The Oklahoma Sooners have some work to do to rebuild their defensive front with Nik Bonitto, Isaiah Thomas, and Perrion Winfrey heading to the NFL. They have a solid group of young players, but those players haven’t played a ton of snaps for the Sooners. Brent Venables, Ted Roof, and company need to add some depth in the transfer portal and they’ve been active early in their tenures.
Looking to solidify their defensive interior, the Sooners have an offer out to Tulsa defensive tackle Jaxon Player, who today dropped his top five destinations, including the Oklahoma Sooners.
Top 5! pic.twitter.com/h6mecDnr0g
— Jaxon Player (@jaxon_player) January 4, 2022
Player also included Baylor, Oklahoma State, Arkansas, and TCU in his top five.
Listed at 6-0, 290 pounds, Jaxon Player worked at both the 1 and 3-technique defensive tackle spots for the Golden Hurricaine. His Production has increased each year he’s been in college and has racked up 30.5 tackles for loss and eight sacks over the last three seasons.
| Tack | Tack | Tack | Tack | Tack | Def | Def | Fumb | Fumb | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | School | Conf | Class | Pos | G | Solo | Ast | Tot | Loss | Sk | TD | PD | FR | FF |
| 2018 | Tulsa | American | FR | DT | 7 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | Tulsa | American | SO | NT | 9 | 16 | 21 | 37 | 7.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| *2020 | Tulsa | American | JR | DL | 9 | 23 | 14 | 37 | 8.5 | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| *2021 | Tulsa | American | SR | DL | 13 | 22 | 28 | 50 | 15.0 | 5.0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Career | Tulsa | 66 | 72 | 138 | 31.0 | 8.0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
At Clemson, Brent Venables prioritized big, run-stuffing defensive tackles and it’s clear that Player has that ability. With five sacks in 2021, he also brings some pass rush prowess to his game as well. If brought in, it’s likely that he’d slot right in next to Jalen Redmond in the starting lineup for the Oklahoma Sooners. His production and experience would make for a fantastic addition to Todd Bates defensive tackle rotation.
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