While Sam Bradford was talking to reporters Monday night his Oklahoma teammates started to fill in behind him. It was a show of unity for their teammate who'd announced a day earlier his season was over and, assuming successful surgery on his right shoulder, his collegiate career.
But they also were watching the passing of a torch. The Sam Bradford era of Sooner football is over. The Landry Jones era is underway.
"It's Landry's team," OU left tackle Trent Williams said Monday night. "He's a great leader and he's been able to step up and handle it."
Up until Monday, Jones had been holding down a temporary position, and an incredibly difficult one to boot.
Bradford's talent and mystique casts a huge shadow. His importance to OU, the state, even the sporting world was obvious Monday night. The Sooners' Red Room was filled with those wanting to know every minuscule detail of Bradford's decision. The video feed was being carried live on television.
Jones wasn't hiding.
"Sam is a great player. He's one of the best quarterbacks to ever come through this school -- a Heisman Trophy winner. I have some big shoes to fill," Jones said.
He's performed admirably.
Jones' first four starts, in which OU has gone 3-1 with a one-point loss at Miami the only blemish, were all made under the guise Bradford could return at some point.
That wasn't the case Monday.
Jones admitted to a sense of relief.
"It relieves some of the uncertainties and helps me kind of focus in," he said.
It isn't just that Jones receives every practice snap as the starter. The repetition is beneficial, but there's more to it. Now when he speaks, he speaks as the Sooners' starting quarterback -- the offense's leader.
It's part of the job even Bradford admitted didn't come to him naturally. He was deferential when won the starting job two years ago as a redshirt freshman. Others had been around longer and had earned more respect.
Jones and Bradford share a hotel room on the road. There's lot of time for discussion during those nights. Some talks are technical, but others are about the role Jones officially assumed Monday.
Bradford believes he's turned over the reins into very capable hands.
"I think he's done a tremendous job stepping up, especially becoming a leader on this team. Last week, I was extremely proud of him. Going on the road in the Big 12, playing against a ranked team and playing the way he did," Bradford said of Jones. "I think it showed the tremendous upside he has. I think he's going to be a great player here."
That remains to be seen.
Jones has thrown for 1,362 yards and 13 touchdowns against six interceptions in seven games. To be fair, only four of those games were true starts.
He'll make his fifth at 6 p.m. Saturday when the Sooners (4-3, 2-1 Big 12) face Kansas State (5-3, 3-1) at Owen Field.
This one, however, will be different. The pressure of playing quarterback at OU will always be immense and more than most can handle. But it's Jones' job now. Win or lose he's OU starting quarterback for the rest of the season and perhaps well beyond. The page has been flipped and OU's moving on with its season.
"Now we know Sam is going to have surgery and get ready for the NFL and we have Landry coming up," center Ben Habern said. "We feel confident in him and we're excited to see how the rest of the season turns out."
John Shinn 366-3536 jshinn@normantranscript.com
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