Spring preview: Safeties
After a year of impressive play from the safety position, it might be a safe bet to assume it will only be better in 2024.
Although the Sooners' will be without Key Lawrence (portal) and Reggie Pearson Jr. (draft) this season, this safeties group is poised to be the best unit on the defense.
With the big news of Billy Bowman Jr. returning in 2024, there was not a need for Brandon Hall to seek a safety in the portal. Instead, building from within was the chosen path and with as much talent as they have at the back-end of the defense, it is hard to say that wasn't the correct choice.
With the spring practices starting this week, let's see how the Sooners' safeties group will look in 2024:
Spring Review:
- After the best year of his career, Billy Bowman Jr. elected to return to Norman for the opening year in the SEC. Bowman was the leader in the secondary and was a big play waiting to happen in 2023. He led the Sooners' with six interceptions and took three to the house. While also being stellar in coverage with a 71.3 coverage grade via PFF, the Sooners' will need another big year from Bowman in 2024.
- Arguably the player who had the most buzz around him entering the 2023 season was the former five-star, Peyton Bowen. Bowen lived up to the hype and he saw the field often. He finished the season with a 66.9 coverage grade via PFF and only allowed one touchdown on 224 snaps in coverage. After showing flashes during his true freshman season, it is expected by many that he will earn a starting spot in 2024.
- Could he earn a starting role in 2024? Absolutely, but the end of season stretch was not the friendliest to Robert Spears-Jennings. Through the last three games of the 2023 season, Spears-Jennings posted an average of an average coverage grade of 45.7 via PFF. While there were some lows, he also looked like a star in the making at other times. In Bedlam, he played a season-high 50 snaps and also had his highest coverage grade at 78. With another spring and summer in Norman, it's safe to say whether it is as a starter or not, Spears-Jennings will be on the field a lot in 2024.
Meet the newcomers:
- Despite not getting a safety from the transfer portal, the staff was more than active on the recruiting trail. The Sooners' brought in three four-stars in the 2024 class at safety with Reggie Powers, Jaydan Hardy and Michael Boganowski. Although it might seem unlikely for any of the three to earn a starting spot, it would not be surprising to see them all get time on the field with Oklahoma being relatively thin inside this group.
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