More than 62,000 people were going crazy last Saturday at Faurot Field, but Oklahoma cornerback Lendy Holmes wasn’t one of them. He felt like he could see into the future and something was about to happen to quiet all but the small portion of Sooner fans.

Missouri was facing a fourth-and-1 from the OU 1-yard line. The Tigers were a touchdown away from getting back in the game. Just about everything rode on the play.

Then he saw Missouri’s Chase Coffman jog out wide. Holmes knew what was coming next. He’d seen the play all week in practice.

“When I saw No. 45 was lined up on my side I knew it was going to be a fade,” Holmes said. “As soon as I saw where he lined up, I knew they were going to try a fade route on me.”

Sure enough, Coffman sprinted to the corner of the end zone and quarterback Chase Daniel lofted the ball to him.

Holmes was there waiting, breaking up the pass and effectively eliminating the Tigers’ hopes of turning back the Sooners. It was one of four pass breakups he had on the day. He also added an interception and a fumble recovery.

“That’s a pretty special day out there at corner,” OU coach Bob Stoops said.

Those are the kinds of plays great cornerbacks make. They’re also the ones that don’t come naturally.

Holmes knows that better than most.

He’s received a crash course over the last year. Only now have the lessons started to sink in.

Sooner coaches saw a player that could help them win when they recruited him out of Dallas’ South Oak Cliff High School in 2004.

They just weren’t sure where.

Holmes played eight different positions during his prep career. He went 8-1 as a starting quarterback, but also caught 10 touchdown passes.

“I was basically recruited as an athlete,” he said. “I didn’t know where I was going to play.”

Initially, he settled in as a wide receiver. At 6-1 and close to 200 pounds, he had the size to do it and his speed was never questioned.