Tag: Woodi Washington

Oklahoma safety Billy Bowman returning to Sooners for senior season

The Oklahoma Sooners got great Friday night as Billy Bowman announced he’s returning for his senior season.

Christmas came early for the Oklahoma Sooners on Friday evening as [autotag]Billy Bowman[/autotag] announced he’s returning for his senior season. Bowman had a career year for the Sooners defense and had a chance to be taken in the top 50 of the 2024 NFL draft, but will forego the draft next April to play one more year for the Sooners.

Bowman’s decision was one of the more highly anticipated of this offseason. Now, the Sooners go into 2024, their first in the SEC, with a senior leader for their secondary.

In 2023, Bowman was second in the nation in interceptions with six and led the country in interception returns for touchdowns. He finished second on the team in tackles and also had three tackles for loss. Bowman was second on the team in snaps behind [autotag]Woodi Washington[/autotag].

Bowman earned a first-team All-American selection from CBS Sports and 247Sports and earned first-team All-Big 12 honors.

What would have been an inexperienced group at safety, the Sooners bring back a star who’s played 31 games and more than 1,700 snaps in his three years with the Sooners.

Bowman leads a young but talented group that includes [autotag]Peyton Bowen[/autotag] and [autotag]Robert Spears-Jennings[/autotag], who played a lot for the Sooners in 2023. Oklahoma also has [autotag]Erik McCarty[/autotag] and [autotag]Daeh McCullough[/autotag], who red-shirted this season. Expected to join the group in the 2024 signing class are [autotag]Jaydan Hardy[/autotag], [autotag]Reggie Powers[/autotag], and [autotag]Mykel Patterson-McDonald[/autotag], three guys who are considered four-star prospects by at least one of the recruiting services.

This is a huge win for Brent Venables and a Sooners defense that made a big jump in 2023. With the expected loss of Danny Stutsman to the NFL, getting Bowman back helps mitigate the loss of their defensive leader.

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Sooners expected to host highly-touted Clemson defensive back per report

The Oklahoma Sooners are expected to host Clemson safety transfer Andrew Mukuba.

The Oklahoma Sooners have been active in the [autotag]transfer portal[/autotag], targeting guys with experience who can come in and add to the competitive depth on the roster. They’ve added Michigan State offensive tackle Spencer Brown, and it looks like they’re in the mix for one of the top transfers in the portal.

According to Jason Suchomel of Orange Bloods, the Oklahoma Sooners will be one of several teams to host elite Clemson safety Andrew Mukuba. Along with Oklahoma, Mukuba will visit Texas, Oregon, and Ole Miss in the coming week.

Mukuba is a former four-star safety out of Austin, Texas, who has played the last three seasons with the Clemson Tigers. He’s amassed more than 1,700 snaps in his collegiate career.

More: 2023-2024 Oklahoma Sooners Transfer Portal Tracker

The Texas Longhorns are the favorite to earn Mukuba’s commitment in the transfer portal, given they’re the hometown team. However, given Mukuba’s ties to Brent Venables from their time together at Clemson, there’s a chance the Sooners could add Mukuba to their defensive backfield.

Mukuba spends most of his time as the free safety but will also line up in coverage on opposing slot players. In three seasons, he’s totaled 143 total tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, one interception, and 16 passes defended. In 2023, quarterbacks had an NFL passer rating of 64.7 when targeting Mukuba in coverage, which was the 13th-best opposing passer rating in the ACC among defensive backs with at least 453 snaps on the season.

The Oklahoma Sooners will return [autotag]Peyton Bowen[/autotag], [autotag]Robert Spears-Jennings[/autotag], and [autotag]Daeh McCullough[/autotag] at safety for 2024. There’s still a highly-anticipated decision coming from [autotag]Billy Bowman[/autotag] about his future. Even if Bowman returns, the Sooners could use another difference maker in the secondary with [autotag]Woodi Washington[/autotag] (expected to go to the NFL), [autotag]Key Lawrence[/autotag] (transfer), and [autotag]Reggie Pearson[/autotag] (eligibility) out the door.

