What a season it’s been so far for Oklahoma Sooners’ linebacker [autotag]Danny Stutsman[/autotag]. Stutsman has 58 tackles, 10.5 for loss, one sack, and an interception that he returned for a touchdown.
Stutsman’s tackles rank No. 1 in the [autotag]Big 12[/autotag] and No. 15 overall in the country. He’s on pace for an All-American type of season. But he and the defense will have their work cut out for them as a top-five offense comes to Norman on Saturday.
Stutsman talked to reporters on Tuesday about the challenges the [autotag]UCF Knights[/autotag] and their star quarterback present.
“He’s an extremely mobile dude,” Stutsman said. “He can make a lot of plays with his legs. Obviously, we’ve got to know how to get to the quarterback. We can’t hold anything back. That’s been a challenge for us. We’ve done well so far this year. Our d-line will be ready to kind of cage the quarterback.”
In 2022, the Sooners struggled to contain running quarterbacks Adrian Martinez, Max Duggan, and Garrett Greene. They’ve been better this year, limiting Emory Jones and Quinn Ewers in the quarterback run game. But this week provides a more significant challenge than they’ve seen in 2023.
The Sooners’ defense as a unit will have to be fundamentally sound as the Knights bring in the No. 3 ranked rushing attack to Norman. John Rhys Plumlee ran for nearly 1,000 yards just a season ago at quarterback.
He played the first two games in 2023 before missing the next three. He played 10 snaps against Kansas before exiting again. Their offense was still good without him, but he takes them to another level.
Overall, it’ll be a great challenge for the Sooners and one Stutsman admits they are excited for.
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