Tag: billy bowman

Lincoln Riley provides injury updates ahead of Saturday’s matchup with Nebraska

The Oklahoma Sooners may be without a couple of key starters on defense heading into week three against the Nebraska Cornhuskers.

Heading into the 50th anniversary of the “Game of the Century,” the Oklahoma Sooners are riding high after a 76-0 throttling of Western Carolina, where everything was going their way. Unfortunately, they’ll also be riding without wide receiver Brian Darby who has already been ruled out for this week’s game with Nebraska and could be without starting cornerback Woodi Washington, who Lincoln Riley listed as doubtful for Saturday’s game.

Billy Bowman and Danny Stutsman were the other notable injuries from Saturday’s win, but no specific update was given on those players. Lincoln Riley did mention several other players were questionable but didn’t mention anyone by name.

Latrell McCutchin, who made his first start last week against Western Carolina, looks to be in line for another start this week against Nebraska. At slot corner, more of Jeremiah Criddell should be expected if Billy Bowman is unable to play.

Brian Darby wasn’t high on the wide receiver depth chart, but he’s figured into each of the first two wins for the Sooners and has totaled four receptions for 42 yards through two games.

Stutsman was one of the standout defensive players from the shutout win in week two and figured to earn more opportunities, but if he’s unable to play, look for Shane Whitter to get some opportunities in his stead.

Cody Jackson worked with the starters in the second quarter, turned three receptions into 31 yards receiving, and helped set up one of the Sooners’ scores late in the second quarter.

In week three, the Oklahoma Sooners’ depth will be tested if they’re forced to play without Woodi Washington or Billy Bowman against the Nebraska Cornhuskers. But every team has to deal with injuries, and it will be interesting to see if the Sooners experience any drop-off without arguably their best cornerback in Woodi Washington.

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What you need to know to get ready for Oklahoma vs. Western Carolina

As the Oklahoma Sooners get ready to take on the Western Carolina Catamounts, here’s what you need to know to get ready for tonight’s game.

The Oklahoma Sooners face the Western Carolina Catamounts today with an opportunity to start the season 2-0. Coming off a win over Tulane, the Sooners have some things to correct before facing the Nebraska Cornhuskers next week.

The most important aspect has to be their mentality. As Lincoln Riley admitted in his postgame press conference, the Sooners didn’t have the right mentality coming out of halftime. OU needs to find an edge and mentality that will carry them for 60 minutes. It’s not enough to have a dominant quarter as they did in the second quarter of week one. For the Oklahoma Sooners to achieve the goals they’ve set before themselves, they need to play for a full 60 minutes and play relentless football.

Though it’s a significant step up in competition for the Catamounts, their quarterback Rogan Wells is an experienced player that could pose some problems for the Sooners’ defense. An athletic player, it’ll be important to get pressure on him early and finish with sacks. Getting pressure on Tulane quarterback Michael Pratt wasn’t the problem, containing him was.

The Sooners can’t let the Catamounts get comfortable on Owen Field. On offense, they have to finish drives. Against a team like Western Carolina, kicking five field goals might be enough, but that won’t carry them through the rest of the schedule. This team has to score touchdowns at a better rate.

As you get ready for tonight’s matchup between the Oklahoma Sooners and the Western Carolina Catamounts, here are the top storylines to get you ready for kickoff.

Bold Predictions for the Oklahoma Sooners Defense vs. WCU

As the Sooners defense looks to bounce back after a forgettable second-half performance, here are some bold predictions for the game vs. WCU

Oklahoma is back in action on Saturday as they welcome FCS Western Carolina University into Norman for the official home opener. The Sooners are looking for a complete performance after what many considered a letdown against Tulane. Oklahoma won, but it was hardly pretty at times. Part of the reason for that most certainly can be attributed to the defense.

With the opportunity for a bounce-back performance against what should be an overmatched Catamounts team, look for the defense to crank things up a notch and more closely resemble the defense that closed the 2020 season.

Continue on for some bold predictions for the Sooners defensive for the upcoming game against WVU:

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A deeper look: Rotations and positions need to be re-evaluated going forward

A deeper look at how the snap counts for both the offense and defense might have had an impact on the final score in OU’s win over Tulane.

After narrowly escaping a scrappy Tulane team, OU has come under the microscope from fans and analysts alike. Some have wobbled from their preseason predictions that had the Oklahoma Sooners contending for a national title.

That’s their prerogative, but personally, that seems a bit ludicrous.

