruit the Oklahoma kids?

Johnson: It’s critically important. It’s hard. You want to recruit the best player available. When you break down the number of scholarships you have, it’s not very many. And then you count the positions on a team, it’s 22 positions and two kickers, basically. And you may be able to recruit only one linebacker, or two, as an example. And you want the best you can find. The best athlete, best player, the guy that you think can project the furthest. That guy might be off somewhere else, and there might be a pretty good one in Oklahoma. But you can only take one of them. It’s hard, it’s hard – the superstar that you’ve seen really makes you feel like you’ve got a shot. You hate to say, well, we can’t take you because we want to recruit this Oklahoma guy. By the same token, after a very short time, the way recruiting is so accelerated, the youngster in Oklahoma may say, well, they’re not interested in me, I’ going to go somewhere else. And so, it comes down to evaluation, and you can’t do a lot of that, because there’s only so many times you can go to their campus or their games. You have to do a lot of it by video. But you’ve got to collectively as a staff study that player, and make sure you’re OK if you can’t take the Oklahoma kid. You need those kind of guys that always love the program. But if their talent level is not the same, you have to get the best talent you can.

Trotter: So if the Oklahoma kid is even with the national kid, you suggest going for the Oklahoma kid?

Johnson: I think you’d go on it. It didn’t take them long to go on [Sam] Bradford, and guys like that. And I think they had an opportunity with camp here and him being nearby to see Bradford, the coaches recognized what a great future he had. That’s what you have to do. You can’t just let it slip by you that easily.

Trotter: Which OU team you’ve been around was the best?

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Former Oklahoma running back and current Dallas Cowboy DeMarco Murray participated in a chat on ESPN.com on Wednesday afternoon. Check out the full transcript here.

A few highlights:

Neal (DC): what was your favorite memory of those Red River Rivalry games?

DeMarco Murray: I would say the atmosphere. It was second to none. The fans made those games so much fun and the competition every game, no matter what our records were or where we stood, that game was like a national championship game.

Yodel (OKC): Who was the better quarterback Landry Jones or Sam Bradford?

DeMarco Murray: Definitely Sam. He's one of my best friends. Landry isn't far behind. But to me Sam was a better QB.

Jon (Fairfield, CA): Why did you choose Oklahoma?

DeMarco Murray: Because Coach Stoops was a great coach. They had a lot of great history at RB and they're known for winning championships.

Spencer (okc): what do u think of this years Sooner Squad?

DeMarco Murray: This year's Oklahoma team will be good. Landry is coming back. I haven't paid too much attention in the offseason with the recruits as I've been busy, but Oklahoma will always be good no matter what.

Former Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford, who won the 2008 Heisman Trophy and was drafted No. 1 overall by the St. Louis Rams in 2010, has donated a $500,000 gift to the OU Athletics Department. The money will go toward the construction of Headington Hall, OU's new student housing facility that will open in fall 2013.

"My experience at Oklahoma made it possible for me to realize my dreams," said Bradford. "The coaches, the academic environment and every aspect of being a student-athlete at OU made me a better person. I am honored to give back to a program that did so much for me and hope that in some way this contribution can make it possible for those who follow me to enjoy the same kind of experience I did as a Sooner."

Read more about Bradford's donation and what it will be used for here.

We're moving on in our series on the Big 12 blog pegging the single player each team in the Big 12 can't afford to lose. He's also the player who will be most responsible for the team's ultimate success.

Next up, the Oklahoma Sooners. Find more indispensable players here.

Most indispensable player: QB Landry Jones

2011 stats: 355-of-562 (63.2 percent) for 4,463 yards, 29 touchdowns and 15 interceptions.

Why Oklahoma can't afford to lose him: Knock him if you'd like. Talk about what he's not.

What he is? The most priceless player on Oklahoma's entire roster. That's even more true now with three of the team's top four returning receivers suspended. Are the Sooners anything close to a top-15 team without Jones, who's essentially a fourth-year starter in 2012?

It's debatable.

His 15 interceptions -- three more than his sophomore season in 2010, which featured more attempts -- are alarming, but Jones is still the engine that made this offense go in 2011, even if Oklahoma's short passing game makes his stats look slightly inflated.

Jones has solid arm strength and accuracy that is criminally underrated only because he followed otherworldly Sam Bradford as the man behind center in the Sooners' offense. He's not quite the fiery leader, but over the course of his three seasons, which included a Big 12 title in 2010, he's earned the respect of his teammates and the legitimacy that few ever acquire.

Jones will be a fascinating player to watch in 2012. I've said it several times, and it's true: He probably has the most volatile draft status of any player in the Big 12. He could play himself into the top 10, top 5 or higher with a huge year, but he could also fall to around the third round or worse if he struggles.

How that plays is debatable. What's not debatable is how his role fits into Oklahoma's squad. He's the player it most can't afford to do without.