Evaluating the current roster, Sooners Wire profiles the current players, with defensive end, [autotag]Ethan Downs[/autotag] up next.
Coming out of the 2021 Alamo Bowl, there was a lot of excitement about what the Sooners had at defensive end despite the losses of Isaiah Thomas and Nik Bonitto.
Ethan Downs, Reggie Grimes, and Marcus Stripling put on a show against the Oregon Ducks, providing optimism about the future of the Sooners’ pass rush.
Ethan Downs, like much of the defense, got off to a strong start in nonconference wins against UTEP, Kent State, and Nebraska. He totaled 2.5 sacks and 3.5 tackles for loss in those first three games. Then as it did with the defense, there were some struggles through the middle part of the schedule against the Big 12.
But that didn’t define the season Ethan Downs had. After registering just one tackle for loss against Kansas State, TCU, and Texas, Downs finished the last six games of the Big 12 slate with two sacks and nine tackles for loss. He also registered 17 of his 26 stops on the season in that same stretch.
Pro Football Focus defines a “stop” as a play resulting in a loss.
Downs was on a tear and that bodes well heading into his third season with the Sooners and second season in Brent Venables’ defense. And defensive ends coach [autotag]Miguel Chavis[/autotag] thinks so too.
About his defensive end group, Chavis had this to say, “It’s fun seeing them putting in a new call or the same verbiage is used. They’ve been using the same verbiage for 15 months. It’s not the first month. It’s not the eighth month. That’s why some of our guys progressed throughout the season. We got better and better and better, and they played their butts off. Every week the last half of the season, they just got better.”
Familiarity breeds comfortability, and comfortability breeds confidence. Now with more than a year in the system, Downs has a chance to build off of what was a strong finish to the 2022 season.
Preseason Player Profile
Hometown: Weatherford, Okla.
Ht: 6-foot-4
Wt: 270 lbs
Class in 2023: Junior
247Sports Composite Ranking
4-star in 2021 | No. 12 EDGE | No. 2 in Oklahoma
Career Stats
| Tack | Tack | Tack | Tack | Tack | Def | Fumb | Fumb | Fumb | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | School | Conf | G | Solo | Ast | Tot | Loss | Sk | PD | FR | Yds | FF |
| *2021 | Oklahoma | Big 12 | 8 | 9 | 5 | 14 | 3.0 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| *2022 | Oklahoma | Big 12 | 13 | 18 | 20 | 38 | 13.5 | 4.5 | 3 | 1 | 12 | 0 |
| Career | Oklahoma | 27 | 25 | 52 | 16.5 | 5.0 | 3 | 1 | 12 | 1 |
Depth Chart Overview
Though Downs had a strong finish from a production standpoint, the Sooners needed to add more talent to their defensive ranks. They went into the transfer portal and brought in a pair of players that could be a factor at defensive end. [autotag]Trace Ford[/autotag] from Oklahoma State and [autotag]Rondell Bothroyd[/autotag] from Wake Forest.
Downs figures to continue playing one side and, now up to 270 pounds, could be asked to play some defensive tackle in pass-rushing situations for the Sooners. Look for the Oklahoma native to have a big year in 2023 as the Sooners make big-time improvements on defense.