Kendel Dolby availability update: Brent Venables reveals status of Oklahoma DB

Oklahoma Sooners defensive back Kendel Dolby wasn’t with the team a week ago when they traveled to Columbia to take on South Carolina. At the time, it was a bit of a surprise, but head coach Brent Venables has now shared some insight into the situation there.

Notably, Dolby is available and practicing for Oklahoma. However, Venables did note that he’s still trying to figure everything out, though he did not expand on what he meant by that or what it could mean moving forward for Dolby and Oklahoma.

“Yeah,” Brent Venables said. “He’s just trying to figure everything out, but he’s practicing. So, that’s kind of where he is. He’ll be available.”

Kendel Dolby came to Oklahoma ahead of the 2023 season as a JUCO transfer. He had been a four-star and the seventh-ranked JUCO prospect overall. He’d also quickly hit the ground running in Norman and quickly became vital to the Sooners’ defense. In 2023, Dolby was an honorable mention All-Big 12 selection.

Then, in 2024, he started three of the first four games at the Cheetah position before Dolby suffered a dislocated ankle that cut his year short. It would also cost him Spring and Fall Camp ahead of this season. Since coming back this year, he’s now played in four games for the Sooners. That’s after he was able to make his debut this season in Week 3 against Temple. The next week, against Auburn, his playing time would be limited to just five snaps.

During Dolby’s Oklahoma career, he has 68 total tackles and three sacks. On top of that, he’s defended five passes and two interceptions. Notably, both of those interceptions came during the 2023 season.

That four game mark is an important but speculative one. As it stands right now, players can play four games and still use a redshirt for the season. So, if Dolby were considering a transfer, it would allow him to avoid burning a year of eligibility this season. It’s speculative, but that could be the “figure everything out” that Venables was referencing.

The first SEC availability report for this week’s game is going to be released at 8:00 p.m. EST on Wednesday night. Based on what Brent Venables said, Kendel Dolby will be available. Of course, there’s always the chance that it has changed or could change in the subsequent days ahead of the Ole Miss game.

Regardless, it’s going to be interesting to see if Dolby dresses or plays for this Saturday’s home game. Kickoff for that game is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. EST.