Logo celebrating 100 days with a football dated 9-3-22. 100 Days to Football Time in Oklahoma: #5 Billy Bowman By: Ryan Lewis Posted on: August 29, 2022

Player Profile

Position: Defensive Back

Height: 5’10”

Weight: 190

Class: Sophomore

Seasons at OU: 1

Hometown: Denton, TX

The Path to Norman

Billy Bowman, a Denton, Texas product, started receiving offers two and a half years before his eventual signing day. A talented athlete, he first committed to the Longhorns in July, 2019. Things remained mostly quiet between Bowman and the Sooners until the summer of 2020, when an offer came. Many members of the 2021 class were very public in their pursuit of Bowman over the coming months. Beyond that, Bowman’s girlfriend – none other than Jayda Coleman – joined the Sooners softball team the same year. That fall, Billy decommitted from the Longhorns; Coleman gave her vote on the subject:

After that, it wasn’t long before Bowman decided to become a Sooner himself.

Career so Far

Bowman’s first year was… interesting. The young man generated a ton of buzz in the offseason and was named the starting nickel heading into the season. He started games throughout the first half of the season before being asked to work at corner. After that ill-fated attempt by the staff, Bowman essentially disappeared. Despite his athletic ability and obvious talent, the struggles in the secondary by the former staff led to a puzzling freshman season for Bowman.

Stats

Year: 2021

Games Played: 11

Tackles: 22

TFL: 1.5

FF: 1

PBU: 2

Stats via Soonersports.com

Highlights

This Season

Bowman has a fresh start in 2022 with a new coaching staff. The secondary will look very different this year, with several long-time starters departing and other players shuffling positions. The buzz for Bowman this offseason has been even higher than last year. He is set to start at strong safety with Key Lawrence starting at free safety. While others are lined up to play the nickel / Cheetah spot, it’s also conceivable that he could see snaps there at some point. Bowman seems ripe for a breakout season at safety in 2022 as the secondary looks for a big turnaround season.