Editor's note: With fall camp just a few weeks away, OUInsider will give an overview of each position group and where things stand. The eighth installment focuses on the cornerbacks.
Most depth charts aren't set in stone heading into fall camp, but the Sooners have a pretty good idea about the top guys at cornerback.
Woodi Washington returns for his fifth-year senior season, helping to anchor OU's defense as one of four players (Ethan Downs, Danny Stutsman, Billy Bowman) who's been an every-game starter the last two years under Brent Venables. He played nearly 88% of the Sooners' defensive snaps and led all OU defensive players in snaps last season with 851, per Pro Football Focus — 70 more than the next closest player.
Alongside him is likely to be Gentry Williams. The former four-star prospect is entering his third season at OU and started 10 games last season. But the Sooners have several options, and considering the Sooners ranked 99th nationally in passing yards allowed, they need to develop real depth as they prepare for a difficult SEC schedule.
Here's a look at Jay Valai's group heading into the start of fall camp on Monday:
PROJECTED DEPTH CHART
QUESTIONS
1. Is this the year Gentry Williams can stay healthy?
Williams proved last year that he can be an elite defensive back. He earned the start in fall camp alongside Washington as a true sophomore, beating out several other veterans, and finished with the third-highest pass-rush grade and fourth-highest coverage grade of any OU players who logged at least 250 snaps, per Pro Football Focus.
The only thing that held him back was nagging injuries, which limited him to just 10 games and exposed some of the Sooners' depth issues.. But he still played 372 snaps, the 12th most on the team, and he started every game he played. He logged 30 tackles, four tackles for loss and three interceptions.
The good news for Williams, and OU fans, is that he's expected to be a full participant in fall camp. And he's now one of the veterans on the team as he heads into his junior season. Stutsman bragged about Williams during SEC Media Days last week.
"Have you seen how fast that kid is?" Stutsman said. "He brings speed, man. He's a great coverage corner and he can do man or zone. Now he's kind of stepping into that leadership role. We've got a lot of new corners coming in, so having him and Woodi help a guy like Dez, who just got into the system... is just a veteran thing that you need from Gentry."
If Williams can stay healthy, that gives the Sooners two veterans with 46 combined starts manning the conrerback spots. This could be the season where the Tulsa native fully breaks out and emerges as one of the best DBs in the SEC. The Sooners really need him on the field.
2. Who else emerges from the pack?
Even if Washington and Williams are the presumed starters, the Sooners are still going to need others to step up. Kendel Dolby (475 snaps) and Kani Walker (428 snaps) ranked second and third, respectively, in cornerback snaps last season as Williams missed time with injury.
Dolby really emerged as the season went on and is a prime candidate for real playing time this fall. But he's an intriguing player to monitor considering they moved him back and forth between cornerback and cheetah during the spring. Will Dolby primarily stay at corner, or could the Sooners give him real reps at cheetah? Either way, Dolby will likely be a big part of the Sooners' defense.
But Dolby isn't the only option. If the Sooners are looking for other veterans, they've got two options in Walker — who played a ton last season — and Malone. Malone, a San Diego State transfer, has started 23 games and was a standout player during the spring and immediately made an impact, and figures to be a part of the rotation. Jocelyn Malaska didn't play much during his two seasons at Utah, but he's a former three-star prospect and an Oklahoma native.
As far as young players, there's a real log jam. The Sooners have multiple underclassmen pushing for playing time, including Jacobe Johnson, Makari Vickers, Jayden Rowe, Eli Bowen, Devon Jordan and Jeremiah Newcombe.
Johnson (79 snaps) and Vickers (61 snaps) all saw sporadic playing time last season as true freshmen. Rowe, a redshirt sophomore, missed nearly all of last season with an injury and is a often-forgotten part of the secondary, but he's a former four-star prospect who's always had potential. Newcombe, Bowen and Jordan are true freshmen, but they are highly-touted prospects who shouldn't be counted out. The main obstacle they face are the veterans ahead of them.
Even if Williams stays healthy, developing quality depth is going to be a huge task for Valai and the coaching staff. Fortunately, the Sooners have options.
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