All Sooners

Usually a Silent Leader, 'Warrior' Billy Bowman is Finding His Voice for Oklahoma's Defense

The junior safety was voted a captain for the rest of the 2023 season this week, which is an indicator as he evolution off the field as a leader for the Sooners.

Ryan Chapman

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NORMAN — As Billy Bowman sat up in the end zone, LaVell Edwards Stadium sat in stunned silence.

The Oklahoma safety avoided disaster, picking off BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff’s pass and outracing him 100 yards for a pick six, quelling the building wall of noise in Provo.

In a way, it was fitting.

Bowman, who carries himself with a quiet confidence, is a man of action. He primarily leads with his work instead of his words, and he basked in the silence after a game-changing play to help the Sooners top the Cougars 31-24.

But even that is slowly changing.

This week, the junior safety was voted a permanent captain for the remainder of the 2023 season by his Oklahoma teammates, another step in Bowman’s emergence not just as one of the Big 12’s most consistent defensive backs, but as a crucial leader off the field.

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Billy Bowman's 100-yard interception return for a touchdown was crucial in Oklahoma's 31-24 victory over BYU :: Rob Gray / USA TODAY Sports

“It was actually pretty shocking to me,” Bowman said of being voted a captain by his peers. “Just I had to take a deep breath and really realize what that is. A true honor. Honestly feel like I’m just so blessed and I’m grateful to be in this position that I am and have teammates that view me in that way.”

From afar, the decision seems like a no-brainer.

Saturday’s pick six was Bowman’s second interception return for a touchdown of the year, and his fifth pick of the year.

He leads the nation with 193 interception return yards, and has also made 52 total tackles and contributed for other pass breakups.

Bowman continues to improve in his second season playing safety under Brent Venables and position coach Brandon Hall, but Venables has continued to push the 5-foot-10, 192-pound star to take on a louder role in the locker room.

“Billy’s one of the most quiet people we have in our locker room, but there’s nobody that’s more highly invested than Billy,” Venables said on Monday. “Billy loves Oklahoma. He loves to play. He’s really hard on himself, puts a tremendous amount on himself.

“… I’m always trying to poke him and get him to respond, have his teammates hear him because players have tremendous respect for him.”

Hall and cornerbacks coach Jay Valai have also stayed in Bowman’s ear. They both recognize the respect Bowman garners from his teammates, and have encouraged the safety to speak out more as his words carry weight.

“They know I have a voice that will be listened to,” Bowman said. “So I feel like they’re harping on me just to get other people to listen as well.”

Linebacker Kobie McKinzie, who has taken on a much larger role defensively since OU’s bye week, said he always takes Bowman’s advice to heart.

“He’s a true leader,” McKinzie said. “He’s kind of one of those guys, he doesn’t say much but when he does say something, you listen to it more because he isn’t necessarily saying something at all times.

“He’s a warrior. He’s a warrior. He’s a really good dude. Love him to death.”

Bowman’s presence has been necessary this season as Oklahoma has relied on a bunch of different faces in the secondary.

The cornerback spot across from Woodi Washington has seen plenty of rotation due to minor injuries, and Bowman has played alongside Key Lawrence, Reggie Pearson, Peyton Bowen and Robert Spears-Jennings at safety this year.

Through it all, Bowman has continued to raise his levels of play.

He combined with Kendel Dolby to pop a Quinn Ewers pass loose against Texas, resulting in a Dolby interception, and the two reversed roles in Stillwater for Bowman to pull down a crucial Bedlam takeaway.

Bowman also took a Rocco Becht pass to the house on the first drive against Iowa State, and delivered the crucial pick six to give true freshman quarterback Jackson Arnold time to settle on the OU sideline in the second half of last week’s battle against BYU.

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Billy Bowman also returned an interception for a touchdown in the Sooners' win against Iowa State earlier this season.  :: NATHAN J. FISH / THE OKLAHOMAN-USA TODAY NETWORK

But what really excites Venables is the growth potential Bowman still has in his Oklahoma career.

“He has so much more growth,” Venables said. “He’ll be the first one to tell you he’s so far from a polished product, but he has a chance to be great because of his work ethic, his attention to detail, his love for the game.

“… He’s his own worst critic; really, really hard on himself. But he wants to serve his team well, wants to serve his coaches well, super easy to coach, always locked in. He’s always ready.”

Everyday in practice, Bowman’s teammates say he brings high levels of intensity and focus.

“He practices hard, so everything that comes up in the game, he's already prepared for it,” Washington said. “And he makes a lot of plays from just being where he’s supposed to be in practice.”

That work ethic has always served Bowman well, especially as he tries to lead by example, which has been crucial in a safeties group that has brought along a pair of young players in Bowen and Spears-Jennings as well as a new face out of the transfer portal in Pearson this year.

“I’m kind of a lead by example type of guy,” Bowman said. “I like to sit back and just watch everything that’s going on and stuff like that. So I just kind of let my actions do the talking.”

He’ll serve out the rest of this year as one of the Sooners’ captains, whether that journey contains Friday’s contest against TCU and a bowl game or the potential of a Big 12 title berth.

Regardless of the road ahead, Venables still believes this is only the beginning for Oklahoma’s star safety.

“(He) got up in front of the guys at practice, and man, it was awesome to hear him,” Venables said. “… It’s been a lot of fun to see him, again, grow and mature. But I say this, and he’s played really well this year, all his best football’s still in front of him.”

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Ryan Chapman
RYAN CHAPMAN

Ryan is deputy editor at AllSooners and covers a number of sports in and around Norman and Oklahoma City. Working both as a journalist and a sports talk radio host, Ryan has covered the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma City Thunder, the United States Men’s National Soccer Team, the Oklahoma City Energy and more. Since 2019, Ryan has simultaneously pursued a career as both a writer and a sports talk radio host, working for the Flagship for Oklahoma sports, 107.7 The Franchise, as well as AllSooners.com. Ryan serves as a contributor to The Franchise’s website, TheFranchiseOK.com, which was recognized as having the “Best Website” in 2022 by the Oklahoma Association of Broadcasters. Ryan holds an associate’s degree in Journalism from Oklahoma City Community College in Oklahoma City, OK. 

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