Position Preview: Defensive Backs

NORMAN ? The Oklahoma defensive backfield is marked by youth in 2018, as the Sooners seek to replace three departed regular players from a year ago with a load of talented, but largely inexperienced players.

It is the youngest position group for the Sooners, as only four of the 13 scholarship defensive backs on the roster are seniors or juniors. Seven of the remaining nine, however, were rated as four- or five-star recruits before coming to Oklahoma.

According to assistant defensive coordinator Kerry Cooks, this is one of the most athletic groups at defensive back the Sooners have had since he got to Norman. While the players are still learning the elements of the defense, they have absorbed the knowledge quickly.

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"I thought the group progressed pretty well from the start of camp to where they are right now," Cooks said Monday. "We have a lot of versatility, with some guys who have played corner and moved in to play safety, and safeties who can play nickel. Up to this point, it's still a work in progress but everybody is learning and working hard. I would definitely say that they're learning, particularly at the safety spot."

OU must replace three seniors in cornerback Jordan Thomas and safeties Will Johnson and Steven Parker. That trio combined for 133 career games played and 98 starts.

The two returning starters in the defensive backfield are junior Parnell Motley and sophomore Tre Norwood. Motley, who started 13 of 14 games in 2017, totaled 63 tackles along with two interceptions, nine pass breakups and 4.5 tackles for loss last year. Norwood played in all 14 games (started the last five) and tallied 30 tackles and eight breakups.

Joining Motley and Norwood at corner are sophomore Tre Brown and freshman Miguel Edwards. Brown played in 12 games last year with one start, and notched 12 tackles and two pass breakups. Edwards was a four-star recruit and enrolled at OU in January.

At safety, senior Kahlil Haughton, redshirt sophomore Jordan Parker, sophomore Robert Barnes, redshirt freshman Justin Broiles and freshmen Brendan Radley-Hines, Dellarin Turner-Yell and Patrick Fields could all make an immediate impact on defense this season.

Haughton is the most experienced of the bunch, having played in 35 career games, including 10 games and four starts in 2017. He made 29 tackles last year and has 52 career stops. Parker started eight of 10 contests as a true freshman in 2016, tallying 36 tackles and three pass breakups as a cornerback before an injury forced him to miss the 2017 season.

A five-star recruit the 2017 class, Barnes recorded 10 tackles and an interception in 10 games last season. Broiles, a consensus four-star recruit in 2017, redshirted 2017 and is poised to make an impact on the OU defense in 2018.

"It's still a work in progress but everybody is learning and working hard."
? Coach Cooks

The trio of true freshmen in Radley-Hines, Turner-Yell and Fields could all find the field for the Sooners this year. The versatile Radley-Hines was the most highly regarded of the bunch coming out of high school. The early enrollee was a U.S. Army All-American and five-star prospect, and was ranked by Rivals as the No. 2 cornerback and No. 17 overall recruit in the nation. He was also named 2018 Preseason Big 12 Newcomer of the Year. Turner-Yell and Fields were both three-star recruits, ranked as the country's No. 24 and No. 34 safeties by 247Sports, respectively. Turner-Yell has solicited recent praise from Cooks and head coach Lincoln Riley for his play in practice and scrimmages.

"All the pictures they see every day are new, so every day is a learning experience," Cooks said of his young position group. "The thing that I'm most impressed with is that I haven't had to coach the same thing twice too many times with that group, so they've picked up on things very well."

Senior safety Prentice McKinney, junior safety Chanse Sylvie and freshman cornerback Starrland Baldwin are all expected to miss the season ? or at least most it ? due to injuries.

Players Mentioned

Starrland Baldwin

Robert Barnes

Justin Broiles

Tre Brown

Miguel Edwards

Patrick Fields

Kahlil Haughton

Will Johnson

Prentice McKinney

Parnell Motley

Tre Norwood

Jordan Parker

Steven Parker

Chanse Sylvie

Jordan Thomas

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