UTB Countdown: No. 2 Jess Lockwood
By: Justin Felisko
PUEBLO, Colo. – With two days remaining until the Unleash The Beast resumes in Bismarck, North Dakota, with the 20th annual Dakota Community Bank & Trust Invitational, presented by Cooper Tires, PBR.com will take a look at the Top 5 riders in the world standings before the stretch run to the 2020 PBR World Finals begins.
Today, we look at Jess Lockwood, who is currently second in the world standings.
Lockwood is joining five-time PBR World Finals qualifier Colby Yates on the RidePass broadcast this weekend, but the two-time World Champion is hopeful to be cleared for a return to competition following reconstructive left hamstring surgery on March 10 in time for his home state event in Billings, Montana, on Sept. 11.
2020 First Half UTB Stats
Rides: 18
Attempts: 31
Riding Percentage: 58.06%
Top Ride: 92.25 points on Big Black
Average Ride Score: 88.5 points
Wins: 1
15/15 Bucking Battle victories: 0
Round Wins: 8
Top 10: 8
Top 5: 6
90-point Rides: 5
First Half Recap: Lockwood looked poised to become the second rider in PBR history to win back-to-back world titles with his torrid start to the season before tearing his left hamstring in Kansas City, Missouri. PBR fans were set for a potentially historic world title race between Lockwood and Jose Vitor Leme before Lockwood’s right spur got caught in his bull rope following his 91.5-point ride on 2020 YETI World Champion Bull contender I’m Legit Too. In that moment, Lockwood’s season turned into a big question mark as I’m Legit Too yanked him into a split and sent the 22-year-old to New York City to visit Dr. Thomas Youm for reconstructive surgery and a six-month recovery.
Lockwood trails Leme by 253 points in the world standings, but he is still about a month or so away from returning to competition. Therefore, that deficit will likely increase in August with the UTB restarting and Leme showing no signs of slowing down.
Lockwood was simply on fire before getting hurt, though, and was right there with Leme in the title race.
Despite only competing in the first eight Unleash The Beast events, Lockwood is still tied with Leme for the most UTB round wins (8), and he is ranked second in qualified rides (18) and 90-point rides (5). The Volborg, Montana, native leads the UTB with an average ride score of 88.5 points.
Lockwood has been able to win two world titles in his first four seasons despite injuries causing him to miss 30 premier series events, which is more than one full season.
Not to be forgotten, Lockwood also helped captain the Team USA Eagles to its first victory on American soil two weeks before getting injured. Lockwood went 2-for-4 inside AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, and he set the tone, especially on the first night of competition with 90.25 points on Grand Theft and 88.5 points aboard Red Dawn.
Best First-Half Performance: Lockwood’s lone victory before getting hurt came at the Manchester Invitational. Lockwood posted two of his five 90-point rides this season in Manchester as he rode Apocalypse for 90.5 points to win Round 2 and then Big Black for 92.25 points to clinch the victory in the championship round.
First Half Top Ride: Big Black has been synonymous with 90-point rides and event victories throughout his four-year career, but Lockwood posted the highest score on Big Black in the 12 90-point rides he has teamed up for when he rode him for 92.25 points in Manchester. The ride was the fourth best of Lockwood’s premier series career.
First Half Reading
• Jess Lockwood knows he has to answer Leme’s hunger for world title
• Lockwood ready to step up for Team USA
• Lockwood to undergo surgery for torn hamstring
• Lockwood says recovery is going well and expects to return
• Lockwood continuing to see progress in recovery
• Lockwood still young enough to break Adriano Moraes & Silvano Alves record
Rehabbing All Summer Long: Lockwood has been active on social media, especially through his Instagram stories, keeping fans informed of his rehab sessions at home in Montana. Whether it is working out in his personal workout room, using pulse therapy or just going for hikes in his native state, Lockwood has made sure to stay active and follow the guidance of Dr. Tandy Freeman and the PBR Sports Medicine team.
Analysis: Lockwood is about a month away from possibly returning to competition, and he is still 253 points behind Leme.
That may seem like not too much, but that is close to 1,012 points in last year’s world standings points system. Now keep in mind that Lockwood overcame a 749.66-point deficit heading into the 2019 World Finals, so he knows he can do some serious damage at the Finals, especially considering this year’s Finals offers more world points than the 2019 edition.
Therefore, Lockwood’s 2020 world title aspirations will partially be tied to what Leme does in the next four events and two 15/15 Bucking Battles (Salt Lake City and Fort Worth, Texas).
For a rider to have a realistic shot at winning the 2020 World Championship, a rider will likely have to be within 650 points of the world No. 1 ranking. However, a rider within 800 points of the world No. 1 ranking could also remain in contention with a victory at the World Finals, but he would need some major help from his opponents stubbing their toes inside T-Mobile Arena.
The door could be open for Lockwood when he returns.
“There is always somebody that can do something about it, and right now in my mind Jess is the only one that can ride good enough to do anything about it,” PBR Director of Livestock Cody Lambert said. “He is the only one that can ride with Jose, and he can’t ride until September, and I expect Jose to win every time. It is just like Jess. I expect him to win every time. Jose is there and he wants it, and he is the best there is right now. He has left no doubt about that. If Jess is there, then there is two of them. If Jose is only there, there is only one.”
Lambert agreed that no one is doubting Lockwood’s ability to make a second-half push when he returns, but it may just be too little too late for him when you consider just how strong of a bull rider Leme has been in 2020.
“There is a lot of points for Jess to earn, but the thing is Jose is too good to give that head start to anyone,” Lambert said. “The only way I see anybody catching him is if he got hurt and can’t go. If Jose is there, he is going to win.
“Jose’s level of commitment is the real thing. The only way anybody can catch him if he is not there. I don’t care if Jess shows up and is at his very best. Jose is still going to win a lot.”
There is also the fact that there is no guarantee that Lockwood will return from his hamstring surgery immediately as the rider he once was. The injury is very rare in bull riding, and there is an expectation that Lockwood can return to his prior form, but only time will tell.
Two-time World Champion and CBS sports analyst Justin McBride believes Lockwood can come back and make a push, but Leme has shown no signs of wanting to leave the door open.
“Maybe at the end of the Finals I need to say, ‘I am sorry I got it wrong,’ but I am not going to do that now,” McBride said. “I don’t expect Jess to struggle. Jess was riding awesome when he got hurt, and I expect him to come back and ride just like that. My thing is, with the lead Jose’s got, I know it doesn’t look like a huge number, but the way the points are now, the lead Jose’s got and the way Jose is riding, I think it is going to be very, very difficult for anybody to catch him – even Lockwood.
“Jose is not a guy who just makes the whistle. Jose is just like Jess. He wins the round. You got two cut from the same cloth going against each other, and one has a dang near 300-point lead on him.”
Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko
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