Tag: jay valai

Oklahoma offers Courtland Guillory, a 2025 safety from Klein Oak High School

Oklahoma offered 2025 DB Courtland Guillory earlier this week. a versatile defender with nice size.

Billy Bowman and Peyton Bowen are likely your starters at safety in 2024, barring any health issues, and that gives Oklahoma as talented a duo on the back end as there is in the country. Billy Bowman spurned NFL opportunities to play one final season as a Sooner, while Peyton Bowen’s story as an emerging star will look to unfold this in 2024.

Behind them is some uncertainty, but there are plenty of intriguing names like Robert Spears-Jennings, Erik McCarty, and true freshmen Jayden Hardy, Michael Boganowski, Reggie Powers, and Mykel Patterson-McDonald as possible options. Each of the true freshmen safeties have received praise over their high school careers for their versatility and physicality.

As Brandon Hall and Jay Valai build their positional boards for the 2025 class, those two things stick out the most. That’s why it shouldn’t be surprising that Oklahoma recently offered 2025 defensive back Courtland Guillory.

Guillory has played cornerback for his Klein Oak High School team. He’s has also been positioned as a safety or middle-of-the-field player. His athleticism stands out, as does his 6-foot-1 frame. Whether he sticks at corner or safety remains to be seen, but early returns show he has the athleticism to play both, which makes him an exciting option for the Crimson and Cream.

Courtland Guillory’s Recruiting Profile

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Oklahoma Sooners offer 4-star cornerback and Georgia Bulldogs commit

Jay Valai offered four-star cornerback and UGA commit Tae Harris on Wednesday morning.

Oklahoma’s defensive backs had an up-and-down season in 2023. They’ll be looking for more consistency as the Sooners prepare for the SEC. The Sooner defensive backs are a talented unit, and they had excellent production with interceptions, as the Sooners were in the top five as a team in that category. They can improve to be more sticky in coverage going into 2024.

Jay Valai has been an excellent recruiter since coming to Oklahoma, and he’s looking to continue building that room with an offer to Tae Harris out of Cedartown, Georgia, on Wednesday morning.

Harris, a four-star, six-foot cornerback in the 2025 class, is already committed to Kirby Smart and the Georgia Bulldogs. However, Harris is not planning to shut down his recruitment anytime soon and continues to visit other schools.

The 247Sports composite rankings have Harris rated as a four-star prospect and the No. 221 prospect in the country, the No. 27 cornerback, and the No. 28 prospect in Georgia.

Harris is a dual-sport athlete with excellent track times in the 100-meter dash and some very nice numbers on the gridiron. He is a two-way player for his Cedartown High School team who plays receiver when not locking down receivers. He also showcased versatility as a defensive back and played free safety. He could be a candidate to play the nickel for the Sooners in college given his versatility.

Tae Harris’s Recruiting Profile

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Oklahoma Sooners receive Rival Futurecast for 2025 four-star cornerback

The Oklahoma Sooners look to be in a favorable position for 2025 four-star cornerback Cobey Sellers.

The Oklahoma Sooners have had a strong start to the 2025 recruiting cycle, with nine players currently committed to the class. A lot of work has been done on the offensive side of the ball, but Oklahoma does have commitments from a pair of defensive line prospects in Ka’Mori Moore and Alexander Shieldknight, and an athlete projected to play outside linebacker, Marcus James.

Well, the Oklahoma Sooners look like they’re making headway for another defensive standout, four-star cornerback Cobey Sellers. Sellers is a top 150 player in the 2025 recruiting class, according to 247Sports and On3, and a consensus top 30 player at his position across the board.

He’s a player that already has good size, standing 6-0 and weighing 170 pounds, and he plays like it. He’s a sticky-man corner that will play through the receiver at the catch point and helps in run support. He’s got the athleticism to play in both man and zone coverages and make plays on the ball in the air.

