Conviction and consistency — the OU cornerback room has impressed throughout fall camp.
“We've been going at it back and forth,” sophomore wide receiver Ivan Carreon said. “They have their days; we have our days where we just make everybody better. We talked to them in the locker rooms, (and) they saw … what we need to work on.”
The unit is working to sharpen its game in the offseason after contributing to OU’s No. 19 defense in opponent yards per game in 2024. Despite the superb performance last season, the group started the summer with uncertainty, as redshirt junior Gentry Williams and redshirt senior Kendel Dolby dealt with health issues in 2024, sophomore Eli Bowen suffered a leg injury in the spring and seven freshmen joined. However, Eli Bowen, among others, still excites cornerback coach Jay Valai after a strong year with 29 tackles.
“Eli’s smart. I always saw baby (NFL) cornerback Stephon Gilmore kind of mindset (with) everything he does,” Valai said. “But as good as he was last year, he'll be better this year — just understanding the game, conscious within the game. Really, I know he got hurt in the spring and all like that but should've seen the first couple spring practices. It was good, so getting him back, it's going to be really fun.”
Eli Bowen is not the only one of the brothers who has impressed Valai, though, as the coach also raves about his older brother, Peyton, heading into his junior year.
Peyton Bowen recorded 36 tackles in 2023 and 33 in 2024, and Valai remains confident he will lead in 2025. Valai, who coached at Alabama in 2021, values Peyton Bowen in a similar way as Ohio State safety Caleb Downs, who recorded 81 tackles in 2024 after 107 in 2023 at Alabama.
“Peyton Bowen has been really good. He's going to be one of the leaders of our defense,” Valai said. “I recruited him when I was at Alabama. I always thought him and Caleb Downs (were) the best two safeties I recruited back then, and I think Peyton's going to prove that point this year as well.”
Williams, who recorded 30 tackles in 2023 but was injured in 2024, has also played a pivotal role in lifting his teammates up but also showing promise himself in fall camp.
“(Gentry Williams') a father figure but a father figure that wants to fight too,” Valai said. “Don't get it twisted, he was helping everybody, but he also wants to be the example on the football field too.”
Among the less experienced guys, redshirt freshman Jeremiah Newcombe, sophomore Devon Jordan and freshman Courtland Guillory have proved themselves throughout fall camp. Specifically, Newcombe has reminded Valai of Dolby, who recorded 49 tackles in 2023 but 10 in 2024.
“Newcombe has been baby Dolby. … He's been tremendous — understanding of the nickel position and the corner position, was just like a big-picture perspective, being locked into the details and fundamentals of the game,” Valai said.
Jordan, on the other hand, has also impressed with his mentality despite recording just one tackle in 12 games in 2024.
“The players make the plays come alive, though, and he's really bought into that,” Valai said. “He's been really technically sound, being aggressive too and then not playing with confidence, playing (with) conviction, big-picture perspective, understanding.”
Guillory, a former four-star recruit out of Texas, has displayed effort in practice that has caused Valai to be deeply confident in the young cornerback. Valai sees the freshman as having potential for a similar season to Eli Bowen’s in 2024.
“It's been continuous growth. He was a good football player, but he's been a violent student of the game. … You can tell his entire story by the way he plays. He's a different guy. I think he's very similar to but (somewhat) different from Eli Bowen, but (he’s) going to be an impact guy.”
Guillory’s superb mindset and abilities early on have not been lost on Carreon either. Carreon, who led the Sooners in receiving yards in the Armed Forces Bowl, has sharpened through competition with Guillory.
“Courtland (Guillory) came in as a freshman (and has) been really good throughout all fall camp … (with) challenging me, trying to make me better,” Carreon said.
With a room full of promising young players like Guillory but also respectable experience like Williams, Valai says every member will have a fair shot at game time.
“The truth is I don't care about age, Valai said. “The best guy is going to play.”
As defensive backs fight for opportunities, head coach Brent Venables feels confident in the players’ fundamentals translating well to game day.
“We’ve got more guys (consistently) playing cornerback the way it needs to be played, extraordinary kind of the basics,” Venables said. “If you do that, you can be pretty dang good.”
