Oklahoma cornerback Courtland Guillory experienced a hard day at the office in the Sooners' game against Auburn on Saturday.
The true freshman got his biggest test of the season so far on Saturday covering Auburn wide receiver Cam Coleman, arguably one of the top receivers in college football. Guillory was assigned to Coleman in single coverage most of the afternoon, and to be perfectly candid, the young OU defensive back was overmatched.
That's not as much an indictment of Guillory's ability or inexperience, however, as it is a testament to Coleman's immense talent and ability. There are probably few defensive backs in the country who would have much success covering the speedy and shifty Coleman one-on-one.
Guillory gets schooled by Cam Coleman for learning experience
Coleman had little difficulty dekeing and dodging the young OU defender. Coleman caught three passes for 88 yards, including a touchdown pass with Guillory covering. According to Pro Football Focus, the Sooner cornerback was targeted five times and allowed four catches. He also drew two penalties for pass interference.
These types of games are bound to come for even the best of defensive backs, particularly with the wide-open passing game that exists today in college football. This is part of the learning process and development of young, talented defensive backs like Guillory.
"All the great ones will have a day that you'd like to have back," OU head coach Brent Venables said postgame Saturday. "You just want to go somewhere and hide. ... It's not all on (Guillory), but this will help him.
"He's a really tough kid. He's really prideful, and he made some plays there late. Great position and doing the things we needed to do, too, that don't show up on the stat sheet. He'll be all right."
When you sit back, take a breath and take all of this in, this is all good news for Oklahoma moving forward.
Ever since Guillory arrived on campus in Norman this past winter, he has impressed Venables and the Sooner coaches with his competitive spirit, his infectious energy and his strong desire to learn and get better. And he found himself in the right place at the right time with starting sophomore cornerback Eli Bowen out with an injury and not able to start the season.
Irrespective of Bowen's injury, the Sooner coaches thought enough of Guillory and had enough trust in him to make him a starter in Game 1 of his college career. In itself, that is a huge development in a Venables-led defense. Guillory was the first OU true freshman to start at cornerback in a season opener since P.J. Mbanasor in 2015.
Guillory played every defensive snap in the win over Michigan. He played 62 snaps against Auburn and finished with four tackles and a 54.9 grade by Pro Football Focus.
It was the first bit of adversity for the young Oklahoma defensive back, and playing in the SEC there are certain to be a few more. One of the attributes that has impressed Venables about the Houston native Guillory is his resilience and his ability to learn and grow from his mistakes.
And that is what's important now, as Oklahoma and Guillory move forward for the rest of the 2025 season. What did the young Oklahoma defensive player learn from his performance in the Auburn game and how will he respond to it?
When Bowen is cleared to return to action, Guillory will undoubtedly be moved to a backup role, but what he has experienced and learned through the first four games will be invaluable and to the Sooners' great advantage as the season progresses and the games grow in importance.
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