Brent Venables calls Oklahoma's cornerback battle great

As Oklahoma continues through fall camp, one spot that has been thoroughly intriguing is the starting cornerback battle.

Veteran Woodi Washington presumably has one spot locked up on the outside, but who will start opposite him remains to be seen. There are several contenders vying for the gig.

“The other corner, I mean it’s all always competing,” coach Brent Venables said. “The competition’s been great. Love that group of guys and just trying to strain them and get them ready, get them game ready.”

There are a handful of players competing in the cornerback battle opposite Washington, including Kendel Dolby, Makari Vickers, Gentry Williams and Jasiah Wagoner.

Venables mentioned two of those guys explicitly when discussing the ongoing competition.

“Dolby’s a guy that has actually played some college football and he’s had a really good camp,” Venables said. “Had a better camp than he had spring. Makari Vickers is having a better camp than he had spring, not that that’s earth-shattering. But they’re making the improvement that you want guys to make.”

Dolby was the nation’s No. 7 JUCO prospect, according to On3. He hails from Northeastern Oklahoma A&M and enrolled in January. He accounted for 68 tackles, six tackles for loss, two interceptions, one sack and eight pass breakups in two seasons.

Vickers is a freshman, a top-100 prospect and a four-star recruit. He was rated as the No. 7 safety in the 2023 class, so the raw potential is definitely there.

But Venables praised the entire unit taking part in the cornerback battle this fall.

“Really the whole group is improving,” Venables said. “Really excited about that group of guys, the improvement that they’ve made. We’re not where we’ve got to be, and that’s not, again, coach speak, we’ve just got a lot of work to do. There’s going to be plenty of moments of failure along the way that, they didn’t see that. That’s the first time they saw that. All right, let’s teach them.

“This is a group of guys that are super coachable. There’s no finger-pointing. These are guys that take responsibility, stay even-keeled. I like that group of guys. (Cornerbacks coach) Jay (Valai)‘s done a good job bringing that group along.”

Oklahoma will get a chance to show off the unit for the first time on Sept. 2 with a home date against Arkansas State.