Landry “Roadtard” Jones got engaged…

You’ve surely heard about this by now, but OU starting quarterback Landry Jones got engaged this past weekend.  He’s going to marry some girl who plays basketball at OU named Whitney Hand.

From NewsOK:

Landry Jones and Whitney Hand, Oklahoma’s celebrity couple, got engaged Sunday night, the two announced via social media Sunday evening.

Jones, OU’s quarterback, and Hand, a guard on the OU’s women’s basketball team, have been dating for two-and-a-half years.

“Thank you all for the sweet engagement wishes!!! We are so blessed by all of our sweet friends and can’t wait for this journey!!!” Hand tweeted late Sunday.

In an October 2009 interview with The Oklahoman, Hand talked about her relationship with Jones.

“We’ve helped each other grow,” Hand said. “It’s nice to have a best friend who can really help you athletically, spiritually, emotionally. We’ve had a lot of fun.”

First of all, congratulations to the young couple.  Now that they are engaged, I’m sure they won’t feel as guilty about their pre-marital sex.

With that being said, here are three thoughts:

1. OU is screwed.
I already thought the Sooners were a bit overrated going into this season. The fans and media have put too much stock into a sloppy season-ending victory against an over-matched UConn team, the interior of the defense is a question mark (especially after the tragic death of Austin Box), and I’m still not convinced that Landry Jones has the intangibles of a championship quarterback.

For OU to win a national championship, Landry Jones will have to win a game or two on his own. I’m not sure if he has that in him.  Sure, Landry’s stats were pretty damn good last year, but the numbers were inflated by OU’s high-tempo spread offense.  For every nice throw he tossed, there seemed to be three simple bubble screens to Ryan Broyles or DeMarco Murray that would turn into 10 to 20 yard gains.

Plus, you have to admit the guy was pretty damn terrible when he faced road adversity. He had the LeBron’esque ability to check out of games at times, and sometimes didn’t seem to want the ball in important situations.  He simply lacked the fire and confidence you look for in a championship caliber quarterback.

Anyway, I don’t think Landry’s engagement will help him in the intangibles department. There’s a reason so many people end up eloping or planning a destination wedding at the last second.  It’s because engagements suck.  Weddings are a pain in the ass to plan, and if you’re the groom to be, you have to deal with the up-and-down emotions of the bride, her mom, her sister, her aunt, her dog you probably bought for her, etc.  It sucks and it’s stressful.

On a positive note, though, at least he’ll have a decent excuse for his eminent poor play on the road at Kansas and Kansas State.

2. Get ready for the most redundant and annoying news story ever.

If you thought the highlight of Jeff Capel’s half-court shot at Duke was overplayed during basketball games or you wanted to punch the flat screen every time an announcer talked about Adrian Peterson’s dad being in prison, just wait until this season.

Whenever Landry throws a touchdown, pick-6 or tries to fumble away the Texas game, we’re going to have to put up with shots of Whitney either cheering, crying or praying.

It also means we’re going to have to suffer through interview after interview of Whitney with Jim Knox and/or Shelly Smith during the second quarter.  And the picture above?  If you like to get drunk during OU football game’s, just drink whenever it’s shown on the TV. You’ll be hammered.

3. Isn’t the fun of being the quarterback actually being the quarterback?

Yeah, we like to villainize Rhett Bomar in Oklahoma, but give the kid credit for one thing. He sure played the role of arrogant jock pretty well.  He dated a Honeybee.  Drank underage.  Made fun of his dorky position coach.  Took money for a job he didn’t do.

Now…not what Bomar did was not necessarily right, but I think it’s a little more normal than getting engaged in your early 20s while having one of the most visible “jobs” in the state of Oklahoma.

I mean, live the dream right?  It’s not every day that you’re the 22-year-old starting quarterback for the University of Oklahoma.  Go out and have some fun.  To quote the Credit Jewelers Cowboy, “Don’t act like Jesse James or anything,” but go after the hot sorority girl at O’Connell’s during trivia night (cheap plug) or send the Twirler girl some PG-13 text messages. You have your whole life in front of you and plenty of time to settle down later.

Then again, I’m immature, have loose morals and like vodka.  Thank Gary England I wasn’t blessed with incredible athletic ability.  I’d probably be in jail or hanging out with Matt Leinhart and Ryan Leaf somewhere.  That doesn’t sound that bad.