For Shadow Creek, Sellers also returned punts, and during his senior season, played quarterback.

He’s a good player who will be an important target to follow as the 2025 recruiting class takes center stage. Cornerbacks coach Jay Valai has done an excellent job building his depth chart and Sellers would be another excellent addition.

Sellers has a big-time offer sheet, including Georgia, Oregon, Washington, Texas, Texas A&M, LSU, and Penn State.

Cobey Sellers’s Recruiting Profile

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Sooners promote Jay Valai to assistant head coach for defense

The Oklahoma Sooners announed on Saturday the promotion of Jay Valai to assistant head coach for defense.

After every season, there’s bound to be some coaching turnover. The Oklahoma Sooners have experienced it at each of their coordinator positions. [autotag]Seth Littrell[/autotag] takes over for [autotag]Jeff Lebby[/autotag] as offensive coordinator and OU announced on Saturday that [autotag]Zac Alley[/autotag] will take over for [autotag]Ted Roof[/autotag] as defensive coordinator.

Though the Sooners will have new coordinators on both sides of the ball heading into the SEC, they’ll keep the rest of their staff intact. In order to make sure they have as much continuity as possible, Brent Venables announced the promotion of [autotag]Jay Valai[/autotag] to assistant head coach for the defense.

“I’m incredibly excited about this defensive staff,” said Venables in an official release from the University of Oklahoma. “The leadership in the room with Coach Valai, Coach Alley, Coach (Todd) Bates, Coach (Miguel) Chavis and Coach (Brandon) Hall is exceptionally strong.”

Valai has served as Oklahoma’s co-defensive coordinator, defensive pass game coordinator, and cornerbacks and nickelbacks coach since joining Venables staff in January of 2022.

Valai has spent time coaching at the collegiate and NFL level and has shown his chops on the recruiting trail over the last two cycles, adding a number of blue-chip prospects from the high school ranks and impact transfers as well.

In promoting Valai, the Sooners assure their defensive staff remains intact as they welcome Alley and Oklahoma’s recruiting shouldn’t miss a beat.

The Sooners defense made significant improvements in 2023 to help Oklahoma earn their first 10-win season of the Brent Venables era. If they can take another step in 2024, it could have the Sooners contending for a spot in the College Football Playoff.

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What does Zac Alley bring to the table as defensive coordinator?

The Sooners are expected to hire Zac Alley as their next defensive coordinator but what can fans expect from the new hire?

On Thursday the Oklahoma Sooners announced they would be mutually parting ways with Ted Roof who had been the defensive coordinator at Oklahoma since 2022. That immediately brought speculation about who the next guy would be for the Sooners.

Would they promote from within with [autotag]Brandon Hall[/autotag], [autotag]Todd Bates[/autotag] or [autotag]Jay Valai[/autotag]? Or would they look for someone outside the program? Reports started surfacing Thursday night the Sooners were expected to hire Jacksonville State defensive coordinator Zac Alley.

Now, it hasn’t been made official yet but let’s take a look at what Oklahoma could be getting from Alley as defensive coordinator.

Alley has a lot of familiarity with [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag]. He worked for four years (2015-18) under Dabo Swinney as a graduate assistant at Clemson. Alley spent the entire time on the defensive side of the football, where he worked primarily with the defensive tackles and linebackers.

He would leave there and head to Boise State to be the co-special teams coordinator and linebackers coach. His first opportunity as a defensive coordinator came from Louisiana-Monroe.

He turned what was the No. 125 ranked rushing defense in FBS in 2020 into the 69th-ranked rush defense in 2021. The Warhawks improved in 11 of 14 defensive categories from 2020 to 2021.

He took the same position with Jacksonville State in 2022. 2023 was their first season in FBS.

In 2023, they allowed 352.8 yards per game, 111.5 rushing yards per game, 241.3 passing yards per game and teams converted 32% of their third downs. They also ranked No. 8 in the nation in stop rate, in the 96th percentile in run defense success and 67th percentile in pass defense success.

