Year one in Norman of the [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] era didn’t go the way many expected. Particularly on the defensive side of the football.
It was a team that looked really good in nonconference wins over UTEP, Kent State, and Nebraska, only to flounder when they got to Big 12 play. The Sooners allowed an average of 34.7 points per game against Big 12 opponents and Florida State over their final 10 games.
Over at CBS Sports, Shehan Jeyarajah asked asked one question for each of the Big 12 schools, and for the Sooners, everything comes back to the defense. Jeyarajayh asks, “can the transfer portal fix the defense?”
Sooners coach [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] leaned heavily on the transfer portal in his first season, ultimately flipping 40% of the roster. Results were decidedly disastrous as Oklahoma went 6-7, its worst record since 1998, the year before Bob Stoops took over. The defense was perhaps the worst of Venables’ career, too, finishing No. 122 in total defense behind FIU, Louisiana-Monroe and Hawaii.
Oklahoma brought in an elite defensive recruiting class, finishing No. 4 in the high school composite rankings, but it will once again rely on transfers to fill major holes. Two defenders — safety Reggie Pearson and defensive lineman [autotag]Trace Ford[/autotag] — come from Big 12 opponents (Texas Tech and Oklahoma State, respectively). Defensive lineman [autotag]Davon Sears[/autotag] moves up from Texas State, while linebacker [autotag]Dasan McCullough[/autotag] ranked as one of the best players in the portal. Oklahoma finished bottom-30 nationally in both rushing and passing defense despite ranking among the league leaders in both interceptions and sacks. Havoc plays won’t save Oklahoma; the Sooners need a full-scale upgrade. – Jeyarajah, CBS Sports
In addition to McCullough, Pearson, Ford, and Sears, the Sooners added [autotag]Rondell Bothroyd[/autotag] and [autotag]Jacob Lacey[/autotag] to their defensive front. Veteran players that will factor into the defensive line rotation immediately. Bothroyd comes over from Wake Forest with great production over the last two seasons.
In 2021 and 2022, Bothroyd had 93 total tackles, 24.5 tackles for loss, and 13 sacks. He’s a player that can play defensive end in multiple fronts and can play defensive tackle in pass-rushing situations as well. With his production, Bothroyd could have gone to the NFL and been drafted in the top 100-150 players in 2023.
But it isn’t just the transfer portal additions that will make this team better in 2023. Many of the guys returning were playing significant roles or starting for the first time in 2022. Guys like [autotag]Ethan Downs[/autotag], [autotag]Reggie Grimes[/autotag], [autotag]Danny Stutsman[/autotag], and [autotag]Billy Bowman[/autotag] were all first-time starters last season.
It was also a new system for those guys last year. Heading into year two of the Brent Venables era, they have an opportunity to build on their experiences from the 2022 season. Everything that happened in 2022, the good and the bad, were valuable experiences for a defense that isn’t simply looking to be good but to be great.
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