Oklahoma HC Brent Venables Confident in Backup DBs With Jacobe Johnson Out

NORMAN — Evidently, Oklahoma’s bye week didn’t go as planned from an injuries perspective.

Seven players who weren’t listed on the SEC availability reports leading up to the Georgia game on Sept. 26 showed up on the first report ahead of OU’s game against Texas on Saturday. One of those players is cornerback Jacobe Johnson, who has already been ruled out for this year’s Red River Rivalry.

Johnson is the top backup to star cornerbacks Eli Bowen and Courtland Guillory, and he suffered his injury against the Bulldogs. Now, it’s up to the cornerbacks behind Johnson to step up whenever Bowen or Guillory may need a breather against the Longhorns.

“Trystan Haynes and Dakoda Fields — those are the next couple of guys there,” OU coach Brent Venables said at his press conference on Tuesday. “I feel good about them. Really like where they're at. They're improving, getting better, and they're going to have to play bigger roles as well.”

Haynes and Fields both have minimal experience at Oklahoma, but Venables feels confident that they can make an impact with Johnson sidelined.

Here’s what those two bring:

Trystan Haynes

Haynes is a sophomore who has appeared in three games this year.

The 6-foot-2 cornerback notched two assisted tackles in OU’s season opener against UTEP, and he logged his first-ever solo tackle against Georgia. He performed well in relief of Johnson against the Bulldogs, finishing the 41-13 loss with a 65.1 Pro Football Focus (PFF) defensive grade.

As a freshman, Haynes made only one appearance, playing two snaps in the Sooners’ 44-0 win over Kent State.

Haynes came to OU with high expectations.

The Midwest City, Okla., native and Carl Albert High School product was a consensus 4-star prospect. He chose the Sooners over offers from Alabama, Notre Dame, Georgia and several other major programs after registering 28 tackles and 10 pass breakups during his senior season.

Dakoda Fields

Fields is playing his first season in Norman after spending the first two years of his college career at Oregon.

He has appeared in all four games this season, but his impact has been minimal. Fields has appeared on only 17 defensive snaps, and his lone assisted tackle came in the Georgia game.

Fields enrolled at Oregon as a highly touted prospect. He was a 4-star prospect and appeared to be a rising star in Eugene after he logged an interception in the Ducks’ 2024 spring game.

But prior to his first college football campaign, Fields suffered a season-ending injury. He got healthy before the 2025 season but only appeared in three games before leaving Oregon in the middle of the season.

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