Jacksonville State led Conference USA in almost every statistical defensive category including, total yards, rushing yards, yards per carry, sacks, forced fumbles, total touchdowns allowed and was second in interceptions.

More: Social media reacts to reports that Zac Alley will be the next defensive coordinator

From reports, Alley is a “mini” Venables. In fact, in an interview with the Post and Courier back on Nov. 2, 2023, he talked about the similarities.

“I laugh about it,” said Alley, the JSU defensive coordinator who learned the trade while working as a student assistant and graduate assistant when Venables was defensive coordinator on Clemson’s best teams. “But I talk like Coach V. I coach like him. My parents tell me my mannerisms are like him on the sidelines.” – exceprt from the Post and Courier article

He also requires the services of a “get back coach” just like his new boss used to. You can even see the similarities from practice when he was Mic’d up at ULM.

All signs pointed to this type of move. Bringing in someone Venables had trust in to run the defense and had a similar philosophy. Venables can hand his defense off to someone so he can be more of a “CEO” type of head coach.

That doesn’t mean he won’t have any part in the defense because he will. Every head coach still has a say in everything going on. It just means he can now focus on other things more because he has someone he trusts leading the defensive group.

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7 Takeaways from the Oklahoma Sooners 2024 signing class

The Oklahoma Sooners locked in all 27 commits to their 2024 signing class and here are seven takeaways.

The Oklahoma Sooners found success on the recruiting trail in each of the three cycles Brent Venables has been in Norman. Because they signed all 27 commitments on the first day of the early signing period, the Sooners locked up a third-consecutive top 10 recruiting class.

It was a great day for the Sooners on the recruiting trail. It also was a stress-free morning: The Sooners had their class locked up by 11:30 a.m. CT.

Now they turn their attention to their remaining targets on the recruiting trail, namely Dominick McKinley, who isn’t expected to sign until the February’s national signing day.

Even if they don’t pull off an improbable flip with McKinley, the Sooners have put together another really strong recruiting class on both sides of the ball.

Here are some takeaways from the Sooners 2024 signing class:

Check out more from the [autotag]2024 early signing period[/autotag].

No. 4 player in the state of Oklahoma signs National Letter of Intent with OU

The state’s No. 4 overall player has officially signed with the Oklahoma Sooners.

Since stepping into the role as cornerbacks coach for the Oklahoma Sooners, [autotag]Jay Valai[/autotag] has done an outstanding job both with development and with recruiting. The Sooners’ cornerbacks, when healthy, made big strides in 2023.

Valai also did a good job on the recruiting trail, earning three commitments. One of those was the No. 4 player in the state, [autotag]Devon Jordan[/autotag].

Jordan played at Tulsa Union and is a 5-foot-11 and 168-pound four-star cornerback. He’s someone who probably will not see the field much in 2024 unless it’s on special teams.

The Sooners return a number of young players who saw the field in 2023. But if 2023 is any indicator, that could change at any moment. There were guys last year who probably weren’t expected to play a whole lot before the season but had to due to injury.

Jordan has great speed. In fact, 247Sports reported he ran a wind-aided 10.71 100 meters and 21.93 200 meters times as a junior in spring 2023 at the OSAA 6A regional meet. He placed fifth at the OSAA 6A meet in the 100 with a wind-legal 10.91. Speed is something the Sooners can use in the secondary.

More from the [autotag]2024 Early Signing Period[/autotag]

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Oklahoma Sooners continue Denton Guyer pipeline, sign cornerback Eli Bowen

The Sooners have had a lot of success recruiting Denton Guyer recently and they continue that with the signing of Eli Bowen.

[autotag]Jay Valai[/autotag] had his hands full in 2023 thanks to a lot of injuries at his position. The one steady spot was [autotag]Woodi Washington[/autotag], but the other side constantly saw guys in and out.