Most of the top 10 played teams  who viewed their week one matchup as their ‘Super Bowls.” The lone exception really being Alabama, who steamrolled a top 20 Miami team. While we’re not here to make excuses, the first game of the season, without a preseason like the NFL has, is bound to lead to some less than stellar play.

Aside from a very tough Tulane team, what else could’ve caused Oklahoma to struggle? After reviewing the game, a deeper look at the substitutions and snap counts reveals something that could be attributed, at least partially, to why the Sooners struggled.

Defensively, the snap counts — provided by Pro Football Focus — show that 27 Oklahoma defenders logged double-digit snaps. In a game that was close for all but the second quarter, that’s a lot of snaps for reserve players.

Multiple-year starters make sense. Guys like Delarrin Turner-Yell, Woodi Washington, and Pat Fields sit inside the top 10 in snaps. However, when you look down the list, guys like freshman Kelvin Gilliam, Ethan Downs, veterans Marcus Stripling, and Kori Roberson saw time on the field. Jalen Redmond only logged 39 snaps, and Perrion Winfrey was on the field for 36 out of a possible 82 snaps.

In a game that wasn’t a “laugher,” two of your starting defensive linemen logged less than than 50 percent of the defensive snaps. Yes, getting players some in-game experience is fine but playing starters less than 50 percent of the snaps can certainly lead to mishaps and missed assignments.

Alex Grinch loves to rotate and keep guys fresh. While that has value and means something, a freshman like Gilliam, who was no higher than third on the depth chart, played snaps in a game that was still in doubt. That could certainly impact the on-field results when youngsters like Ethan Downs played and didn’t record any pressures, hurries, or tackles.

Grinch will be a lot less liberal with who sees the field while the game against Western Carolina is still up for grabs. Look for the snap counts of the first and second teams to be higher this go around until the game is certainly out of hand.

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Pass catchers will always rotate, and the running backs too. The offensive line and quarterback don’t typically see as much of a rotation as some of their offensive teammates. According to PFF’s grades, the seven offensive linemen that did see the field revealed an up and down performance.

This becomes even more evident looking at the lack of a consistent push in the Sooner’s running game. Though he wasn’t sacked, pressure forced Rattler to bail out of the pocket early or get rid of the ball faster than he may have liked.

Tyrese Robinson, who moved from right guard to right tackle, posted a run-blocking grade of 52. Chris Murray, who replaced him at right guard, had a pass block grade of 58.9 and two penalties. Rattler’s blindside was exceptional between Erik Swenson (85.3) and Anton Harrison (78.2) posted excellent pass-blocking grades.

It’s safe to say that rotating the offensive line is not conducive to success. However, maybe OU will tinker with their offensive line ahead of Saturday. Perhaps Swenson takes more snaps at right tackle instead of Tyrese Robinson, who could slide back inside where he’s more comfortable. A guy like Wanya Morris could finally see the field.

Oklahoma’s very equipped still to be the team many thought they were. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and national champions aren’t crowned in September. It’s back to the drawing board and time for Lincoln Riley and his coaching staff to do some re-evaluating. They need to shorten the leashes of some guys as they get a better grasp of who they can depend on as the season rolls along.

Until then, let’s not press the panic button so soon.

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Billy Bowman impressing Alex Grinch with eye-popping offseason

Alex Grinch discusses Billy Bowman’s instant impact in OU’s secondary.

Throughout the offseason program in Norman, freshman Billy Bowman has continued to turn heads. At Denton Ryan High School in Texas, Bowman was a jack of all trades. He lined up as a slot receiver, nickel corner and return specialist. Bowman is a playmaker in whatever role he takes on.

Alex Grinch won the in-house “recruiting battle” for Bowman and he will play the nickel position in OU’s secondary. He is as good as it gets in terms of attacking the football, a competitiveness Grinch covets.

In his introductory press conference, when asked which player has the capability to make an instant contribution, Grinch emphatically settled on Bowman’s name.

I think of Billy Bowman in particular and I think of Billy as much as anything. He came in physically ready in a lot of ways. He possesses tremendous athleticism and to see a young guy in the program immediately take to the weight program … to see a guy that you already feel is kind of ahead in terms of what a freshman walking through the door typically is and to see what he has done, is exciting. It is still a guy with 15 practices under his belt and those things so he has to get better at everything but just really highlight him as much as anything as a pat on the back. He’s done a tremendous job. – Grinch

In the spring game, Bowman made his presence known.

Bowman reeled off a 45-yard kickoff return and later broke up a pass at the goal line to prevent a touchdown.

