For a true freshman on a team with several veteran defensive backs, Billy Bowman played a lot in 2021. It was an up-and-down first season in Norman, but he showed a lot of promise. There were enough flashes from his performance in 2021 to be excited about what he could do in year two.
After playing multiple positions for the Oklahoma Sooners in 2021, [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] made it a point to stick [autotag]Billy Bowman[/autotag] at safety in the spring and leave him there. Focusing on just safety, as opposed to trying to learn safety, cornerback, and slot corner, Bowman, is finding solid footing in fall camp.
“I’m not really intrigued to know a whole lot more about him, other than I respect how he goes; he shows up every day,” Venables shared with the media after practice on Tuesday via OUInsider. “He’s super mature. He wants to be excellent. Very quiet, humble, one of our best workers, one of the most consistent guys on our team. Right now [he’s] maybe playing better than anybody on defense if I was to single one person out. And only the biggest thing is he just hadn’t had a bunch of dips. He’s had plenty of mistakes, like all of them, but he has shown up every day with the right mindset to improve, to get better, the same thing in the meeting room. He’s just very mature. And he’s hungry, and he’s prideful, but he’s got great humility and toughness to him.”
[autotag]Patrick Fields[/autotag] is at Stanford. [autotag]Delarrin Turner-Yell[/autotag] is with the Denver Broncos, leaving a lot of snaps to be had at safety. Key Lawrence is likely to be the starter at strong safety after a strong end to the 2021 season, but Billy Bowman could very well start at free safety.
He’s got the natural athleticism and speed to play the free safety position, and if he continues to catch the eye of head coach Brent Venables, Bowman is set to play a lot in 2022.
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