Oklahoma CB Gentry Williams is Healthy, Strong and Better Than Ever

The Sooners' junior cornerback went through some painful injuries last year, but he's bigger and stronger now and has a different mindset.

Oklahoma cornerback Gentry Williams / SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK

NORMAN — Thanks to offseason surgery and a new mindset, Gentry Williams’ shoulder is good to go.

Oklahoma’s dynamic, hard-hitting cornerback is back in the starting lineup at OU training camp, and with the pain subsided, he feels at the top of his game.

“Everything went good,” Williams said. “I’m feeling great, and I’m hungry. Hungry.”

Williams, a 6-foot, 190-pound junior from Tulsa Washington, said he added 10 pounds of muscle, but also gained a new perspective on the work that goes into being elite.

“Most definitely, I had to get back right because guys like Billy Bowman and Woodi (Washington) and RJ (Spears-Jennings), they’re not gonna wait on me,” he said. “So I had to add right. We’re going to a new conference, so I had to bulk up. I had to take care of myself to make sure I’m ready to go.”

Williams is one of the fastest players on the team, and he said he’s still has the same speed — 4.2 or 4.3 in the 40, he said.

“First and foremost, I want to give a lot of praise to Schmitty (strength coach Jerry Schmidt) and his staff for changing my whole mindset. I have to be able to push through when you’re going through it. 

“Because every day is not gonna be perfect. Every day is not gonna be great. I feel like my mindset has changed, and I want to give all the praise and glory to them and Coach (Brent) Venables and Coach (Jay) Valai and them. I just gotta be able to push through for my guys on the team. They’re counting on me and I’m counting on them. So I really gotta continue to grow.”

Williams tried to describe the agonizing pain of a recurring shoulder dislocation.

“For me, a couple games, I had it slip out,” he said, “and just being honest, that's not something that any player wants to go through. But mental toughness. I mean, every football player's had something not go their way and I gotta understand being mentally tough. I've had my surgery, I've had my rehab and I'm ready to go.”

Williams also experienced the frustration of winning the starting job only to keep reinjuring the shoulder. He started 10 games but only finished four.

“It was tough. It was tough,” he said. “It was something that no player really wants to go through when you wanna have success and you wanna play with your brothers. But it's something I'm glad I went through and I know what I don't want to go through this season with my brothers.”

With the experienced Washington on one side of the field and the explosive Williams on the other, the OU cornerback spot is in good shape. Williams is also optimistic about the future of the position.

“Let’s start with Kani Walker,” Williams said. “He played a lot of snaps because of my mishaps last season. He’s definitely stepping into a bigger role. I’m happy to see him maturing. Dez Malone, we brought in an older guy, transfer. Doing an excellent job of learning the system. Then you have Jacobe Johnson, who I think might be one of the best athletes in the country based on pure ability. Then you have (Jeremiah) Newcombe as well. Guys — they’re learning. Came in during the summer and eager to learn. I think that’s the biggest thing.”

Now, Williams looks back on the adversity he experienced last year as the impetus for growth. 

“That's something that Coach Valai preaches, that you have to do the reps, you have to be in the fire and go through the hard times and tribulations,” Williams said. “And that's something that I've really been able to do right now. And I just give praise to coach Valai, Venables and (Zac) Alley and for them giving me this opportunity to really get these reps that I need to get better, not just use my athletic abilities.

“I think just overall it was tough, going through it myself. It was a tough moment. Obviously, I want to be out there with my guys and want to compete. But obviously, I want to do what’s best for the team. If that’s me not being out there because I’m not fully capable of doing it, then that’s what’s best. I’m back. I’m ready and excited to be playing with my brothers.”