Oklahoma is heading into the Texas game with another wrinkle in its secondary, but Brent Venables isn’t sounding alarmed about the next men up.
Jacobe Johnson, the top backup behind Eli Bowen and Courtland Guillory at cornerback, is out for the Red River Rivalry after getting hurt against Georgia. That leaves Trystan Haynes and Dakoda Fields as the next options if Bowen or Guillory need a breather on Saturday.
“Trystan Haynes and Dakoda Fields - those are the next couple of guys there,” OU coach Brent Venables said at his press conference on Tuesday. “I feel good about them.
Really like where they're at. They're improving, getting better, and they're going to have to play bigger roles as well.”
Haynes, a sophomore, has already seen some action this season. He’s played in three games, opened the year with two assisted tackles against UTEP, and picked up his first solo tackle against Georgia. In that game, he also handled a bigger workload in Johnson’s place and came away with a 65.1 Pro Football Focus defensive grade in the Sooners’ 41-13 loss.
His résumé at Oklahoma is still short. As a freshman, Haynes appeared in just one game, taking two snaps in the Sooners’ 44-0 win over Kent State.
The Midwest City native and Carl Albert High School product arrived in Norman with plenty of pedigree. He was a consensus 4-star recruit and picked Oklahoma over Alabama, Notre Dame, Georgia and others after a senior season that included 28 tackles and 10 pass breakups.
Fields brings a different kind of backstory. He’s in his first season at Oklahoma after spending his first two college years at Oregon, where he arrived as a 4-star prospect and flashed in the Ducks’ 2024 spring game with an interception.
His college path has been slowed by injuries. Before his first season could begin, Fields suffered a season-ending injury. He returned to health ahead of the 2025 season but still played only three games before leaving Oregon during the season.
So far in Norman, Fields has appeared in all four games, but his role has been limited. He’s been on the field for 17 defensive snaps and has one assisted tackle, which came against Georgia.
Oklahoma’s bye week didn’t come with much good news on the injury front. Seven players who had not appeared on the SEC availability reports before the Georgia game on Sept. 26 showed up on the first report ahead of Saturday’s matchup with Texas. Johnson was one of them, and his absence now pushes the Sooners deeper into their cornerback depth chart.
In Other News...
Oklahoma Faces A Red River Concern Fans Already Feared
Oklahoma heads into the Red River matchup with a defense that could get a boost from a couple of returning pieces, but the more immediate concern is on the other side of the ball. The Sooners are working through injury issues along the offensive line and at running back, and that combination can shape everything from protection to play-calling in a game where margin for error is already slim.
Michael Fasusi is doubtful, Eddy Pierre-Louis is questionable and Xavier Robinson is out, leaving Oklahoma to sort through a patchwork situation at key spots before facing Texas. There are several other availability questions on the report as well, while Texas enters with fewer players listed as unavailable, which only sharpens the concern for a Sooners offense that would prefer far cleaner health heading into one of the season's biggest tests. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahomas Receiver Frustration Just Took Another Hit Before Texas
A week before the Red River showdown, Oklahoma added another wrinkle to a wide receiver room that has already been under scrutiny. Freshman Jahsiear Rogers has been dismissed from the football program, according to an OU spokesperson, and he has already been removed from the teams online roster. Rogers had not carved out a major role this season, but he arrived with the kind of recruiting profile that made him an intriguing long-term piece for the Sooners.
For a passing attack trying to find more consistency, losing a young receiver who once looked like a possible building block is another reminder of how much turnover can shape a season. The Sooners are now moving toward Texas with less depth and one fewer developmental option at a position that has been watched closely all fall. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahoma's 2028 Running Back Problem Just Got Worse Before Texas Week
The recruiting battle around the Red River Rivalry picked up another jolt when Micah Rhodes, a four-star running back in the 2028 class, backed off his Oklahoma pledge and announced for Texas just ahead of the matchup. Rhodes had originally committed to the Sooners, so the flip adds a fresh layer of sting to a weekend that already carries plenty of recruiting and regional weight for both programs.
Rhodes change of heart came after the departure of Oklahoma running backs coach DeMarco Murray, a reminder of how quickly the staff turnover can reshape a class. The Sooners still do not have a replacement lined up for Rhodes in the 2028 group, though they remain involved with other targets such as Jayshawn Mitchell as they try to steady that part of the board. [Read more 🡒]