stillers4me
10-25-2015, 07:10 AM
Sports always have come easily for Landry Jones — football more than any other.
In a tiny football-crazed town like Artesia, N.M., where the stadium's capacity (6,500) can accommodate more than half of the city's 11,301 residents, the starting quarterback is a big deal.
Jones was a big deal, and football was a big deal to Jones.
He threw for 89 touchdowns (45 in his senior year) and led Artesia High to two of the school's 28 state titles. Jones wasn't the only Division I athlete to come out of Artesia, but he surely was the best when he signed to play at Oklahoma in 2007.
“We have had players go to the next level but not many D-I athletes,” Artesia coach Cooper Henderson said. “Everybody expected him to do super well everywhere he went.”
Jones was aware of that, even at a young age.
“Once I started getting recruited, everybody knew me,” he said. “Everybody always was telling me that I was going to be in the NFL. Coming out of high school, my whole theme of who I am was dependent on how I did in football. Then it was all taken away.”
As Jones prepares for what likely will be his first professional start Sunday for the Steelers against the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium, he can't help but look back at the day it was all given back to him.............
Read more: http://triblive.com/sports/steelers/9307719-74/jones-football-steelers#ixzz3pa4gt9Of
In a tiny football-crazed town like Artesia, N.M., where the stadium's capacity (6,500) can accommodate more than half of the city's 11,301 residents, the starting quarterback is a big deal.
Jones was a big deal, and football was a big deal to Jones.
He threw for 89 touchdowns (45 in his senior year) and led Artesia High to two of the school's 28 state titles. Jones wasn't the only Division I athlete to come out of Artesia, but he surely was the best when he signed to play at Oklahoma in 2007.
“We have had players go to the next level but not many D-I athletes,” Artesia coach Cooper Henderson said. “Everybody expected him to do super well everywhere he went.”
Jones was aware of that, even at a young age.
“Once I started getting recruited, everybody knew me,” he said. “Everybody always was telling me that I was going to be in the NFL. Coming out of high school, my whole theme of who I am was dependent on how I did in football. Then it was all taken away.”
As Jones prepares for what likely will be his first professional start Sunday for the Steelers against the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium, he can't help but look back at the day it was all given back to him.............
Read more: http://triblive.com/sports/steelers/9307719-74/jones-football-steelers#ixzz3pa4gt9Of