It’s preview season in the world of college football, and the Oklahoma Sooners had the spotlight this past week from Pro Football Focus in their College Football Preview (subscription required).
PFF gave the Sooners just a 4% chance to win the SEC this year, but had OU 13th in the nation in their power rankings.
Max Chadwick and Dalton Wasserman, who co-wrote the article, named Oklahoma’s back seven as its biggest strength heading into the new season.
Here’s what PFF had to say:
Oklahoma’s defense features a top-10 secondary and a linebacker unit that is headlined by [autotag]Danny Stutsman[/autotag], a third-team AP All-American last year.
OU is loaded at the linebacker positions with Stutsman as the clear leader. [autotag]Kip Lewis[/autotag], [autotag]Kobie McKinzie[/autotag] and [autotag]Jaren Kanak[/autotag] should see significant snaps inside as well. [autotag]Lewis Carter[/autotag] will likely have a role in his second year with the Sooners as well.
At the cheetah spot, [autotag]Dasan McCullough[/autotag] and [autotag]Kendel Dolby[/autotag] are intriguing options with experience, but don’t be surprised if [autotag]Samuel Omosigho[/autotag] sees plenty of time.
The secondary has plenty of headliners, beginning with [autotag]Billy Bowman[/autotag] at safety. Playing alongside him will likely be [autotag]Peyton Bowen [/autotag] and/or [autotag]Robert Spears-Jennings[/autotag] to give OU a formidable trio to rotate at both safety spots.
Cornerback is lead by [autotag]Woodi Washington[/autotag] on one side, Oklahoma’s defensive leader in snaps a season ago. While he’ll see time at corner, the Sooners plan to move him around the secondary, even giving him snaps at cheetah in 2024. [autotag]Gentry Williams[/autotag] and [autotag]Kani Walker[/autotag] will likely battle all season long on the other side of the field with [autotag]Dez Malone[/autotag] factoring in as well. [autotag]Jacobe Johnson[/autotag] is a local product from Mustang, and he and [autotag]Makari Vickers[/autotag] saw some fill-in action last season.
[autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] has the makings of a high-level defense in 2024 as he enters his third season at the helm of the Sooners.
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