Mukuba is a do-it-all player who is good in every aspect that’s needed to play the safety position. He’s excellent in coverage and a sure tackler. His experience would help further solidify the Sooners’ safety position and provide more versatility on the back end.

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Sooners offer San Diego State transfer Dezjhon Malone

Oklahoma has hit the portal in pursuit of cornerback help as they offered San Diego State transfer Dezjhon Malone.

Oklahoma’s portal pursuits have begun with offers to a few players. One was San Diego State transfer cornerback Dezjhon Malone.

Malone is a long and athletic cornerback who stands 6 feet, 2 inches. He committed to San Diego State over offers from BYU, Oregon State, Fresno State and a number of others.

Malone was a part of San Diego State’s 2020 recruiting class and redshirted his first year on campus. He saw time on special teams the following season before breaking through as a significant defensive contributor in his redshirt sophomore season.

He was named an All-Mountain West honorable mention by the league’s head coaches and media and a third-team pick by Phil Steele for his efforts.

He showed durability, playing in all 13 games, starting the final 11. Over that season, he posted 43 tackles (34 solo) with a tackle for loss, three interceptions and five pass breakups. He played in 588 of the 874 snaps overall, the most among Aztec cornerbacks that season.

 

This past season, he had 46 tackles, one sack, seven pass breakups and one interception as San Diego State’s starting field corner.

With Woodi Washington graduating and heading to pursue professional opportunities, the Sooners have a glaring need for another corner opposite Gentry Williams.

Williams’ health seems like the only hurdle to him being great. While many young cornerbacks saw time, Oklahoma would love to have a cornerback with Malone’s experience as they head into the SEC. The Sooners have competition from Houston, Purdue, West Virginia, Louisville and Michigan State as it stands right now.

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Woodi Washington ‘honored’ to be a permanent captain of Team 129

Woodi Washington has been an under the radar player this year for Oklahoma but will leave a big hole to fill.

A player that has kind of flown under the radar this year for the Oklahoma Sooners is senior cornerback [autotag]Woodi Washington[/autotag]. Washington’s numbers aren’t eye-popping, but that isn’t always a bad thing at cornerback.

He’s had 38 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, and five pass deflections. But Pro Football Focus (subscription required) ranks him as a top 35 cornerback in the nation. He’s also been the mainstay and leader of a room that has dealt with a number of injuries.

On Friday, Washington will be amongst those being honored on Senior Day. He spoke to reporters about also being named a captain for Team 129. “I’m extremely grateful and honored for the guys to vote me as a captain,” Washington said. “I consider myself a leader of this team and for the guys to vote for me, that means a lot.”

Washington is a player who could have left early a season ago. He had already been in college for four seasons and was coming off a decent year. Many players would have jumped at the opportunity to leave school and go pro.

But not Washington. Instead, he saw the flaws he had in his game and trusted the coaching staff to help him become a better version of himself. That will likely lead to a draft selection for the veteran cornerback with a great chance to make an active roster in 2024.

At the time, it might have seemed small, but it was a big deal when he decided to return to Norman. When he plays his final snap in crimson and cream, he’ll leave a big hole to fill.

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Oklahoma Sooners name permanent captains for the 2023 season

Oklahoma has named the permanent captains for the 2023 season.

Just like that, the 2023 Oklahoma Sooners regular season is about to come to a close. As we head into the final game of the season, the Sooners have announced who their permanent captains will be for the remainder of the season.

Those are [autotag]Billy Bowman[/autotag], [autotag]Ethan Downs[/autotag], [autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag], [autotag]McKade Mettauer[/autotag], [autotag]Drake Stoops[/autotag], [autotag]Danny Stutsman[/autotag] and [autotag]Woodi Washington[/autotag]. Four of those players will be honored on senior night this weekend.

