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Oklahoma Omitted From Jim Thorpe Watch List, But Brent Venables Trying to Change That

No Sooners made the 35-man list, but after years without accolades, OU cornerback Woodi Washington and safety Billy Bowman make a compelling case.
John E. Hoover|
Oklahoma Omitted From Jim Thorpe Watch List, But Brent Venables Trying to Change That
Oklahoma Omitted From Jim Thorpe Watch List, But Brent Venables Trying to Change That

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Oklahoma Sooners

Brent Venables has more fuel to add to his fire.

As if he needs it.

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Big things clearly are not expected from the Oklahoma defense in 2023. That was evident when no Sooners were included on the 35-man watch list for the Jim Thorpe Award.

It’s easy to understand. OU’s pass defense last year ranked 116th out of 130 FBS teams. No pass defense with that kind of ranking should expect preseason accolades.

But at OU, cornerback Woodi Washington and safety Billy Bowman are deserving.

The Thorpe Award goes to the best defensive back in college football. OU has a solid if aging history with the award — named after an Oklahoma native who was arguably the greatest athlete of all time, by an organization headquartered in Oklahoma City, from a watch list that is compiled by the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame — with Derrick Strait (2003) and Roy Williams (2001) having received theirs and Rickey Dixon (1987) landing his.

It’s no secret this program hasn’t produced a legitimate Thorpe Award candidate in a generation now. The Sooners’ last first-team All-American DB was safety Quinton Carter in 2010. Before that it was Strait.

Oklahoma’s last DB voted first team All-Big 12 by the league’s coaches was Jordan Thomas in 2016.

But with Venables as the head coach, times may be changing.

Washington and Bowman rank with just about any defensive back in the Big 12, and there are four Big 12 DBs on the watch list: Cobee Bryant from Kansas, Josh Newton of TCU, Kobe Savage of Kansas State and T.J. Tampa of Iowa State.

Two schools — Ohio State and Middle Tennessee State — even have two nominees on this year’s watch list.

Washington, a 5-foot-11, 196-pound senior from Murfreesboro, TN, has started 23 games over his four seasons in Norman and has emerged as the Sooners’ best corner each of the last three years. According to Pro Football Focus, his 889 snaps last season ranked 11th in the nation among cornerbacks, and he posted solid grades of 74.2 in coverage, 70.5 against the run and 73.9 overall.

He played in four games and took a redshirt in 2019, then played in 10 games in 2020 and took over as the starter midway through the season. He started just five of his six games due to injury in 2021, then started every game last season. In his career, Washington has 154 total tackles, five interceptions and 12 passes defensed.

Bowman, a junior from Denton, TX, was honorable mention last season as he became one of the defense’s top playmakers and was easily the Sooners’ most consistent defender. His PFF coverage grade was 82.3 (that ranked 36th nationally), his grade against the run was 51.9, and his overall grade was 73.3 on 677 defensive snaps.

Bowman started seven of his 11 games as a true freshman in 2021 and contributed 22 tackles and two passes defensed. He started nine of his 11 games last season, and now has 16 starts and 22 total games in his college career.

Washington ranked fifth on the team last year with 67 total tackles, while Bowman was sixth with 59.

Washington tied for the team lead with six passes defensed and also contributed one interception and one fumble forced.

Bowman broke up five passes and led the Sooners with three interceptions while forcing one fumble and recovering another.

With just 35 members on its preseason watch list, the Thorpe Award sets itself as an exclusive club. And that’s fine. Over the last 15 years or so, omitting Oklahoma defenders for a major award seems less a snub and more a stark reality.

But Venables is hoping to change all that in Norman and restore program’s defensive reputation from his early days as Bob Stoops’ defensive coordinator.

And he has plenty of fuel to make it happen. 

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John E. Hoover
JOHN E. HOOVER

John is an award-winning journalist whose work spans five decades in Oklahoma, with multiple state, regional and national awards as a sportswriter at various newspapers. During his newspaper career, John covered the Dallas Cowboys, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Arkansas Razorbacks and much more. In 2016, John changed careers, migrating into radio and launching a YouTube channel, and has built a successful independent media company, DanCam Media. From there, John has written under the banners of Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Fan Nation and a handful of local and national magazines while hosting daily sports talk radio shows in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and statewide. John has also spoken on Capitol Hill in Oklahoma City in a successful effort to put more certified athletic trainers in Oklahoma public high schools. Among the dozens of awards he has won, John most cherishes his national "Beat Writer of the Year" from the Associated Press Sports Editors, Oklahoma's "Best Sports Column" from the Society of Professional Journalists, and Two "Excellence in Sports Medicine Reporting" Awards from the National Athletic Trainers Association. John holds a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from East Central University in Ada, OK. Born and raised in North Pole, Alaska, John played football and wrote for the school paper at Ada High School in Ada, OK. He enjoys books, movies and travel, and lives in Broken Arrow, OK, with his wife and two kids.

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