No. 4 Oklahoma played its best football of the season against Texas Tech as cornerback D.J. Graham and safety Delarrin Turner-Yell returned.
Oklahoma might have found its magic tonic for the Sooners’ secondary just in time for Championship November.
Sophomore cornerback D.J. Graham and senior safety Delarrin Turner-Yell both returned last week to help spearhead the 52-21 blowout win over Texas Tech.
“It was huge, because we needed that type of energy going into the bye. Every day that we take the practice field we can just continue to elevate our game and continue to make that energy much higher so whenever we take the field again, itâs not something that we have to start over,” Turner-Yell said.
Meanwhile, sophomore Key Lawrence moved from one of the starting safety spots into the second starting cornerback slot opposite Graham. It worked like a charm.
Lawrence broke up a pair of passes against the Red Raiders and recorded seven tackles.
“He might be one of the most confident people Iâve ever met. His confidence is out the roof. I really think that itâs what separates him from everybody else,” Graham said.
Lawrence’s natural talent doesn’t hurt either.
“Not only that, itâs his physical ability. He jumps like 40 inches or something like that. He runs like a 4.4. If heâs in trouble, he can make it up with speed. He can make the plays on the balls with his jumping ability. I think out of everything, his confidence. Nothing deters him. If he has a bad play, heâll shake it off and heâs right back up,” Graham said.
Shifting Lawrence from safety to corner probably wouldn’t have been a move Oklahoma was comfortable with absent the return of Turner-Yell. The Hempstead, Texas, native had been out and nursing a hamstring injury ever since exiting during the West Virginia game back on Sept. 25.
“I look at everything as positivity, so I wasnât down at all. No one wants to be out, but I wasnât thinking negative about it. Just trying to stay positive,” Turner-Yell said.
Known as one of the leaders defensively, Turner-Yell did what he could while sidelined to help his replacements out.
“We had some ups and downs, but thatâs the game of football. No one is going to go out and play a perfect game ever. Just being able to keep the guys uplifted and being able to lead them from off the field. It was actually fun. It wasnât fun being out, but it was fun being able to step away from it a little bit and actually see those guys fly around and make plays. I was happy for each and every one of them that made a play,” Turner-Yell said.
He couldn’t communicate with his teammates directly except between series, though, and Turner-Yell’s importance in that department became more and more pronounced the longer he was out.
“I donât like to get into all of that, you know, make myself seem like this and that. I just try to lead those guys to the best of my ability. I know that itâs not the same when Iâm on the sideline and trying to lead them, because I canât overcommunicate those things when Iâm on the sideline because itâs loud in the stadium and they really canât hear me. With me being on the field and being able to keep the energy high and just communicating to the guys, I feel like that plays a huge role,” Turner-Yell said.
Graham only missed the Kansas game, but the combination of he and Lawrence opposite one another at corner has Sooner fans salivating over what the rest of this season and beyond might hold.
The Fort Worth product recognizes this secondary’s potential and isn’t worried about any of the perceived shortcomings this defense has endured throughout this 2021 season.
“Itâs because we know our ability collectively as a unit. Itâs still Championship November. The seasonâs not over. Weâre still going to get better. Weâre putting our last performances in the past. Thatâs in the past and we still have opportunities to show what we can really do. Our corner room, really our DB room is so talented. Weâll be fine. As a football player, youâve got to have confidence. Our confidence shouldnât dip, because weâre at Oklahoma and weâre playing to a certain standard. Weâre going to figure it out. Weâll be fine,” Graham said.
Graham also knows it’s time for his group and this Oklahoma defense to elevate its game in a month the Sooners as a program have come to embrace.
“We always take it game by game, but itâs championship November. The whole team knows that, the whole staff knows that. Everybody knows that. Even coming in, itâs preached: the second half of the season, thatâs our season. Thatâs our time to shine and thatâs when we really make our strides and we become more tight-knit, we become pretty much a completely different team. Weâre motivated,” Graham said.
Oklahoma checked in at No. 8 in the initial College Football Playoff rankings, four spots below where the Sooners reside in the AP and USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll.
It’s something Oklahoma’s players can’t completely stay away from but not the Sooners’ focus according to Graham.
“Being on social media, youâre going to come across it sooner or later. Weâre motivated anyways. Itâs still game by game. Itâs November. They canât deny us if weâre undefeated and thatâs our whole thing, but weâre just going to keep going and thatâs just outside noise. Weâre just focusing on us,” Graham said.
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