Oklahoma
Oklahoma CB Dez Malone Embraces ‘Underdog’ Mentality
Oklahoma senior defensive back Dez Malone is prepared to make his Sooners debut in two weeks. His transition period is nearly complete.
“I would say when I first got here, it was kind of a different language,” the San Diego State transfer said after Tuesday’s open practice. “Once I got the terminology down, everything slowed down a little for me, and I was able to speak the same language as everyone else around me, and that allowed me to play better within the scheme.”
Sooners head coach Brent Venables mentioned Malone’s name among the team’s most productive cornerbacks in fall camp, while wide receiver J.J. Hester called him one of the toughest to practice against.
“Dez Malone has been fantastic,” Venables said after Tuesday’s practice. “We’re better at corner than at any time that we’ve been here the last 2 1/2 years.”
Malone started all 12 games for the Aztecs last year, totaling 47 tackles, seven pass breakups and an interception. The year prior, the Mountain West’s coaches named him an honorable mention on the postseason all-conference team. The Fresno, CA, native committed to Oklahoma on Dec. 10, 2023, and has made tremendous strides over the last eight months.
“The transition’s been real smooth. This team is like, the brotherhood is something I’ve never been a part of before. It’s second to none. I feel like the guys, they really brought me in since Day 1, before I even got here. I love it here. I love everything about it,” Malone said. “I was looking for just somewhere I feel like that would push me, you know? Somewhere that I can grow as a man. That’s why, 10 seconds [of] talking to Coach V, I knew he was a good man I could follow and could come up under. That’s one thing I was looking for that I kind of valued over a lot of different places.”
Malone sees the secondary as Venables sees it: blossoming. He spoke at length about teammates like sophomore Jacobe Johnson, “another guy with all the athletic ability in the world”; junior Gentry Williams, “a guy I can learn from”; and senior Woodi Washington, who has been “everything that you need and would think of from a sixth-year senior.
“We have a great group. All of our guys can go. Real good, solid group, have a lot of different flavors. We have speed, size, smarts. We have everything. I love our group,” Malone said. “I think I’ve improved a lot. They told me the smarts here is a whole different level. Being around Coach V and [Jay] Valai, it’s a lot of learning that I took. I’ve become a smarter player just being around these guys.”
Fans may find Malone’s endorsement of the Sooners’ receivers even more heartening.
“Me, personally, I think we have the best receiving corps in the nation. We have a whole bunch of guys who can go. It was unfortunate what happened with [Jayden Gibson] because he was a guy that helped me get better when I first got here because we went up against each other a lot just because he’s a very competitive player. JJ is very good. We have a lot of great guys that are ready to come up.”
The 16th-ranked Sooners open against Temple on Friday, Aug. 30, inside Memorial Stadium. Their four-game home stretch will conclude on Sep. 21 against No. 15 Tennessee to open their inaugural SEC schedule. OU was picked to finish eighth in the SEC this year.
“We enjoy being the underdog,” Malone said. “We’re fine with wherever they put us. We know it’s up to us ultimately to do what we want to do. It really don’t matter to us.”
No. 7 Alabama football should have defeated unranked Oklahoma. But the Crimson Tide didn’t.
Oklahoma had only won one SEC game all season. It wasn’t even bowl eligible before Saturday.
Then, the Alabama offense failed to score a touchdown and sputtered for much of the night. The Crimson Tide defense couldn’t stop Oklahoma’s rushing attack when the game was still close.
Alabama turned the ball over three times, with three Jalen Milroe interceptions.
As a result, the Crimson Tide fell 24-3 to the Sooners on Saturday at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Oklahoma.
“There is no excuse,” linebacker Jihaad Campbell said. “None. Everybody saw it. Whoever was watching the game. We lost, and we’ve got to take it on the chin and keep learning from that.”
Alabama (8-3, 4-3 SEC) gave up 325 yards, with 257 yards, on the ground to Oklahoma and two touchdowns. Oklahoma (6-5, 2-5) had the nation’s 90th ranked scoring offense entering the game.
“Our job was to out-execute those guys, and we fell short tonight,” Campbell said.
Meanwhile, the Alabama offense tallied only 234 yards, with 164 through the air and 70 on the ground, to score only a field goal.
Milroe, who gashed LSU on the ground two weeks ago, couldn’t get anything going with his legs with only seven yards on 15 carries.
“They had a great game plan for us,” offensive lineman Tyler Booker said. “We’ve just got to get a hat on a hat. We have to execute better.”
The Alabama players who took part in interviews postgame showed a clear and intentional interest in moving on quickly from the result and performance in Norman.
“So what? Now what?” Booker said. “Can’t do anything about what just happened. What we can do is make sure we prepare our tails off.”
Next up is a matchup with Auburn in the Iron Bowl at Bryant-Denny Stadium to close out the regular season. Alabama won’t make the SEC Championship Game, but it might not yet be eliminated from the playoff just yet. The Allstate playoff predictor on Saturday night gave the Crimson Tide a 31% chance to still make the postseason.
“Got a big game next week,” Booker said. “Got to put all of our focus and energy there. Can’t do anything about what just happened. We’ve got to put all of our focus and energy into next week.”
Nick Kelly is an Alabama beat writer for AL.com and the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X and Instagram.
NORMAN, Okla.–– Alabama has one final road test to pass in the regular season if it wants to compete for an SEC title and make it back to the College Football Playoff.
The No. 7 Crimson Tide plays at Oklahoma on Saturday night in the first matchup as conference foes in the SEC. BamaCentral will have coverage all night from Norman. Follow along for updates.
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(latest updates at the top)
Who: Alabama (8-2, 4-2 SEC) vs. Oklahoma (5-5, 1-4)
When: Saturday, Nov. 23, 6:30 p.m.
Where: Gaylord Family Memorial Stadium
TV: ABC/ESPN+
Radio: Crimson Tide Sports Network (Play-By-Play: Chris Stewart, Color: Tyler Watts).
Series: Oklahoma leads 3-2-1
Last meeting: Alabama defeated the Sooners in the Capital One Orange Bowl as part of the College Football Playoff 45-34. Tua Tagovailoa passed for 318 yards and four touchdowns while the Crimson Tide rushed for 200 yards across 42 carries between Josh Jacobs, Damien Harris and Najee Harris.
Last time out, Alabama: The Crimson Tide dominated Mercer 52-7 at home behind three touchdowns from Jalen Milroe and two touchdowns from Ryan Williams. The Alabama defense forced three more turnovers as they’ve now forced 16 in the last five games, making life challenging on opposing offenses.
Last time out, Oklahoma: The Sooners were off this past week, but went to Missouri two weeks ago and lost 30-23 after losing a fumble for a touchdown in the game’s final minutes. Oklahoma’s played five conference games and only won at Auburn this season.
After falling twice away from home already this season, No. 7 Alabama will look to avoid a potential trap game in its final road trip of the regular season. The Crimson Tide (8-2, 5-2 in the SEC) will visit Oklahoma (5-5, 1-5) for a 6:30 p.m. CT kickoff Saturday inside Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.
This will be the seventh matchup between Alabama and Oklahoma. The Sooners hold a 3-2-1 advantage in the series, but the Tide won the most recent meeting, recording a 45-34 victory in the 2018 Orange Bowl. Alabama is currently a 14-point favorite for Saturday’s game, according to the Caesars Sportsbook.
Here’s how Tide Illustrated’s staff thinks the game will play out.
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