Oklahoma Sooners officially have one of the biggest steals in recent recruiting class after loss to Ole Miss
Oklahoma Sooners freshman cornerback Courtland Guillory is the real deal.
Sooner or later, it won’t be a secret that the Oklahoma Sooners have one of the best freshmen defenders in the SEC. Cornerback Courtland Guillory is that already, and to make things even better, he’s one of the biggest steals of the entire 2025 recruiting class.
The Sooners finished with a top-20 class for 2025, and among them was the three-star cornerback from Houston, Texas. Coming into the season, most people don’t make much of three-stars in terms of the kind of impact they can have on a team’s season. Admittedly, I’ve done it a few times. However, Guillory proved everyone wrong and, from the start, has been the team’s best cornerback.
Against the Ole Miss Rebels on Saturday, even in a loss, he showed why he is the biggest steal from that class and definitely shouldn’t have been listed as a three-star recruit.
Courtland Guillory’s 202 stats at Oklahoma
- Against Ole Miss: Targeted 10 times, allowed two catches for seven yards.
- 19 tackles, 12 solo, seven assisted.
- Leads the team in pass deflections with five.
Head coach Brent Venables recognizes Guillory
“Courtland [Guillory] was excellent,” Venables told reporters on Tuesday. “His coverage technique and fundamentals were really good. … He plays really strongly through the end of the play, so he was really good. He was the most consistent guy we had.”
Against one of the best offenses in the country, if not the best, Guillory was great. He was amazing in coverage, as he was targeted 10 times but allowed just two catches for seven yards. One catch was a wide receiver screen.
Ole Miss tried to pick on the true freshman all game, and it just didn’t work. Did he have a few times when his coverage could have been better? Yes, but in those moments, he was usually not being even looked at by the quarterback because his man wasn’t the first read.
A boundary cornerback playing like he does, as a true freshman, isn’t something you see in the SEC often, let alone a guy who was a three-star. But don’t let all the praise fool you; he still has some things to work on, and I think even he would tell you that.
Some of the things that stand out aren’t necessarily bad, but things that worry me going forward if he wants to stay healthy. This guy loves football and plays till the whistle, but sometimes when he’s going for a tackle, he uses his entire body. He’ll throw his body at a player, and that’s just not sustainable. That’s something I’m sure he will fix as he gets older.
The only other notable thing is working on disengaging from blocks like on those wide receiver screens and in the run game. He did it a few times against Ole Miss, but he also got held up a few times. As a true freshman, he will easily learn how to get better at that.
For right now, it’s clear that Guillory has a bright future at Oklahoma.
Tennessee Volunteers News
There’s concern that the Tennessee Vols could be without a key starter against the Oklahoma Sooners
Tennessee Vols cornerback Colton Hood suffered an injury against the Kentucky Wildcats last weekend.
