Injury could leave secondary thin
NORMAN — In the spring, new Oklahoma defensive coordinator Alex Grinch said the depth in the secondary was alarmingly thin.
Now, the Sooners might need to use even more depth on the back end after junior defensive back Tre Norwood suffered a knee injury in practice earlier this week.
Nor wood appeared healthy during a short portion of Monday's practice that was open to viewing by media members. But he didn't practice Tuesday and was seen using crutches.
A source close to Norwood said the exact nature of the knee injury was unknown as of Wednesday afternoon but that “it doesn't appear good.”
It's feared Norwood suffered at least a partial tear of a ligament in his knee.
Norwood was primarily being used as a nickelback during preseason camp after finishing the season there last year.
The Fort Smith, Arkansas, product started all 14 games last season, tying for fifth on the team with 58 tackles. He added five pass breakups and an interception — that coming in the final minute of
the Big 12 Championship Game victory against Texas, allowing the Sooners to kill the clock and advance to the College Football Playoff.
“He' s been a bright spot,” cornerbacks coach Roy Manning said this week. “He's a very sharp kid and very reliable. He's made a good amount of plays just through three practices. I expect a lot out of Tre. He expects more out of himself.”
If Norwood is out for an
extended period of time, the spotlight is most likely to turn to sophomore Bookie Radley- Hiles at the nickel spot.
Rad le y-Hi les, a California product, was a five-star prospect out of Florida's IMG Academy.
He started 11 of the first 12 games last season before falling out of favor and playing sparingly over the last two games of the season against Texas in the Big 12 Championship Game and Alabama in the Orange Bowl.
Rad le y-Hi les didn' t record a tackle — or any other stat — in either of those two games.
Outside of Radley-Hiles, the Sooners might have to juggle things around to have some depth at the
position.
During the spring, a pair of safe ties—freshman
Jamal Morris and walk-on redshirt freshman Caleb Murphy — also spent time working at the spot.
Norwood's loss would also leave the Sooners a bit thinner at cornerback.
That's where Norwood started for the first 12 games last season before moving to the nickel/ safety spot.
Tre Brown and Parnell Motley are the likely starters at cornerback. Outside of those two, the player with the most experience is redshirt junior Jordan Parker, who has bounced back and forth between cornerback and safety in recent years.
Parker started eight
games at corner in 2016 before losing his spot to Motley the following year and suffering a season-ending injury in the opener. He spent most of last season at safety.
Outside of Parker, freshman Woo di Washington and J aden Davis have made a positive impression early in camp, especially Washington.
“He reminds me a lot of Tre Norwood,” Sooners coach Lincoln Riley said recently. “Very smooth, athletic, one of those guys that's kind of good at every single thing he does.”