On the kickoff return, made one fluid cut and raced to the sideline at midfield before he encountered an opponent.

On defense, he blanketed Marvin Mims with tight coverage and perfectly tracked the ball to break up Spencer Rattler’s goal-line throw.

The 5-foot-10, 182-pound athletic freak has continued to showcase his explosiveness when given opportunities.

With the departure of Tre Brown and Tre Norwood to the NFL draft and Brendan Radley-Hiles via the transfer portal, there is an opportunity for Bowman to earn playing time early in his career.

So far, he has taken full advantage of every rep. His ball skills and route fluidity from playing wide receiver, have translated to success as a defensive back. Bowman has the physicality to disrupt the line of scrimmage and the all-encompassing nickel role will fit his skills. He is primed for a breakout 2021 campaign.

Denton Ryan CB Austin Jordan commits to Texas over Oklahoma, Ohio State

Denton Ryan CB Austin Jordan chooses Texas over Oklahoma, Ohio State

It isn’t all sunshine and daffodils for the Oklahoma Sooners on the recruiting trail. Lincoln Riley and Alex Grinch didn’t receive the news they wanted when 2022 four-star cornerback Austin Jordan chose to commit to the Texas Longhorns over the Sooners and Ohio State.

Jordan played in the Denton Ryan secondary along with 2021 Oklahoma signee Billy Bowman. Instead of joining Bowman in Norman, the top 10 cornerback chose to play with his other high school teammate Ja’Tavion Sanders who signed with the Longhorns.

The No. 10 rated safety in the 2022 class is projected at cornerback for the Longhorns. The Sooners now will turn their focus to other cornerback targets at this point after Jordan announced his intention to play in Texas.

The Sooners are still looking at top athlete Gentry Williams, who is currently projected to pick Oklahoma with USC quickly gaining ground on the Tulsa, Oklahoma product.

Another name to consider at cornerback would be Lorenzell Dubose of Louisiana. He is a three-star composite and a top 50 cornerback of his class. Oklahoma has recently added Robert Spears-Jennings and Jayden Rowe already at the position in the 2022 class.

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Freshman DB Billy Bowman among players whose stock is rising

Freshman nickel cornerback Billy Bowman is seeing his stock rising after the spring game.

One of the top players that the Oklahoma Sooners were able to sign in the 2021 class was a flip from the Texas Longhorns with Billy Bowman. The former Denton Ryan Raider made an impact in all three phases of the game. He was used as a slot receiver, nickel cornerback, and return man on their way to a Texas state championship.

While some thought that Bowman would be playing on the offensive side of the ball, defensive coordinator Alex Grinch pegged him for the defensive side. The Sooners needed to identify their new nickel cornerback after Brendan Radley-Hiles transferred to the Washington Huskies. Following his performance in spring football and the annual spring game, The Athletic’s Jason Kersey listed Bowman as a player that is seeing his stock rise for OU.

The Denton (Texas) Ryan product signed as an “athlete,” and OU coaches allowed the early enrollee to choose his position. He targeted defense — which would have been impossible to imagine a top-tier talent like Bowman doing only a few years ago. He rapidly rose up the depth chart, starting the spring game with the first-team defense at nickelback. Jeremiah Criddell, Bowman’s main competition for the job, missed the spring game, but Bowman has still stood out in a defensive backfield rapidly filling with talent. “That nickel spot is gonna be really fun to watch,” OU coach Lincoln Riley said in an interview with The Athletic. “Criddell was excellent in the spring. Billy Bowman had a really strong spring, especially the second half. I can’t wait to watch it unfold.” – Jason Kersey, The Athletic (subscription required)

Bowman could very well find his way into the starting rotation at cornerback for the Sooners. It wouldn’t be entirely out of the question to see him as a return man on special teams. He can really impact the game in a variety of ways but the arrow is pointing up for the four-star athlete.

Top 100 national recruit Billy Bowman poised for stellar freshman campaign

A spring look at Billy Bowman.

Four star recruit Billy Bowman did it all at Denton Ryan High School. He lined up as a slot receiver, nickel cornerback, and made an impact on special teams as a return specialist. Considering his dynamic skillset, there were question marks when he arrived in Norman surrounding what his position would be. Alex Grinch won the “recruiting battle” and Bowman will play in a “nickel safety role” for Oklahoma.

