All Sooners

Oklahoma CB Has Turned Heads With His Ability To Make Plays

Kendel Dolby has shown he can play inside or outside in the Sooners' defensive scheme.

Tim Willert

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NORMAN — Oklahoma staffers Xavier Brewer and Ryan Carter knew they had something special in Kendel Dolby when they looked into the highly rated junior college prospect from Northeastern Oklahoma A&M.

"Hey, we got a guy," they told Sooners head coach Brent Venables.

"I remember watching his video," Venables said. "He's big, you know? Just a baller. Plays big. He's fearless. He's got great instincts. Really good. He can fly. He's got great transitional movement."

While Venables knew Dolby could play inside, either at cheetah — a linebacker-safety hybrid — or safety. But he wasn't sure about Dolby on the outside at cornerback.

"We felt we had our guys inside," Venables said. "But he's just a very instinctive player, plays fast, again, plays aggressive. He's a football junkie. If he doesn't know what he's doing, he can figure it out. He knows where the ball's going.

"But he's got a tremendous upside from where he is today. And I really like where he's at. And the things that he brings to the table bodes well at that position.”

Dolby, a 5-foot-11, 181-pound junior from Springfield, OH, has shown through six games that he is more than capable of making plays for the Sooners, who rank second nationally with 12 interceptions.

Two of those belong to Dolby, including one against Texas that ended a first-quarter scoring drive. He was the beneficiary of a hard hit by safety Billy Bowman on tight end Ja'Tavion Sanders that knocked the ball loose and into Dolby's arms.

"I felt good. It felt so good, you know, a big turnover," Dolby said Monday after practice. Billy (Bowman) hit him and the ball just popped out and I went and grabbed it."

Saturday's home game against UCF (3-3, 0-3 Big 12) will feature two of the nation's most potent offenses. The Knights rank fourth in the country and first in the Big 12 in total offense (516. 

In UCF, the Sooners (6-0, 3-0) will face an offense ranked fourth nationally in total offense (516.7 yards per game) and third in rushing (246.3 yards per game).

The Knights, who are averaging 35 points per game, are expected to get their starting quarterback back for the game. John Rhys Plumlee has missed the last four games with a leg injury.

In 2022, Plumlee passed for 2,586 yards, rushed for 862 yards and accounted for 25 touchdowns.

"He can run. He’s a pretty fast, athletic dude," Dolby said. "Like I say, they want to get your eyes in bad spots offensively. It’s really about trying to contain him and keeping our eyes where they really need to be. That’s really our mindset going in."

UCF may be a heavy underdog, but the Sooners' defense will get tested by the likes of trick plays and deception, which head coach Gus Malzahn is known for.

"It's just knowing the DNA of a team," Dolby said. "They like tricks, you know. So just spending time in the film room, preparing as much as you can. There's going to be things that you didn't watch on film, but it's just being disciplined in your technique.

With the bye week, OU had more time to study the tendencies of Saturday's opponent.

"You don’t want to get your eyes in the wrong spot," Dolby said. "But like I said, it's all about watching film. You do that you should be OK."

Dolby and his teammates have celebrated the big win over Texas and are now focused on playing a complete game against UCF.

"Obviously we celebrated," he said. "It was a great win, a win that we all wanted. But we’re 1-0. That’s our goal every week, go 1-0. We’re not looking too high or too low. That’s kind of been our mindset. It’s been easy to move on from that win. Yeah, it was a great win but we’re on to the next. We’re going to keep building and go on to the next week.

For Dolby, who has played 109 defensive snaps for the Sooners so far, the first half of his first season in Norman has been rewarding. 

But there's still more work to do.

"The experience has been great," he said. "How I’ve been thinking is that a year ago, I was in junior college and now I’m on the big stage and playing in these big-time games, getting a few picks. It feels great. I really can’t explain this feeling, but it feels great."

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Tim Willert
TIM WILLERT

AllSooners staff writer Tim Willert has covered news and sports for 29 years as a reporter and editor for daily and online publications, including The Oklahoman and The Norman Transcript. 

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