Jaden Davis Says 'Coach V' Is the Reason Behind Oklahoma's Confidence

NORMAN — As a team, Oklahoma endured a serious rough patch that not many teams in Norman have faced recently. 

The Sooners lost three straight games, including two blowout defeats. Three losses in a row is out of the ordinary for a team that hasn’t had three total losses in a season since 2014.

After back-to-back conference wins, though, the Sooners are starting to rebuild some of that lost confidence from the beginning of the conference season. 

Specifically, the defense has taken a step forward.

The unit was heavily criticized after giving up nearly 50 points in back-to-back losses, and even allowing 42 points to an injury-riddled Kansas team. Nothing seemed to be working for the Sooners. But the secondary especially seemed to struggle. 

Through all the ups-and-downs, though, the defense never lost confidence or belief. Saturday at Iowa State, it was finally on display.

“Believe it or not, I don’t think we ever lost confidence,” veteran cornerback Jaden Davis said Monday night after practice. “It was more just we were self-questioning why all this hard work — like you see guys still out here putting in work — so like why is all this work not translating? We need that breakthrough. And I feel like last Saturday was just a step in the right direction.”

Saturday in Ames, Oklahoma held the Cyclones to just 13 total points. The secondary stepped up in a big way, forcing two of the team's three interceptions and allowing just one touchdown in 57 passing attempts. 

Both Woodi Washington and Justin Broiles came up with interceptions on the back end, showing the week-to-week improvement from the unit. It could’ve been the confidence from the Kansas win, or it could’ve been the bye week preparation, or it could have been a limited Iowa State offense. 

Whatever it was, the secondary looked a lot more comfortable on Saturday.

“Coach V,” Davis answered when asked why the team never lost confidence. “All your position coaches. You never lose confidence because you gotta continue to put in work."

Brent Venables' confidence and belief in the team hasn't wavered much since his arrival 10 months ago. But it's more than just him and his staff.

"We’ve never lost confidence because everyone keeps reminding everybody else how much work we put in to be here," Davis said. "Regardless of record, we all love each other and we all know that we’ve put in that much work. All that work doesn’t come unnoticed. It’s gonna come, and it’s gonna be a moment where it’s like ‘Oh, this is what it feels like,’ and I think Saturday was a step in the right direction.”

As the rest of the Big 12 Conference continues to beat each other up, Oklahoma will certainly have big games remaining down the stretch despite three early losses. If Saturday was a turning point for the defense moving forward, the Sooners could be in a good spot to make a late run at a solid bowl game.

“It feels great, you turn in that (performance), and now other teams have to watch that,” Davis said. “They have to watch that on film and say ‘These guys can really play.’ It’s a great feeling.”