Davis emerges in CB rotation
NORMAN—South Dakota receiver Levi Falck ran a 15-yard comeback route, expecting the ball to be zipping toward him as he turned around.
It was, but so too was J aden Davis. The Oklahoma freshman cornerback had jumped the pass.
Davis wrestled the ball away from Falck for his first career interception and the Sooners' third takeaway Saturday night.
“You can tell he's been in the game a long time,” coach Lincoln Riley said after OU's 70-14 win. “A coach's kid. Works his tail off. Very smart player. Very, very mature. Not a guy that you feel like is 18 or 19 years old. He feels like he's been here before even though he hasn't. There's kind of a calm focus to him and he's certainly very hungry.”
The 5- foot -10 true freshman from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, has already proven he deserves a turn in OU's cornerback rotation.
Davis isn't likely to steal a starting spot away from senior Parnell Motley or junior Tre Brown, but defensive coordinator Alex Grinch came away impressed.
“The lights aren't too bright for him,” Grinch said. “To make a real competitive play on the football — that wasn't an easy one by any stretch of the imagination. We're looking for playmakers on every level of the defense and certainly the secondary. If you had to circle a spot, that's one of them. What you will see is a lot more Jaden Davis.”
Stevenson's highlight run
Rhamondre Stevenson knew what would happen if he got caught.
“That running back room, if I wouldn't have made it, they would've been on me for the rest of the season,” Stevenson said with a smile of relief.
Stevenson's 75- yard touchdown run in the third quarter was Oklahoma's biggest play of the night against South Dakota.
He took the handoff on an outside run and made one cut up field. It was a race for the final 55 yards. Stevenson was pushed just before he made it to the goal line, but he was able to dive in for the score.
“The blocking was amazing,” Stevenson said. “It just opened right up. I just hit that second gear and took it to the house.”
The junior college transfer from Las Vegas rushed for a team-high 104 yards on six carries.
While sophomore T.J. Pledger works his way back from a hand injury, Stevenson has been OU's third option at running back behind Trey Sermon a nd Kennedy Brooks. Freshman running back Marcus Major made his OU debut with five carries.
“We all can play ,” Stevenson said. “All five of us can get in the game and make an impact.”
Rankings watch
Oklahoma dropped a spot in the AP Poll released Sunday afternoon. The Sooners checked in at No. 5 after being ranked No. 4 the previous two weeks.
LSU, after its 45-38 win at Texas, jumped from No. 6 to No. 4. Texas fell from No. 9 to No. 12.
Extra point
Eighty-one of OU's 114 players saw action against South Dakota.