W E E K E N D E D I T I O N | S E P T E M B E R 1 - 5 , 2 0 16 | T W I C E W E E K LY I N P R I N T | O U D A I LY. C O M
OU DAILY
SIANDHARA BONNET/THE DAILY
CORNERSTONE
Senior cornerback Dakota Austin poses as if he were on the line waiting for the snap on Owen Field Tuesday. Austin took over for former OU cornerback Zack Sanchez.
After three years, Dakota Austin has proven himself
D
akota Austin plays with a chip on his shoulder. A big chip. Much bigger than Austin’s 5-foot-10, 170-pound frame should have to support. But don’t tell that to Austin, who will become one of Oklahoma’s most important pieces on defense if the Sooners want to make a return trip to the College Football Playoff. But Austin’s chip doesn’t come from his slight frame. It doesn’t come from his frustrating recruiting process or his exhausting road to the top of the Sooners’ depth chart, either. If you ask Austin, the chip has been there his whole career. “I really just don’t know another way to play,” Austin said, just days before No. 3 Oklahoma’s season opener against No. 15 Houston. “It’s how it’s been forever.” He plays with the aggression of a walk-on and with the discipline of a seasoned vet. He carries a burden of doubt, eager to shed its weight. His teammates see it, too. “Anyone with eyes will notice it,” said Jeffery Mead, the Sooners’ 6-foot-5 receiver who regularly clashes with Austin in practice. “He’s very aggressive, even when the play is over. He’s just really aggressive, so I guess that’s why they say it, ‘cause when you watch film you can just see it.”
LIMITATIONS
Austin’s biggest struggle on the field is his size. Listed generously at 5-foot-10, 170 pounds, Austin’s aggressive nature acts as an overcompensation for his stature. On the other side of the coin is Austin’s main competitor through fall camp, P.J. Mbanasor. In size, Mbanasor is a prototypical NFL cornerback at 6-foot-1, 193 pounds — making it all the more impressive for Austin to beat him for the starting spot. “It doesn’t matter necessarily about the height,” defensive backs coach Kerry Cooks said. “Obviously you’d like longer guys, but if a guy’s got ability and he’s got competitiveness, at the end of the day he’s got a 50/50 chance just like a 6-1 corner would. And
SPENSER DAVIS • @DAVIS_SPENSER Dakota, with his mentality, he’s probably going to be a little bit more aggressive because he already feels like he’s got a disadvantage, so he’s playing with that chip on his shoulder. “For his stature, going against the guys that are 6-3, 6-4, it doesn’t matter. He’s up in their face challenging those guys.” Austin is used to dealing with taller receivers — he says playing against bigger opponents is a skill he picked up in high school and continues to develop.
“If you want someone else to think you’re good, you have to think you’re good. If I want someone to think I’m the best, I better think I’m the best.” DAKOTA AUSTIN, CORNERBACK
“It’s really been like that since high school, so I’ve been used to it,” Austin said. “Coming from Texas and coming from a really big passing league in Texas, you just get used to it, and you learn different techniques for bigger guys.” Starting with OU’s opener against Houston, Austin will immediately become one of the most important players on the Sooners’ defense. OU was — in part — able to turn in the Big 12’s best defense in 2015 because it had a pair of shutdown corners in Zack Sanchez and Jordan Thomas. With Sanchez gone, the onus shifts to Austin to limit the litany of the Big 12’s heavy passing attacks. Austin, who’s never lacked confidence, insists he’s ready. “It comes from inside, really,” Austin said. “If you want someone else to think you’re good, you have to think you’re good. If I want someone to think I’m the best, I
better already think I’m the best.”
A NEW ROLE
For maybe the first time since arriving to Norman, Austin found himself on an island one chilly October day last season. Only 18 seconds remained in the half when the play started. Austin, a career backup to this point, had yet to prove himself on the big stage. But with Texas Tech knocking on Oklahoma’s front door in an attempt to seize halftime momentum, Austin made a play. Austin intercepted a pass over Texas Tech’s Reginald Davis, who stands at least two inches taller and weighs nearly 20 pounds more than Austin, in the endzone to kill the drive. Austin was filling in for an injured Sanchez when his moment came. The repercussions of that interception are still being felt today. In the short term, the interception prevented the Red Raiders from narrowing OU’s halftime lead to four points — OU followed it with a 46-second touchdown drive to start the third quarter, and the rest is history. In the long term, it gave Austin the taste of motivation he needed to win a starting cornerback job this fall. “Dakota’s (maturity) wasn’t there last year as a junior,” Cooks said. “But now as a senior, he got in, he played, he realized that everything we do in practice is important and when we say you’ve got to be ready at the drop of a dime, you’ve got to be ready at the drop of a dime. “Because when Zack went down, Dakota was up. So I think that kind of woke him up. From then on out, he’s been on point.” But Austin’s story doesn’t begin with him cracking the Sooners’ starting lineup. Time and time again, Austin was passed on the depth chart by younger players. First, it was Thomas. Thomas began seeing regular playing time as a true see AUSTIN page 6
FALL 2016
FOOTBALL SCHEDULE 1. OU at HOUSTON
2. OU vs. ULM
When: Sept. 3 at 11 a.m. Where: Houston, Texas Watch: ABC
When: Sept. 10 at 6 p.m. Where: Norman, OK Watch: PPV
3. OU vs. Ohio State
4. OU at TCU
When: Sept. 17 at 6:30 p.m. Where: Norman, OK Watch: FOX
When: Oct. 1 Where: Fort Worth, TX Watch: TBA
5. OU/Texas
8. OU vs. Kansas St.
When: Oct. 8 Where: Dallas, TX Watch: FS1
When: Oct. 15 Where: Norman, OK Watch: TBA
6. OU at Texas Tech
7. OU vs. Kansas
When: Oct. 22 Where: Lubbock, TX Watch: TBA
When: Oct. 29 Where: Norman, OK Watch: TBA
9. OU at Iowa
10. OU vs. Baylor
When: Nov. 3 at 6:30 p.m. Where: Ames, Iowa Watch: ESPN
When: Nov. 12 Where: Norman, OK Watch: TBA
11. OU at West Virginia
12. OU vs. OK State
When: Nov. 19 Where: Morgantown, WV Watch: TBA
When: Dec. 3 Where: Norman, OK Watch: TBA
OU at Houston: How to watch Oklahoma will begin its season against Houston at NRG Stadium in Houston on Saturday. Here’s how to watch: Live stream: Watch ESPN
TV time: 11 a.m.
Line: Oklahoma -10.5 (Bovada)
TV channel: ABC
Tickets: Advocare Texas Kickoff
Radio: Directory
More information at oudaily.com
INSIDE THIS ISSUE: A GUIDE TO THE 2016 FOOTBALL SEASON
PERINE’S
PURSUIT OF
HISTORY 8
• OBO STEPS
UP 9 • STAFF
OUDAILY20 16 PREDICTION
S 13
FOOTBALL
PREVIEW