Defense improves as Holmes adjusts to cornerback job

By John Helsley

Published: November 1, 2006

NORMAN - Brent Venables peered into Lendy Holmes' eyes, looking for that certain something he seeks in every young player he throws into action.

Instead, the Oklahoma defensive coordinator found fear — Holmes' and his own.

"You want him to give you that look of, ‘I've got it,' " said Venables, raising two clenched fists for emphasis. "Lendy was like…" and Venables' eyes widened.

"The ball's about to be snapped and I'm, ‘Quit looking at me! Oh, geez. Oh, man.' "

That was the Washington game, nearly two months ago.

Now? Holmes, a converted wide receiver who drew more shrugs than shows of confidence in his move to cornerback, is a key component in the recent surge of OU's defense.

Holmes has started the last three games, his performance rising in each, highlighted by a breakthrough outing in Saturday's 26-10 win at Missouri.

In that game, Holmes broke up four passes, including a fourth-down toss into the end zone, recovered a fumble and intercepted a pass.

"That's a pretty special day at corner," coach Bob Stoops said.

Overall, it's a performance coaches consider his best yet.

"Oh, sure," said Venables, "just because so many of the things he did were game-changing type plays and big plays.

"Sometimes, guys will play solid and they don't make many game-changing type plays in a game. You can put a handle on about five of his plays that were really difference-maker types."

Holmes is just glad to be making a difference somewhere.

He arrived as a touted wide receiver prospect, although he played eight different positions during his career at South Oak Cliff High School in Dallas. Holmes even went 8-1 as a quarterback in three seasons.

Caught in the logjam that is OU's wide receiver position, he redshirted as a freshman in 2005, then caught two passes a year ago as fellow freshmen Malcolm Kelly, Juaquin Iglesias and Manuel Johnson seized opportunity.

So Holmes asked secondary coach Bobby Jack Wright for a change and a chance.

"My confidence was down," Holmes said. "I was like, ‘Man, I can't play receiver.' "

And in the spring, Holmes made the move.

Venables was skeptical.

"Lendy came over initially and I was like, ‘Well, we'll see,' " Venables said. "He was kind of a sandlot kind of guy. Sometimes guys think they can just show up.

"There's so much more thinking that's involved. There's language. There's technique. And it changes every single play. I thought he would be overwhelmed."

At times he was.

In his first start, a major matchup at Oregon, Holmes busted his assignment on the game's second snap, a screen pass Ducks wide receiver Jaison Williams took for 67 yards to the OU 9, setting up a touchdown.

Ups and downs followed. The downs, however, have decreased significantly. So much, in fact, that coaches have never second-guessed their decision to shift Reggie Smith — then the team's top corner — to strong safety.

Not coincidentally, the defense has improved almost weekly, rising from the depths of the Big 12 rankings to near the top in most of the major categories, including No. 1 in total defense.

"Lendy's move helped a great deal in stabilizing the secondary and the defense as a whole, because that position is such a playmaking position for us," Venables said.

Venables said it took just one play in the Iowa State game for him to realize Holmes was comfortable in his new role.

On paper, it went down as a 1-yard loss for Cyclones running back Jason Scales. On the field, it was a macho moment of maturation.

"Lendy beat up the receiver who was trying to block him, rag-dolled him, got back in there and grabbed the back and put him in a cobra clutch and rubbed him into the ground," Venables said.

"You're like, ‘All right. He's getting it.' "

And for Holmes and Venables, the fear is gone.

"At first, there was a lot of things going through my head," Holmes said. "Like, ‘I can't make a mistake. I don't want to get burned deep. I don't want this person to run up my side and run past me.'

"From then on, it was, ‘Just start playing. Just go out there and play 100 percent.' "