Oklahoma Freshman DB Courtland Guillory Continuing to Improve for Sooners

NORMAN — Courtland Guillory has evidently learned from the freshman mistakes that plagued him earlier in the season.

Guillory, the Sooners’ star freshman cornerback, was among Oklahoma’s best defensive players in its 34-26 loss to Ole Miss. He played 79 defensive snaps in the loss and finished with a 73.7 Pro Football Focus (PFF) defensive grade, the third best on the team.

“I don’t even think he gave up a catch or maybe one,” senior safety Robert Spears-Jennings said. “He did his job. He stood on business over there by himself.”

Guillory had a “welcome to the SEC” game against Auburn in the Sooners’ conference opener.

For most of that game, Guillory matched up with Tigers wide receiver Cam Coleman. The 6-3, 201-pound wideout finished the contest with 88 yards and a touchdown on three catches, and Coleman’s score came while Guillory guarded him.

Guillory wasn’t stellar in the game after that either. The freshman finished OU’s 44-0 win over Kent State with a 47 PFF defensive grade and a 22.1 tackling grade in his 26 snaps.

“Courtland is a dog,” redshirt junior defensive back Gentry Williams said after the Auburn game. “I’m not worried about Courtland. Courtland will continue to get better.”

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Since then, Guillory has shown how impactful he can be for Oklahoma’s secondary.

He played in only 16 snaps against Texas but allowed only one catch for four yards. His usage increased to 35 snaps against South Carolina, and his 76.3 defensive grade was the second best on the team.

Guillory’s strong PFF grades against the Rebels only provide a glimpse into how well he played.

He ended the high-scoring contest with six tackles — two of which were solo — and he assisted on a tackle for loss. Guillory also logged three pass breakups, the most by any Sooner defender in a single game this season. The freshman excelled on a day where veteran defensive backs like Spears-Jennings and safety Peyton Bowen struggled and had defensive grades below 60.

Through his first eight college football contests, Guillory has registered 19 tackles, 12 solo tackles and five pass breakups.

Guillory proved on Saturday that he can compete against explosive offensive players despite his youth. With Tennessee, Alabama, Missouri and LSU still on the schedule, the Sooners will lean on the young cornerback to be as good as he was against the Rebels.

“He did some really good things,” OU coach Brent Venables said after the Ole Miss game. “He responded… very competitive, made some good plays on the ball.”

Saturday’s game against Tennessee in Knoxville will kick off at 6:30 p.m.