Oklahoma Position Preview: Cornerback

Woodi Washington and D.J. Graham return as starters, but new talent like Kani Walker and returning experience like Jaden Davis make the position interesting to watch.

New cornerbacks coach Jay Valai might have it easier than just about any of his fellow coaches in the Oklahoma staff room.

Valai has two returning starters to man his two cornerback spots in 2022, a luxury, to be sure.

But while Valai may know (or have a pretty good idea) who’s starting this season, he’s also tasked with building depth, identifying the backups and making sure everyone is ready to play.

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2022 Oklahoma Position Previews

• Tuesday: Running Back
• Wednesday: Linebacker
• Thursday: Offensive line
• Friday: Defensive line
• Saturday: Wide receiver
• Sunday: Cornerback
• Monday: Tight end
• Tuesday: Safety/Nickel
• Wednesday: Quarterback

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 Valai — who also coaches OU’s nickel back position; that’ll be a bit more complicated — said during the spring that competition has been fierce for the corner spots, and despite the return of Woodi Washington and D.J. Graham as starters, competition is exactly what a new coach needs to see.

“If you’re better than whoever is in front of you, you take it,” Valai said. “If there’s nobody in front of you, you are beside each other. One thing I’ve come in with, and it’s the same thing with the entire staff, it’s open competition. Eat or be eaten. It’s been good to see guys really pushing and straining to get to what they want in life.”

Washington, a junior from Murfreesboro, TN, has just 11 career starts under his belt but he’s the unquestioned leader of the group. As one of OU’s representatives at Big 12 Media Day this week, he built an immediate trust with the coaching staff as a leader and as a player.

Washington came off the bench halfway through the 2020 season to take over the starting job, then started the first two games last year before an injury cost him the next seven games. He returned to the starting lineup for the final two games of the season. In essentially the equivalent of one full season as the starter and one as a backup, Washington has 87 career tackles to go with four interceptions and six passes broken up.

“Woodi is a vet and he’s been part of the game,” Valai said. “He understands the game and he has a high level of want-to. The biggest thing is working his details and understanding the craft and where he fits in this defense. He’s been busting his tail. He’s always asking questions, being intentional and being a good leader for the entire room.”

Graham, a junior from Fort Worth, jumped into the starting role prior to the 2021 season and held onto the job — in part due to arguably the play of the year in college football, a horizontal, back-handed, one-handed interception against Nebraska. That, however, remained his only takeaway of the season as Graham compiled 37 tackles and two passes broken up.

“One thing D.J. has really done, he’s really working on not being a guy known for one play,” Valai said. “He made a great catch. Good job. But there’s got to be more, right? You don’t want to be defined by one thing you do in life. Because usually that’s the 15-minutes-of-fame people, right? For D.J., it’s getting back to the details, just like everybody else, understanding his fit, understanding his FBI — football intelligence — on the football field and how do I consistently get better? … He’s working on all the details.”

Valai landed another potential starter via the portal in Louisville transfer Kani Walker. The 6-foot-2, 203-pound Walker played sparingly for the Cardinals last season but immediately stood out during his first spring practice in Norman. He’s raw, but his potential as a physical, explosive corner seems unlimited.

“Kani is a hard-working dude,” Valai said. “His mindset is the right way. He fights and he’s focused on everything that he does. He’s very intentional with everything he does. Basically what we want Kani to do is, if you’re a big corner, play big. If you are physical, be physical.”

Valai has one other corner who actually has more experience than either Washington or Graham, but senior Jaden Davis has struggled at times with consistency. Davis played in all 14 games in 2019, then started the first five games of 2020 before Washington emerged. He started four of the first six games last season as the coaching staff tried out then-freshmen Latrell McCutchin and Billy Bowman as well as transfer Key Lawrence before Washington returned from injury.

Davis isn’t as big or as physical as some of the Sooners’ other corners, so Valai spent part of the spring working with him on his mental approach to the position.

“Working pre-snap, moving around, taxiing and just giving yourself a better opportunity at the play by playing chess instead of checkers,” Valai said. “So JD’s been really working on that as well too and fitting what he needs to get done on the field.”

There’s also Joshua Eaton, who’s played in 15 games as a backup and now begins his junior season with seven career tackles.

“Good length, good size,” Valai said. “He’s made some good plays on the ball this time too. But same thing for him is understanding ‘What is my responsibility in the call,’ and he's getting better with it as well too. So he's grown.”

Valai also added senior transfer C.J. Coldon, who was a three-year starter at Wyoming and led the team last year with 902 total snaps on his way to second-team All-Mountain West Conference honors. Coldon, who could also play other positions, had 67 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss and 10 passes broken up in 2021.

Valai during the spring also mentioned “a guy like Kendall Dennis” for making plays in practice and still has “got to work on the details” but clearly likes what he sees.

The Sooners add two outstanding freshmen from Tulsa to the depth chart in 2022. Gentry Williams (5-11, 170) and Jayden Rowe (6-2, 217) will probably need time to develop their game at the Division I level, but both have promising potential and should get a long look on special teams this year and will likely compete for starter snaps next year.

“We’re way more three guys,” Valai said. “Everybody’s eating and working.”