Small Town Recruiting Report: Landon Jones/Annandale (2021)

<strong>ANNANDALE--</strong> Northstar Football News caught up with Annandale QB1 <strong>Landon Jones </strong>who is one of the top quarterbacks in Central Minnesota from the football powerhouse which is the <strong>Annandale Cardinals</strong>. We chatted with Landon about his junior season, his recruiting interest and much more. <strong>Get to Know Landon Jones</strong> Jones is a quarterback coach's dream especially when it comes to his size at 6'5 225 pounds. Landon's squad got to the state semifinals last season and the entire roster played hard the entire year, which Northstar Football News was in attendance for their dominating playoff win against Milaca, in which they won 42-7 and Jones had a great passing game. Jones's biggest strengths are reading the defense and what they are bringing, as well as hitting the open receiver in stride. Jones also is a commander on the Cardinals offense, as they rely on him to make sure everyone on the offense is set where they need to be. <strong>Favorite Part About Quarterback</strong> The leadership role is Landon's favorite part about playing the quarterback position. He and Minnesota commit <strong>Logan Purcell </strong>are going to have to show off their leadership with big wide receiver <strong>Paul Meyer </strong>(2020, U of Mary commit) and <strong>Alan Luna </strong>graduating. They will bring back <strong>Hawkin Miller </strong>(WR, 2022) and <strong>CJ Kuser </strong>(RB, 2021) who were key underclassmen in the Cardinals state playoffs run last season. <strong>College Interest/His College Pitch</strong> What is surprising to me is that Jones doesn't have much interest from anyone in college football, yet. I think this kid is a fundamentally sound quarterback that threw for over 1500 yards with 12 TDs and only 6 INT for the 11-2 Cardinals that were runner ups in Class 3A. Two things college coaches should note is that Jones is a grinder that works hard on his craft as QB1 and he loves to win. <strong>Things Jones Is Working on This Offseason</strong> As a more of a pocket passer, Jones told Northstar Football News he looks to improve his lateral speed, getting his feet quicker, and working on his already impressive arm strength. He plans on going to a quarterback camp to improve these skills and Annandale has a lifting and conditioning program called Day One that emphasizes the Cardinals speed and strengths. After Day One workouts, Cardinals coaches will have Jones make throws on the field and to his receivers to improve his throwing strength and accuracy and growing the garden with his Cardinals receivers. <strong>Landon's Mentor</strong> Jones's biggest mentor is his father when it comes to football and life. Landon's dad pushes him to work even harder even when the going gets tough and even when things are easier than advertised on the football field. His dad and his entire family all have one goal as they all want what's best for Landon not only in football but in life too. <strong>Learning from Last Season</strong> Jones noticed how his offseason and how well the Cardinals came together was quite the difference in how they played. Jones also appreciated football more in his junior season as he told Northstar Football News that "football is fun" which wasn't something he always thought in previous seasons. Jones knows he needs to keep working and working on his game to get him where he wants to be at the next level of football and getting ready for his senior season, where Annandale looks to again make it like they did last season. You can check out Central Minnesota's best quarterback in his junior film (click <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/11578310/5e3e471668988b0c380116b5">here</a>) Jones and the Annandale program should be on all coach's radar for this coming season, as based on what I saw last season this program has some studs! &nbsp; &nbsp;