NFL.com Features Sooner Alum Brandon Jones

NORMAN, Okla. -- NFL.com writer Seth Polansky recently highlighted Tennessee Titans wide receiver and former Sooner Brandon Jones on the league's official website. Jones was selected in the third round by the the Titans during the 2005 NFL Draft. OU led all schools with 10 players taken by NFL franchises in April.

An excerpt from the Polansky feature:

He could have been the next Bernie Williams. Instead, he is going to be the first Brandon Jones.

It's typical for NFL players to have been multi-sport stars in high school, but the Tennessee Titans ' third-round draft pick was a center fielder at Liberty Eylau High School in Texarkana, Texas, and was selected by the New York Yankees in the 28th round of the 2001 Major League Draft. It was either several years in the farm system for the most storied franchise in baseball history or a chance to be a national champion football player at Oklahoma.

Jones decided on the latter, but not without playing a little baseball on the side.

"I wanted to go to school and play both," Jones said. "My mother and I discussed it and I wasn't ready to put my mind into one sport. (Oklahoma's baseball coaches) wanted me to play baseball in the summer and I couldn't do that. At OU's football program, we can't miss the summer and try to play. So I had to take my chances and try to play both.

"It worked out pretty well for a while, but both coaches had a problem with me playing two sports because I'm not there all the time. I just felt like (sticking with football) was the best way to go. To me, baseball is the hardest sport because you have to work all that time and it's a mental game. You can't sit out for a couple days and come back and try to hit a fastball that's coming at you."

Jones' baseball statistics didn't set the world on fire: Three home runs and a career .241 batting average in 59 games across two seasons. But there was one other problem about being at Oklahoma -- he wasn't even a full-time starter on the football team, either.

Jones came to school at the same time as fellow receivers Mark Clayton and Mark Bradley, and those two were phenomenal. Clayton was taken in the first round of this year's draft by the Ravens and Bradley in the second by the Bears. That means Jones, with just 82 catches for 1,087 yards and 14 touchdowns for his entire four-year collegiate career, was selected in the third round. Those are numbers you would see compiled by a late-round pick or an undrafted free agent.

To put it in perspective, Clayton had 66 grabs for 876 yards and eight scores his senior year alone. Not only that, but fellow third-rounder Courtney Roby of Indiana -- also taken by the Titans -- had 170 receptions for 2,524 yards in his career.

"I think the Titans saw something and they want to give me a shot," said Jones. "I have a lot of potential. I didn't put up big numbers at Oklahoma, but it's not like I wasn't in the show. I think they took a good chance and I appreciate them for picking me."

Jones' selection in the third round may have had something to do with the system. Not only did he work with Clayton and Bradley every day, but they also lined up in practice against four defensive backs that were drafted this year. That's seven draftees going head-to-head every week. There are very few programs in the country that can churn out talent like that...

Read complete article at NFL.com: Jones' Luck Comes in Round 3

University of Oklahoma Athletics

NFL.com Features Sooner Alum Brandon Jones

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