Brent Venables reveals Oklahoma will start camp minus CB Eli Bowen
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Brent Venables’s secondary will be missing a big piece when Oklahoma starts fall camp on Thursday, as injured cornerback Eli Bowen will be on the sidelines.
The Sooners head coach announced the unfortunate news regarding his sophomore defensive back, who missed spring camp and wore a boot on his left leg after playing in 10 games and starting the last 7 of them last fall. Bowen had 26 tackles, 20 of them solo, 2 tackles-for-loss, 1 interception and 4 pass breakups for Oklahoma in 2024.
Venables gave a full update on his team on Wednesday, 1 day before the start of a very crucial fall camp.
“He won’t be available to start camp,” Brent Venables revealed, per Sooners on SI.
Back to Bowen, whose absence sheds light on the Sooners’s lack of depth at cornerback. Gentry Williams was a limited participant in spring practice after suffering a season-ending injury in 2024. Defensive backs Peyton Bowen and Kendel Dolby were also limited.
Oklahoma might have to lean on players such as Courtland Guillory, Jaydan Hardy, Devon Jordan and Jeremiah Newcombe with Eli Bowen being sidelined to start fall camp.
However it turns out for Bowen and whenever he does return to camp, the Sooners are starting their 2025 journey a bit shorthanded in the secondary. The coming weeks will show how they deal with Bowen’s absence and that lack of depth at the position.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
