John Shinn
Oklahoma’s Red Room has about 80 seats, but the middle 16 in the front are where the defensive backs sit to watch film. The starting four sit in the front followed by the second, third and fourth teams. The depth chart is always adhered to.
It wasn’t too long ago those seats were occupied by a different person almost daily. It hasn’t happened that way this season. The seats in that front row, filled by safeties Lendy Holmes and Nic Harris, and cornerbacks Brian Jackson and Dominique Franks, might as well have placards on them.
The backs have played that well.
The proof is in the statistics. The Sooners lead the nation in pass efficiency defense with the average opponent quarterback rating through the first five games 85.57.
The pass rush has a lot to do with it, and OU’s linebackers have well surpassed expectations, but there’s a lot of credit that flows Jackson’s and Franks’ way. It’s well deserved.
“It has been exciting,” OU coach Bob Stoops said. “Dominique Franks and Brian Jackson have been as good as anyone we have had here thus far. Again, it’s only five games, but I have as much confidence in them as anyone we have had.”
It was a surprising compliment from a coach that’s had nine different defensive backs earn All-Big 12 honors since 2000, three earn All-American accolades and two take home the Thorpe Award.
It’s even more surprising when you consider both Franks and Jackson are about to play their first meaningful snaps in the Red River Rivalry when No. 1 OU faces No. 5 Texas at 11 a.m. Saturday in the Cotton Bowl.
But the cornerback tandem has earned a lot of respect in a little less than half a season.
“We knew all along they’d be ready to play. They’re great ballplayers and great athletes,” Holmes said. “It isn’t like those guys were a couple of walk-ons.”
True, but just about every Sooner will also say that being great in practice is one thing. Doing it on game days is another.
Jackson and Franks had big shoes to fill this season. Marcus Walker and Reggie Smith and been starters at the cornerback spots for the previous three years. They played in big games and performed well in them.
Their absence left big questions surrounding the OU secondary back in August. Jackson and Franks played well in the spring and throughout the preseason, but there was still trepidation.
“We hadn’t really started any games,” Franks said. “Guys, rightly so, didn’t have too much faith that we weren’t going to mess up.”
But they had faith in each other.
“I think Dominique has always trusted me. We talk a lot. We’re really good friends,” Jackson said. “Taking care of each other is what really makes a team.”
The faith has spread.
Through five games, the Sooners have allowed only two touchdown passes — one against Cincinnati and one against Washington. Against the Huskies, the score came without Franks and Jackson on the field.
None of the opponents the Sooners have faced this year present the kind of the challenge the Longhorns will. Texas has one of the best offenses in the country and rolled through its first five opponents, scoring at least 38 points in each lopsided victory.
When it comes to tests, Franks and Jackson are about to get a very big one.
“It is really exciting to get to play in this game. I’ve never actually played defense in it before, so it will be a different experience for me,” Jackson said. “It will be a challenge, but I’m not nervous about it.”
Nobody in OU’s camp is worried about them anymore either.
John Shinn
366-3536
jshinn@normantranscript.com
