The Oklahoma Sooners defense will return another cornerstone piece for 2025 as safety Robert Spears-Jennings announced his return for 2025 on social media.
Spears-Jennings was a part of Oklahoma’s dynamic safety room. He was a do-it-all safety for the Sooners, finishing second on the team in total tackles with 65, was fifth on the team with five tackles for loss, fourth on the team with 2.5 sacks, had an interception, and led the team with four forced fumbles in 2024.
He had what could have been one of the plays of the year when he came off the edge on a blitz and sacked Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava and forced a fumble, which Oklahoma recovered at the five-yard line. Instead, it was forgotten because Jackson Arnold fumbled it right back to the Volunteers.
But [autotag]Robert Spears-Jennings[/autotag] made a number of plays for the Sooners defense this year, showing his development.
He began to emerge as a rotational player in 2023 before earning a starting safety role in 2024. Spears-Jennings started the final 11 games of the season for the Sooners. This year, he finished third on the team in snaps behind Billy Bowman and Danny Stutsman.
Among players with at least 150 snaps on the season, Spears-Jennings was the third highest-graded player on the team, according to Pro Football Focus.
With Bowman off to the NFL, Spears-Jennings will be relied upon to take on a bigger role on and off the field. Entering his fourth year with the Sooners, he’ll be one of the leaders of the defense.
He’s the second big-name player to announce their return for 2025 after Damonic Williams shared on Monday that he’ll be back for another year.
With a pair of cornerstone defensive pieces returning for the Sooners, OU’s defense will be a force again in 2025.
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