Will Sooners’ defensive backs improve in 2023?
NORMAN — One of Brent Venables’ early focuses after he arrived as OU’s first-year coach was revamping the secondary.
The Sooners added C.J. Coldon from Wyoming, Trey Morrison from North Carolina, and Kani Walker from Louisville.
OU didn’t get a ton of impact from the group, though.
Coldon was by far the most impactful, coming on strong late in the season and finishing with 42 tackles and four interceptions with six passes defended, one off a team high.
Morrison played in every game and started one, but had just 34 tackles and two passes defended.
Walker, who was just a redshirt freshman, played in six games but just three on defense for a total of 60 plays with three tackles.
Morrison’s eligibility is up and Coldon declared for the NFL Draft.
But the Sooners added a strong group of back-end defenders in the 2023 class, highlighted by five-star safety Peyton Bowen.
They also signed cornerback Kendel Dolby from NEO, added Texas Tech safety transfer Reggie Pearson Jr. — who delivered a teeth-rattling hit on Sooners’ quarterback Dillon Gabriel last season, as well as several others.
Several of OU’s signees can play in multiple spots.
“That’s what you want,” OU defensive coordinator Ted Roof said. “Because what that enables you to do is get your best players on the field whoever they are and not get bogged down by, ‘This guy is only this,’ or ‘this guy is only this.’ TO have the wherewithal to be able to move the pieces and at the same time for them to have the football IQ to learn the system and things of that nature.
“It’s gonna be a fun deal to add to the young men that we already have.”
Here’s a look at where OU’s secondary stands entering spring practice, which begins Tuesday for the Sooners:
Season rewind
The good?
The Sooners led the Big 12 in interceptions with 17, with at least one in all but two games.
C.J. Coldon led the way with four, including one in each of the final two regular-season games. Billy Bowman added three, all in the second half of the season.
The bad?
OU’s secondary struggled to contain opponents’ passing games, allowing a Big 12-worst 273.5 passing yards per game.
Since finishing first in passing defense in 2016, the Sooners haven’t finished in the top half of the league in the category and have been last three times.
Over the last three games of 2022, things got worse, as OU allowed an average of more than 411 passing yards.
Woodi Washington proved to be the Sooners’ most consistent performer on the back end, starting all but one game last season and grading out at 74.0 overall by Pro Football Focus.
Roster management
Who’s in: Peyton Bowen*, Kendel Dolby*, Jacobe Johnson, Erik McCarty*,
Daeh McCullough, Reggie Pearson Jr.*, Makari Vickers*, Jasiah Wagoner*
Who’s out: Justin Broiles, C.J. Coldon, Kendall Dennis, Joshua Eaton, Trey Morrison, Jordan Mukes, Bryson Washington
*-Already enrolled
While the Sooners return plenty of experience in the secondary — Jaden Davis has played in 47 games and started 22 during his career, Key Lawrence has played in 24 games and started eight games over the last two seasons, Woodi Washington has played in 33 games and started 22 over the last three — but there figures to be plenty of change in the secondary this season.
Washington at cornerback and Billy Bowman at safety figure to keep their spots as starters but the other two starting spots on the back end figure to be up for grabs.
At corner, Davis, Kendel Dolby and Gentry Williams are likely to vie for the starting spot opposite of Washington.
Williams was primarily a specialteams contributor but has drawn positive reviews for his offseason performance, and might be the favorite to seize the job — though his recent collapse at a workout might limit him during the spring, opening the door for the others to make progress on him.
At safety, there’s a similarly large group of players who figure to challenge to be in the rotation.
Robert Spears-Jennings was forced into the rotation when Bowman went down with an injury early in the TCU loss and remained in use for much of the rest of the season.
Five-star recruit Peyton Bowen figures to have a significant role in the secondary right off the bat, whether as a starter or a reserve who plays significant snaps.
“He’s beyond his years in regards to, football’s easy for him,” Sooners coach Brent Venables said. “You know, the schemes are easy for him.”
Reggie Pearson Jr. also figures to play one way or another.
“I think those guys will make us better,” Venables said of Bowen and Pearson. “They’re both physical. They play fast. They’re hungry. They’re driven. I think we’ll be an improved group.”