Riley praises Swenson, Broiles for stepping up
A few players come to most peoples’ minds when they think about Oklahoma football.
The hottest name in Norman is undoubtedly freshman quarterback Caleb Williams, who took the town by storm after replacing Spencer Rattler. Then there’s redshirt junior outside linebacker Nik Bonitto, who’s well on his way to playing football on Sunday rather than Saturday.
OU boasts a fair share of stars on its roster, but it also has some unsung heroes. Injuries have forced players to embrace new roles on the team, and head coach Lincoln Riley took the time on Tuesday to praise two players who are providing some much-needed production.
Riley began with Erik Swenson. Despite primarily playing at left tackle, the redshirt senior has seen time at right guard and right tackle this season due to injuries and retooling of an offensive line that’s still trying to put things together.
Swenson didn’t play a single rep at right tackle during practice last week, but that didn’t stop him from playing at that position against TCU on Saturday. The veteran lineman helped prevent the Horned Frogs from recording any sacks and allowed OU’s run game to average 6.6 yards per carry.
“(Swenson) came in and played fantastic,” Riley said. “It’s hard to do, man. It’s hard to do and it’s hard to appreciate on the outside how much guys like that give to you.”
Riley also showed some love for Justin Broiles, who struggled to carve out a consistent role in his first few seasons with the Sooners.
Injuries to the secondary have forced Broiles to step up this season, though, and the redshirt senior defensive back is making the most of it.
Broiles recorded four total tackles and broke up a pass against the Horned Frogs.
“Broiles’ emergence has been really key,” Riley said. “I mean, where would we be in the secondary right now if we didn’t have Justin Broiles? He’s probably been our best secondary player this year.”
Broiles and Swenson aren’t the first players who come to mind when thinking about OU football, but their impact is as crucial as anyone on the team.
The redshirt seniors haven’t waivered in their commitment to the program, and that dedication is paying off this season.
“It’s guys like that who’ve hung in there and who’ve had all kinds of different roles throughout their career that are crazy committed to this program,” Riley said. “Those are two of the most valuable guys on our entire roster, bar none.”
Belief in Bowman
Billy Bowman got thrown into the fire against TCU, and he got burned a few times.
The freshman defensive back made his first career appearance at corner due to injuries at the position. Naturally, the Horned Frogs put him to the test right away.
TCU repeatedly fed the ball to Quentin Johnston, who Bowman spent most of his time covering, and the 6-foot-4 wide receiver won most of the one-onone matchups. Johnston finished the night with seven receptions for 185 yards and three touchdowns, but defensive coordinator Alex Grinch didn’t overreact to Bowman’s struggles on Tuesday.
“I think it’s part of being a young DB,” Grinch said. “Unfortunately, you sign up for the good stuff and you sign up for the bad stuff. We’ll coach him through that.”
Bowman’s time as a cornerback likely isn’t up. The Sooners are still awaiting the return of players such as Woodi Washington, and D.J. Graham’s status is also up in the air after suffering an undisclosed injury against TCU.
Regardless of where Bowman is asked to play on the field, Grinch and the rest of OU’s staff remain confident in the freshman’s abilities.
“Our confidence level in Billy is as high as it ever is and has been,” Grinch said. “He’s going to be a great player here.”
Injury updates
In terms of injuries, Riley said Tuesday that there will be “a lot of maybes” for this week’s road game against Kansas.
Sophomore cornerback D.J. Graham, redshirt junior linebacker Brian Asamoah and redshirt senior offensive lineman Tyrese Robinson sustained injuries against TCU last week.
Other ongoing injuries include senior safety Delarrin Turner-Yell, redshirt sophomore cornerback Woodi Washington, redshirt sophomore defensive lineman Jalen Redmond (knee), redshirt sophomore defensive back Jeremiah Criddell, freshman wide receiver Cody Jackson (medical issue) and freshman defensive lineman Kelvin Gilliam.