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SCOUT’S NOTEBOOK: OKLAHOMA@TEXAS

The 2011 version of the Red River Rivalry between Oklahoma and Texas was one to forget for the Longhorns, whose inexperienced roster was no match for a savvy Sooner squad chock full of pro prospects in a disheartening 55-17 loss.

Landry takes his shots

Landry Jones was in control from start to finish versus the rival Longhorns. He was masterful out of the pistol formation by confounding the defense by looking one way and going the other, as well as throwing his receivers open.

The junior quarterback’s (367 yards/3 touchdowns) first instinct was to burn his opponent deep, but he demonstrated the presence of mind to hit quick-hitting plays underneath, as he did when he found a streaking Dominique Whaley in the flat for 11 yards on a 3^rd-and-2 play in the first quarter.

While he was held to two field goals on his first couple of possessions, Jones kept slicing up coverage by taking advantage of wide receiver Jazz Reynolds’s superior lateral quickness on a crossing route that netted 18 yards. He followed that by rolling the defense one way and throwing it in the opposite direction to a wide out James Hanna for seven yards.

The 6’4” signal caller finished off the drive freezing the safety by faking the check down to running back Roy Finch and instead tossing it to Kenny Stills, who gained a step on cornerback Carrington Byndum into the end zone for the touchdown.

What was remarkable about Jones’s performance was the way he anticipated his receivers breaking out of their routes just as he did on a first down play from the Texas 20-yard line with Ryan Broyles beating Byndum by selling the go route, but then suddenly stopping and coming back to his quarterback for an easy score.

The touchdown was called back by a push-off penalty by Stills. But Jones reconnected with Broyles five plays later, as the wideout ran into the end zone and came back to the pile on, facilitating the hook up on the five-yard score.

The 22-year-old field general was generally accurate throughout the contest, as evidenced by the way he placed the ball over the shoulders of his intended targets, away from the defender in coverage. He’s also fairly mobile in that he moves well in the pocket and can deliver quality throws while rolling away from pressure.

Jones was also exceptional at hitting his hot reads with defenders in his face. One of the areas he needs to work is his technique and/or mechanics, as he will sometimes rush his delivery under duress and fail to step into his throws.

His arm strength is very good, but not elite and will tend to underthrow his receivers when he fails to use the proper form.

Receiver duo goes wild

Ryan Broyles and Kenny Stills are a dynamic duo that is impossible to contain. The older Broyles is the more polished of the two with hands that are just as soft as they are strong , which he combines with the ability to fluidly come out of his breaks.

The senior playmaker was very adept at finding openings in zone defense. But where he truly excels is in gaining yardage after the catch due to his elusive running style. His versatility to line up in the slot or on the outside is also a plus.

Stills, on the other hand, showed great burst off the line of scrimmage to get by his man on his first touchdown from 19 yards out. He was particularly dangerous on fade routes thanks to his speed and leaping prowess, which he used when scoring his second touchdown at the end of the first half.

Week-in and week-out, the vertical threat often has a few steps on his man, but shows the willingness to fight for the ball on contested catches. Much like his partner in crime, Stills is a graceful runner with tremendous body control and executes clean patterns.

This season the sophomore came into camp bigger and faster, which is quite remarkable considering he already had 4.3 speed as a freshman.

Oklahoma loves to stack up Broyles and Stills at the line to create confusion for the help safety, who often hesitates when deciding whether to pick up the short man or the deep receiver.

Fleming out for blood

Jamell Fleming was the best player on the field last Saturday and it wasn’t close. The intimidating corner totaled 13 tackles, but was also essential in defending the run when he wasn’t making contact.

The 5’11” senior immediately began setting the edge and essentially taking the outside lanes away from ball carriers, which put his teammates in position to make tackles.

He absolutely overpowered receivers, such as Jordan Shipley, on short throws by standing up receivers and powering through them, demonstrating excellent form. On a 2nd-and-11 pass for no gain in the fourth quarter, Fleming fought off an attempted block by receiver Mike Davis and securely wrapped his arms around Shipley before wrestling him down.

The omnipresent defensive back came up huge with 12:30 left in the game by attacking his favorite whipping boy (Davis) on a hitch route and ripping the ball out of his hands, which resulted in a 56-yard score the other way.

Fleming is a great downhill player, who specializes in playing in off coverage, but has the closing speed to immediately stop wideouts in their tracks after the catch.

Notable Longhorns

Texas was clearly overmatched in this one. Although the Longhorns were (and still are) ranked as Top-25 team (amazingly!), their lack of experience really put them behind the eight ball against their conference rival.

Mack Brown’s crew is composed of 35 freshmen and 21 sophomores, but one player who stood in a negative way was senior free safety Blake Gideon, who has regressed since fellow safety Earl Thomas moved on to the NFL.

He was fooled on more than one occasion by Landry Jones’s ball fakes, one of which resulted in a touchdown in the second quarter when the defender’s first instinct to cover the short man left Kenny Stills in one-on-one coverage in the end zone.

Gideon once again came up empty later in the first half on a flare pass to running back Roy Finch out of an empty set. The upperclassman couldn’t bring down the charging Sooner, who easily powered through him.

Defensive end Jackson Jeffcoat showcased his special skills early in the game when he read and blew up a Dominique Whaley run play for minimal yardage by staying low and getting underneath blockers. The young buck has the strength and leverage to hold up at the point of attack.

But while his hand placement and technique are two weapons that make him a viable lineman, he did nothing as a pass rusher versus OU. In fact, Jackson like many of his other teammates started waiving the white flag, starting in the third quarter.

In no one instance was his lackadaisical disposition more obvious than during a 3^rd-and-21 pass play in the third quarter, where J.J. looked like he was about to run a twist around his defensive tackle. He wound up running into his line mate and incredibly stopped moving feet before the ball was thrown.