Offensive coordinator Joe Craddock made it clear Wednesday there are six quarterbacks … he even mentioned walk-on Jack Lindsey without saying anything about just holding.
That includes John Stephen Jones, who is quietly having a good start to fall camp, according to everyone we’ve talked to.
Now don’t misunderstand that. In no way is that a prediction of him being the starter next Saturday against Eastern Illinois. In fact, I wouldn’t make a prediction on anybody when it comes to who will take the first snaps.
In the limited availability we’ve had, he has looked as good as the others. Every single one of them has done some really good things we’ve seen. Others have drilled passes into the ground or overthrown receivers by a country mile.
All of which is why Craddock and Chad Morris seem perplexed at times over the lack of anyone separating himself from the others.
And it’s also why Jones and fellow freshman Connor Noland are still in the mix.
Too many people, including several of the national talking dunderheads, think this is a passing offense. I will not be surprised if there’s far less passing in this offense than what we have seen the last two years.
Don’t discount Jones. Craddock was seen Wednesday working with him on technical things. Not in a negative manner, either. The day before we saw Craddock go off on the entire offense and at one point had guard Kirby Adcock doing up-downs beside him.
“I had to re-focus him,” was how Cradock described it Wednesday.
Some have referred to Jones as a midget, which is not totally off-base from a visual standpoint when the 5-11 quarterback is standing next to 6-foot-7 Cole Kelley.
In reality, though, height doesn’t seem to be a big deal in winning college football games these days. Jones is the same height as Drew Brees, Johnny Manziel and just a shade shorter than Shea Patterson. He’s considerably taller than Doug Flutie.
I’m not basing it on what’s in the program … those are the ones I’ve stood next to and when it comes to that height range it’s easy for me to judge.
Baker Mayfield is another one. He’s shrunk nearly two inches since being a freshman at Texas Tech, where he was listed at 6-foot-2, then 6-1 at Oklahoma and under 6-1 at the NFL Combine. The Browns have rounded him back up to 6-1, but he might be just a shade over 6-0 from folks I know that have seen him up close.
No, height won’t be a factor with Jones.
Don’t give me that about quarterbacks taking a beating playing in the SEC. Not anymore. With the rules favoring offense nowadays, you just about can’t breathe hard on the quarterback anymore.
I’m trying to remember the last time a diminutive quarterback got beat to death and I’d have to go back over 30 years. In fact, most quarterbacks these days get hurt running down the field or getting twisted and it happens more to the bigger guys, it seems.
The guess here is Craddock and Morris are looking for the quarterback that makes the most plays. Whether that be with his feet or arm is probably not relevant.
It’s who makes decisions after the ball is snapped quickly and correctly. From the limited looks we’ve had in the media, Jones appears to be near the top in that area.
For that you don’t need height.
Which is why you shouldn’t discount Jones being prominent in the mix.
But nobody knows anything for sure.
And that may be the way Morris wants it, too.
