Eli Bowen is Embracing a Larger Leadership Role in Year 3 at Oklahoma

NORMAN — Eli Bowen is in a much better place than he was this time last year.

Though he was coming off a Freshman All-American season, he got banged up last spring and needed to get into the 2025 season before getting back healthy.

Luckily, the emergence of Courtland Guillory and the steady play of Jacobe Johnson meant the Sooners were able to hold on until Bowen’s return, and he quickly re-established himself as a key member of the secondary.

He’s managed to stay healthy this spring, which has allowed him to focus on growth in another area of the game.

“I think me, Courtland, and Jacobe are more vocal and helping everyone else learn the defense, learn the plays, learn the checks and calls, and all that,” Bowen said on Monday.

Bowen is now one of the most experienced members of Brent Venables’ defense, and he’s been tasked with helping a handful of new faces get acclimated to the program.

OU added Dakoda Fields from Oregon and Prince Ijioma from Mississippi Valley State in the cornerback room alongside a handful of talented freshmen to the secondary.

The Sooners also saw a change at cornerbacks coach, hiring Michigan’s LaMar Morgan after Jay Valai took a job with the Buffalo Bills, which put even more focus on Bowen, Gullory and Johnson’s veteran leadership.

“(Morgan’s) been really cool. He’s been really committed to making us better each and every day and making sure we get to where we want to go at the end of the day. I think he’s doing a good job,” Bowen said. “He’s meshing well with the coaches and players, and he’s got a good vibe. He’s a good coach.”

Much like Billy Bowman a couple of years ago, Bowen is naturally more comfortable leading by example than by being overly vocal, but his voice has gotten louder as the offseason has progressed.

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“I’m more about action, and I think it’s helped me become more talkative and help other guys get their processing, get help with connecting the playbook with each call,” Bowen said. “It’s really helped me grow as a person and helped me get better at expressing what to do and leading and communicating, telling people what to do, how to do it, and explaining what I do and what my process is.”

Bowen said that both he and Guillory have enjoyed taking on a larger leadership role as they’ve gotten older, as it has pushed them to the next level of their development in OU’s talented secondary.

“I think that’s going to make us better in the end because we’re not used to that,” Bowen said. “We’re used to being the younger guys. Now we have to step into a role we haven’t been in since high school, and I think that’s going to push us to be better.”

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