Oklahoma Coach Brent Venables Offers Sooners' Latest Injury Updates

Venables gave details on DBs Robert Spears-Jennings, Gentry Williams and RB Jovantae Barnes, and said he was proud of the way the team rallied around Peyton Bowen.

NORMAN — This was supposed to be a spring of opportunity for Oklahoma safety Robert Spears-Jennings.

Instead, the sophomore from Broken Arrow, OK, will miss the second half of spring practice with the Sooners after having shoulder surgery.

Oklahoma coach Brent Venables revealed Spears-Jennings’ situation in a 20-minute update Wednesday after practice.

“We went ahead and had a shoulder surgery with him a day or so ago, yesterday, so he’ll be out the rest of spring,” Venables said. “We’ll get him back by fall camp. It just became so bothersome, that he needed to get it done now. But he was having a really strong spring.”

Venables also updated the injury status of sophomore running back Jovantae Barnes, who attended Monday’s practice with a wrap on his right foot while moving around on a scooter.

“He had a little surgery, just something from high school that just bothered him,” Venables said. “He was fighting through it his first year or so here, and just thought this would be a good time to clean that up.”

Barnes is OU’s leading returning rusher from last season and could lie primed for a big sophomore season. He had practiced throughout the first couple weeks of spring, but then shut it down.

“Wanted to get him a jumpstart on the summer from a healing standpoint,” Venables said.

Sophomore cornerback Gentry Williams was back at practice on Monday and Wednesday after suffering what the team called an "exertional collapse" two weeks ago.

"He’s looked good," Venables said. "He went through a little bit on Monday and he went through more today. So I watched some of the good-on-good stuff that he did today. But he’ll be fine. It’s like riding a bike for him. He’ll get back where he was quickly, and we expect him to make that move better as well." 

Venables also spoke about freshman safety Peyton Bowen, whose family was devastated last week by the death of his sister after giving birth. Her funeral was over the weekend and Bowen was back at practice this week.

“Obviously Peyton was missing some time,” Venables said. “Just a terrible deal, death in the family that his family’s had to deal with. The thing is, it’s not like ,’Well OK, that happened, now he can get back to’ — No. That’s life. So helping him continue to manage that, our guys have done a great job of loving on him and encouraging him and being there for him.”

Wednesday was the Sooners’ eighth of 15 practices this spring. They’re scheduled to practice again Thursday, then three times each of the next two weeks, including the annual Red/White Game on April 22.