A lot of those young guys showed their youth but also showed promise, which just shows how important it is to recruit the right guys. Valai hopes he has another one of those guys with the signing of [autotag]Eli Bowen[/autotag].

Bowen is the younger brother of [autotag]Peyton Bowen[/autotag] but is no slouch himself. He’s a four-star cornerback who is 5-foot-9 and weighs 165 pounds.

His role in 2024 is unclear. As I mentioned before, it’s a position that suffered a lot of injuries, so he could be thrown into the fire in year one. He joins a group that includes Gentry Williams, Kani Walker, Kendel Dolby, Makari Vickers, and Jacobe Johnson. Ideally, he spends a year with [autotag]Jerry Schmidt[/autotag] getting bigger because he has a bright future in the Crimson and Cream.

More from the [autotag]2024 Early Signing Period[/autotag]

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Sooners offer Oregon State transfer defensive back Jermod McCoy

Oklahoma joins a growing list of suitors for Oregon State transfer Jermod McCoy. McCoy had a terrific true freshman season.

Oklahoma has already been active in the [autotag]transfer portal[/autotag]. That activity will continue. The Sooners are one of the latest teams to offer Oregon State transfer cornerback Jermod McCoy.

On Tuesday, the talented cornerback announced he’d received an offer from the Sooners.

McCoy had an excellent season as he racked up 31 tackles, two interceptions, and seven pass deflections as a true freshman. He was a three-star recruit coming out of high school from Whitehouse, Texas. Now, he’s considered a four-star after his freshman season, according to 247Sports transfer portal rankings.

 

McCoy stands six feet tall and weighs 180 pounds. He’s a dynamic athlete with a high school track and field background that shows up on the field. Oklahoma received a significant boost in its secondary over the last few days with the return of Billy Bowman and a commitment from San Diego State transfer Dezjhon Malone.

Landing McCoy will not be easy. The competition is stiff. Florida, Texas A&M, USC, Washington, Oregon, Auburn and Arkansas are among the teams that have already offered the talented corner with three years remaining eligibility. Sooners cornerback coach Jay Valai will have his work cut out for him.

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Sooners secure commitment from transfer cornerback Dezjhon Malone

Oklahoma beat out West Virginia, Purdue, and others for San Diego State transfer cornerback Dezjhon Malone.

The Oklahoma Sooners added another defensive back to their roster as former San Diego State Aztecs cornerback Dezjhon Malone announced his commitment to the team on Sunday.

Malone announced he would enter the transfer portal on November 30. He received notable offers from West Virginia, Purdue, and Louisville, but Jay Valai and the appeal of Oklahoma won out. He was a steady contributor for his former school, where he appeared in 25 games with the Aztecs during four seasons.

Malone led the Aztecs with 11 starts at cornerback in the 2023 season and will bring excellent size to the position at 6-foot-2 and 200 pounds.

 

He was an All-Mountain West honorable mention in 2023 after logging 47 tackles, two for loss, one sack, one forced fumble, and one interception with seven passes broken up on the year. According to Pro Football Focus, Malone allowed just one touchdown in over 400 coverage snaps in 2023.

With Oklahoma potentially losing Woodi Washington to the NFL draft, Malone is a capable cornerback who joins a strong group of promising corners. He’ll add competitive depth to a group that includes Gentry Williams, Kani Walker, Jasiah Wagoner, Makari Vickers, Jacobe Johnson, and Kendel Dolby. Depth at cornerback was an issue in 2023. As the Sooners figure out their secondary while heading into their first season in the SEC, having veteran options provides the Sooners some insurance in the defensive backfield if the young guys on the roster aren’t able to seize a role in 2024.

Oklahoma has added two transfers since the season ended and figures to still bring in a few more. Malone joins former Michigan State transfer offensive lineman Spencer Brown as incoming additions via the [autotag]transfer portal[/autotag].

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