A Pair of Underclassmen Emerged as Stars at Cornerback in 2025

The Sooners on SI report card series continues on Sunday with Jay Valai's cornerback room.

Oklahoma defensive back Courtland Guillory | Carson Field, Sooners On SI

With Oklahoma’s 2025 season fully in the rearview, Sooners on SI is handing out position-by-position grades for every area of the team, continuing today with the cornerbacks. 

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Jay Valai built a deep and impactful cornerback room in 2025.

He developed a group rich in experience, as it returned veteran Gentry Williams and 2024 breakout star Eli Bowen, while also finding another freshman phenom in Courtland Guillory. 

Guillory was the real star of the show, however. 

The true freshman won a starting spot immediately, while it took Bowen a few weeks to get healthy enough to play, and Guillory never gave Valai and Brent Venables a reason to look elsewhere. 

Per Pro Football Focus, Guillory was targeted 47 times in 13 games, and he only allowed 22 receptions for 215 yards and one touchdown. 

He had his “Welcome to the SEC” moment in his first conference game against Auburn receiver Cam Coleman, but he performed no worse than Coleman’s other victims all year and he was able to stay high enough on confidence to bounce back and grow from the experience.

Across from him, Guillory was always in good hands with either Williams or Bowen. 

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Read More OU 2025 Report Cards

• Offensive Line
• Defensive Ends
• Wide Receivers
• Defensive Tackles
• Tight Ends
• Linebackers
• Running Backs

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Williams played in six games before sustaining an injury against South Carolina, and from there, he never truly got healthy enough to get back into the lineup. 

Still, Williams allowed just six catches on 11 targets for 55 yards, then Bowen took over. 

A lower leg injury cost Bowen the first month of the season, but when he got back into the lineup, he picked up where he left off in 2024. 

Bowen’s Pick-6 against Alabama will be remembered as his biggest play of the year, but he only allowed one touchdown on 36 targets, and Bowen was rated just behind Guillory as OU’s best cornerback in coverage per PFF. 

Behind Guillory, Williams and Bowen, the Sooners developed quality depth. 

Jacobe Johnson and Devon Jordan both rotated plenty, and Jordan also delivered a big play in the Sooners’ win in Tuscaloosa with a corner blitz that hit home against Ty Simpson. 

The room will look different in 2026 after both Williams and Jordan hit the portal, but Valai found his star combo at corner with Guillory and Bowen, putting OU’s secondary in a great position for 2026.