Tommy Jones has been waiting a long time for this.

Jones, a fifth-year senior, was named Indiana's starting quarterback for Saturday's game against Penn State. It's a position he's held before in his career, but not often.

He came to Indiana rated as one of the top players in the country, fresh off a season in which he threw for 18 touchdowns and ran for 10, leading Eaton H. S. in Eaton, Ohio to a 9-1 record. However, he just happened to come to Bloomington at the worst time ever for a quarterback hoping to get playing time.

Jones was in the same recruiting class as the unreasonably athletic Antwaan Randle El, who won the job at starting quarterback as a true freshman and used his Barry Sanders-like agility and adequate throwing arm to break Indiana's all-time total offense record.

Former Indiana football coach Cam Cameron tried to get Jones involved in the offense last season, moving Randle El to wide receiver in the first four games of the season, but Jones injured his shoulder and didn't return to action the rest of the season.

With Randle El gone this season, Jones had a shot at the job again. However, he still had to battle with senior Gibran Hamdan, who came to Bloomington in the same class.

Jones won the starting job in training camp, but he suffered a concussion against Utah in the second game of the season. Hamdan took over the job, and when Jones returned to action he had to fight his way back into it.

Jones didn't complain about having to win his spot back, and kept things in perspective.

"You just have to keep a good mind set," Jones said. "[Hamdan] practiced hard and he deserved it. You get stronger from things like this, bad things do happen. I tried to deal the best I could and help the other guys. I knew I couldn't mess around on scout team and not give them a good look."

Hamdan performed well as the starter in the new pass-oriented offense implemented by new head coach Gerry DiNardo. He leads the Big Ten in passing average per game. However, he struggled in the 56-21 loss to Michigan State last Saturday, completing 11 of his 25 passes for 100 yards and throwing two interceptions. Jones came in and completed 12-of-23 for 157 yards and a touchdown. After taking the first few days of the week to contemplate, DiNardo announced Tuesday that Jones would be the starter.

"I thought Tommy played his best game last week against Michigan State," DiNardo said. "I think his attitude has been fabulous under very difficult circumstances. And for those two reasons, he deserves to start. So it is more Tommy Jones-based than it is Gibran Hamdan-based."

Jones's teammates aren't concerned with the switch.

"They're both outstanding quarterbacks," said wide receiver Courtney Roby, who leads the team with 50 receptions and 925 receiving yards. "If one comes in, we don't lose anything. Both could start at any given time."

Jones finally has the starting job, and he has it in a balanced offense that fits him a lot better than the option-oriented system Indiana ran with Randle El in the game. However, he is trying to win games for a team that is out of bowl contention at 3-7. Nevertheless, he is trying to make the most out of what little time he has left at Indiana.

"I'm up for the challenge," Jones said. "For us seniors, it's our last go around...You just have to go out there and do what you can and work hard."