Tales from Oklahoma State Football

I liked this book. It's basically dictation of Pat talking, which is funny if you're familiar with Pat Jones. Some neat inside information here, nothing revolutionary, but you can certainly read between the lines a time or two. Especially regarding the NCAA sanctions, etc. Overall it's a fun read, and a must for any OSU fan of the Pat Jones era.

I can hear Pat Jones tell the stories in the book because he has a unique voice. This is the best sports tales book I have read because the anecdotes are very interesting, such as Jerry Jones helping Jimmy Johnson get the OSU head coaching job and Frank Broyles giving Johnson a token interview when Lou Holtz was fired at Arkansas. I wish he would elaborated on what led to the probation in the late 1980's and his time in the NFL that led him to do sportstalk.

As an OSU alumnus and student during much of this time period, this book was a great insider's peek. It has some very interesting trivia about how many of the players and coaches came to OSU during those times, which was great to learn. It was a quick read because of its content, but also because of its writing style. The dialog in the book is very conversational. The writing is hardly difficult to read, so any age group could whip through this book. Something I missed, intentionally I assume, were many of the seemingly private jokes and asides. Pat describes many situations more like we were there and are merely reminiscing as opposed to learning for the first time. His sections on the recruiting violations come across like he is protecting someone; he certainly knows much more than he divulges! This is a great book if you were a fan during those times, or if you have any passing interest on how Barry Sanders got to OSU, why those teams were so exciting and how they evolved.

Because I'm a huge Pat Jones and an OSU fan, this book was entertaining. But it left me wanting more. For example, the coach says QB Ronnie Williams had as much arm strength as Dan Marino and he was tough as nails. A few pages later Pat Jones replaces Williams with Mike Gundy, and he never really says why made the move. In the coach's defense, he moved Williams to wide receiver and that's the position he played in the NFL. There were a few neat anecdotes, such as a freshman player committing suicide and how the seniors, including Leslie O'Neil, became top-notch leaders; and how Scott Verplank, a former OSU golfer and current pro, gave some fans the finger when he was on the sideline. Pat also described how he tried to protect Barry Sanders from the media and fans during his '88 Heisman run. Pat even prevented Bob Costas from getting an interview with Sanders after he received the award. All through the book, Pat comes off as a nice guy who loved his players and didn't even mind the likes of instate rival and OU coach Barry Switzer and Texas A & M Coach R.C. Slocum. This is really the only book out there that chronicles OSU football. Hopefully, there will be another OSU book out soon.

for want of better words was "a helluva football coach," and equally as funny as Lou Holtz. At Oklahoma State, he often operated with one bullet in his gun, not unlike Barney Fife, but he was good football man and a great guy to listen too. Jimmy Trammel is a well recognized sportswriter for the Tulsa World. Pat Jones was assistant at Arkansas and Pitt, part of the Jimmy Johnson, Dave Wannstedt, Butch Davis et al staff. When Johnson left us in the lurch at OSU (clouds of NCAA probation looming on the horizon) by booking for Miami, coach inherited a doomed program. But for a brief season or two, when he had the players his was a top 10 program nationally. He later coached for about 10 years for the Miami Dolphins. Great read.