With the departure of Tre Brown and Tre Norwood to the NFL draft and Brendan Radley-Hiles via the transfer portal, there is a greater opportunity in the secondary for Bowman to shine. In OU’s spring exhibition game, the freshman showcased sticky coverage and outstanding speed. He broke up a pass from Spencer Rattler intended for Marvin Mims at the goal line to prevent a touchdown. He stayed with Mims stride-for-stride and did not allow an inch of separation. On special teams, he popped off a 45-yard kickoff return. Both, earned praise from Grinch.

“Put him in a nickel role, he’s really taken off. He has speed, he has quickness, he has ball skills. He’s a good football player. And from a mental aptitude standpoint, he’s done a tremendous job. And maybe one of those guys, midway through spring, really made a commitment to technique.”

Bowman will provide rotational depth in Grinch’s secondary and his experience on the offensive side of the ball has transferred over. His ball skills, route fluidity, and instincts have shown up as a defensive back. Bowman has the ability to disrupt the line of scrimmage and the nickel role fits his craft. What the 5’10 Sooner lacks in size he makes up for in physicality and explosiveness.

He is poised for a stellar freshman campaign and is an additional weapon in Grinch’s arsenal.

Projected role of four-star recruit Billy Bowman

Oklahoma defensive coordinator Alex Grinch discussed the role for freshman Billy Bowman.

Billy Bowman, one of Oklahoma’s newest acquisitions is garnering plenty of discussion as spring football kicks off in Norman. The four-star recruit has the position flexibility of playing both receiver and defensive back. Bowman was listed as a DB and today via zoom, defensive coordinator Alex Grinch confirmed.

“We won the recruiting battle within these walls which was huge for us … trying him [Billy Bowman] at nickel right now. Kind of that nickel, safety kind of role which I think kind of could be a good one for him.”

The freshman will be utilized in Grinch’s secondary. Bowman played on both sides of the football for Denton Ryan High school including slot receiver, nickel cornerback, and as a return specialist. He was disruptive on the gridiron in all three. Oklahoma is not as deep on the back end with the loss of Tre Brown and Tre Norwood to the NFL and departure of Brendan Radley-Hiles via transfer portal. New players will have to step up and Bowman is certainly an intriguing addition to the mix.

With offenses at the college and pro ranks becoming more and more pass-heavy, increased pressure and importance is placed on the secondary. Teams are playing more nickel packages to add in an extra defensive back to combat explosive passing attacks. Bowman will add rotational depth at nickel safety. He possesses the physicality, ball skills, proven track speed, and change-of-direction ability to become an impact in Grinch’s system.

He will be given opportunities to rise on the depth chart. Fellow Texan Latrell McCutchin also signed with OU during the early signing period in December and Grinch is impressed with the young players following their first practice in Crimson and Cream, describing to reporters “As good of a group as I’ve ever been around.”

Bowman is receiving quality reps already in Norman and given the nature of Oklahoma’s placement in the college football hierarchy, there are high expectations placed on him. Football is all about the “next man up” and Bowman is one to keep an eye on in Oklahoma’s secondary. After all, it is not the reps that count but the production between the hash marks.

Oklahoma early enrollee Billy Bowman listed at defensive back

Oklahoma’s Billy Bowman officially listed at defensive back.

The Oklahoma Sooners certainly have no shortage of wide receivers on the team. Not a surprise given the recent successes of CeeDee Lamb, Marquise Brown, Sterling Shepard and others. Looking at the spring roster released on Thursday, the Oklahoma offense has 17 wide receivers. In the most recent recruiting class, they added Mario Williams, Cody Jackson and Jalil Farooq. The latter will not join the team until the summer.

How would this impact the No. 2 athlete in the 2021 recruiting class Billy Bowman? According to the spring roster, he is listed as a defensive back, not a wide receiver. For Denton Ryan High School, Bowman played on both sides of the ball as a slot receiver, nickel cornerback and even spent time as their return specialist. He was electric in that role.

The Oklahoma defense lost Tre Brown and Tre Norwood to the NFL draft this past season. The duo combined to play 980 total snaps. Brown missed one game, while Norwood played in all 11. Between the two, there were eight combined interceptions and eight passes defended. That is quite the amount of production to replace in the upcoming season.

The other key player gone from the 2020 Sooners team is Brendan Radley-Hiles, who transferred to Washington following the season. He played the nickel cornerback position, and Oklahoma must replace his production at a vital role. He finished with just one interception but added five total passes defended.

Bowman is likely a player to watch in the spring to see if he can work his way up the depth chart. There will be ample opportunities for him and fellow Texan Latrell McCutchin; both signed with Oklahoma during the early signing period in December. D.J. Graham could be a rising star for Grinch’s defense after making an impact as a freshman.