Bowman has emerged here lately and taken his game to another level. He has 52 tackles, which ranks third on the team, and leads the team with five interceptions.

Downs has had a solid season, leading the Sooners with 4.5 sacks on the year. He’s also been one of the best interviews all season. You can tell how much of a leader he is for the team.

 

Gabriel is having a career year for the Sooners. His 69.9% completion percentage is a career high. He’s also only a little under 400 yards shy of breaking his career high in yards and only five passing touchdowns shy of setting a career-high in passing touchdowns. His 38 total touchdowns, however, is a career high.

Mettauer has been a steady force on an offensive line that has really found its groove recently. It’s helped pave the way for [autotag]Gavin Sawchuk[/autotag] to have three straight 100-yard games on the ground.

Stoops embodies what this program is all about both on and off the field. He leads the team with 66 receptions and 755 yards and is tied for the team lead with nine touchdowns.

Stutsman is the emotional leader of the defense. You could tell his presence was greatly missed in the two losses. He leads the team with 91 tackles and 15.5 tackles for loss.

Washington has played a position that has seen a lot of turnover due to injury at the cornerback spot opposite of him. He’s been a steady force and leader for the cornerback position.

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Report Card: Poor grades all around as Oklahoma loses to Kansas

Oklahoma struggles nearly across the board areas but how did each position group grade out in the loss to Kansas?

Oklahoma took their first loss of the season on Saturday, falling to the [autotag]Kansas Jayhawks[/autotag] on a rainy and disgusting day in Lawrence. From the first play from scrimmage, it appeared Oklahoma would be in for a fight. And sure enough, that’s precisely what happened.

Oklahoma fell victim to another slow start on both sides of the ball. The Sooners were never able to get their passing game going. Due to the weather conditions, they relied heavily on their offensive line and running backs to generate offense.

The sooners will try and figure things out as they get set to take on the Oklahoma State Cowboys in what will be the last Bedlam for quite some time.

OU played a rough game on all fronts. Some things were encouraging, but a lot of the performance put forth was not good enough. We broke it down by position group below.

5 keys to an Oklahoma Sooners victory over Kansas

Can the Oklahoma Sooners extend their winning streak over Kansas on Saturday? Here are our five keys to the game.

On Saturday, No. 6 Oklahoma (7-0, 4-0) will take on Lance Leipold’s [autotag]Kansas Jayhawks[/autotag] (5-2, 2-2) for the final time as Big 12 foes.

Oklahoma needs to play a much better game on Saturday than they did against the UCF Knights. They looked to be sleepwalking through the game at times and could have been more crisp on offense. The offensive line had its worst game of the season in pass protection, and until the fourth quarter, the Sooners couldn’t expose a lousy run defense.

Defensively, two busted plays defined the day, as both led to UCF touchdowns. Those plays aside, it was an excellent day for an Oklahoma defense that continues to show improvement.

Kansas will present another challenge for this revitalized Oklahoma defense. The Sooners D continues to make opposing offenses look outmatched at times. Aside from the occasional busts in coverages, this unit is much better than the one that Kansas saw in Norman last year when Kansas quarterback Jason Bean threw four touchdowns.

The Jayhawks have two solid running backs, Devin Neal and Daniel Hishaw Jr. They are as explosive as teams get and will provide Oklahoma with a challenge.

Ultimately, the Sooners still hold advantages at multiple spots. With their lackluster performance from UCF behind them, the Sooners should come out on fire.

The Jayhawks surely won’t go down without a fight, and Brent Venables will make sure the team knows that.

Kansas hasn’t beaten OU since 1997. The Sooners have won the last 18 matchups between the two sides. But what are the keys to Oklahoma closing out the 100-year series with a win? Here are this week’s keys to the game.

Woodi Washington, Sooners defense hoping for bounce back performance

Woodi Washington and the Oklahoma defense hoping for a bounce-back performance this week vs. Kansas.

Looking at the numbers, [autotag]Woodi Washington[/autotag] isn’t someone you’d think has had a really good season this year so far. He has 27 tackles, 1.5 for loss and two pass breakups.

A big part of that though is that it seems he’s locked down a whole half of the field for a lot of the season. He’s gotten to the point where teams weren’t throwing to his side of the field. Time and time again, he’d be in perfect position and make a good play on the ball.

That was until this past Saturday. Saturday was by far his worst performance of the season. It wasn’t as confident as we’ve seen Washington play this season. On the 86-yard touchdown pass allowed to Javon Baker just before halftime, Washington got caught biting on the run option presented by John Rhys Plumlee.

Prior to Saturday, Washington was allowing just 11.75 yards per reception on 16 catches through six games. The 86-yard score was the first touchdown he’d allowed this season.

The good news is that Washington was able to respond in the game and that performance isn’t indicative of the type of player the defensive leader is.

Washington talked to reporters about the defensive performance as a whole on Saturday. “We just have to be more disciplined with our eyes,” Washington said. “Just be more locked into the details. Trust what the coaches are telling us.”

This is a big week for Washington to have a bounce-back game. The [autotag]Kansas Jayhawks[/autotag] run a ton of trick plays and try to confuse defenses. They also have one of the most explosive offenses in all of college football.

If the Sooners as a whole aren’t locked in, this could be very similar to the game we saw this past Saturday. For now, only time will tell if they learned from their mistakes.

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Report Card: Sooners sleepwalk on offense in UCF scare

Oklahoma took on UCF for the first time Saturday. UCF hung tough but the Sooners pulled it out late. Here is this week’s report card.

Saturday’s performance was an aberration for Team 129. The team we saw on Saturday was eerily reminiscent of the team that took the field 13 times last season to not-so-fun results. Yet, they knuckled up and found a way when it mattered most.

If we’re being honest, last year’s team would not have won that game. But despite the miserable team performance, it never felt like they wouldn’t make the necessary plays to win. That is a true testament to the wholesale changes in mentality, effort, talent, and coaching from last year to 2023.

Let’s get to the bottom line here with the dust settled. Oklahoma won, but it might have been the worst they looked on offense all year. It’s time to pass out grades in this week’s report card.

‘Adversity is going to happen’: Kendel Dolby, Sooners defense battled to seal win

Kendel Dolby and the Oklahoma Sooners defense rose to the occasion when it mattered most.

With 1:16 left in the fourth quarter, the [autotag]UCF Knights[/autotag] had just completed an effortless drive to score a touchdown to cut the lead to two. In an attempt to tie the game, the Knights’ offense stayed on the field and lined up for a two-point conversion.

Quarterback [autotag]John Rhys Plumlee[/autotag] took the snap and slung it out to his left to [autotag]Xavier Townsend[/autotag] who then looked to throw the ball. The Sooners’ defense, led by [autotag]Kendel Dolby[/autotag], was all over it.

They covered it beautifully. From [autotag]Billy Bowman[/autotag] and [autotag]Woodi Washington[/autotag] taking away his main read to Dolby and [autotag]Danny Stutsman[/autotag] staying out wide and defending the cutback to make sure he didn’t try to run it in as well. Ultimately, Dolby was the one who wrapped him up for an eight-yard loss, which essentially sealed the Sooners’ win.

Dolby talked to reporters after the game about that play. “Adversity is going to happen, Dolby said. “Coach (Venables) preaches that to us all of the time. Next play, that’s our mindset. It’s how I was thinking on that.”

The biggest thing that stood out about that two-point stop was that everyone on defense simply did their job. That’s not something we’ve seen from Sooners’ defenses in the past. At times those units seemed more concerned with making the big play as opposed to doing what the defense asked them to do.

Dolby was asked about Townsend wanting to throw it, and he said flat out his job was to play the ball and not worry about the throw. The throw was Bowman’s and Washington’s responsibility. Both of them did a great job taking that away as well. And because of it, the Sooners avoided overtime and remained undefeated on the 2023 season.

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