Tag: jonah laulu

‘It feels like Christmas morning’: Todd Bates can’t wait to show off Sooners defensive line

The Sooners DL struggled last season, but Todd Bates thinks with the work they put in the offseason things will improve the defense.

Last season the defensive line struggled to stop the run or rush the passer with any consistency. It lacked what the staff calls competitive depth, especially right up the middle.

The interior defensive line is coached by [autotag]Todd Bates[/autotag]. He came to the [autotag]Oklahoma Sooners[/autotag] with [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] from the Clemson Tigers.

While at Clemson, he developed some great defensive linemen, helping them become productive NFL linemen.

The interior defensive line should be the perfect example of how poor the last staff was at developing. It also should be an example of how they didn’t recruit well enough.

To win against the “big boys,” you need some 300-pound guys in the middle. That was something that just wasn’t there a year ago.

“Last year, just coming in, we only had one guy who weighed over 300 pounds when I got here,” Bates said. “When we pulled up to the door. Schmitty doing the work that he does with guys improved that number to three last season. Well, we’re going to camp this year with five.”

Those five guys are [autotag]Da’Jon Terry[/autotag], [autotag]Isaiah Coe[/autotag], [autotag]Phil Paea[/autotag], [autotag]Jordan Kelley[/autotag] and [autotag]Kevin Gilliam Jr.[/autotag] Two of which are brand new to the team. Gilliam is back healthy this season.

Even the guys who aren’t at 300 pounds have made a lot of progress as well. “[autotag]Gracen Halton[/autotag], he started at 267 when he arrived here, he’s up to 285 now,” Bates said. “[autotag]Jonah Laulu[/autotag] last year when he was at defensive end, he weighed 272. He’s already up to 290.”

Why is that so important?

“One of the main things that keep guys from getting movement in the middle on this earth is girth,” Bates said. “We finally got some girth.”

It’s not just that. The Sooners added competitive depth with some transfers coming in to make an immediate impact to add to the natural progression from the players who were already here. Bates can’t wait to show them off.

“We’ve gotten so many players that have gotten better and improved,” Bates said. “So many new guys as well, it feels like Christmas morning to my twins almost. You are going to unwrap some presents, and you can’t wait to show everybody what you’ve got.”

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Jonah Laulu taking on leadership role amid move to defensive tackle

Oklahoma’s Jonah Laulu disccused his new role moving to DT from EDGE and guys he’s got his eye on for 2023.

To say Oklahoma lost a lot heading into last season is an understatement. Yes, Lincoln Riley’s departure was tough to swallow. Still, the players that departed for the draft or the transfer portal put a massive dent in the talent pool Oklahoma had to work with heading into last season.

One of the players Oklahoma brought in via the portal was Hawaii transfer Jonah Laulu, a seasoned defender who spent four years at Hawaii. He came to Oklahoma with two years of eligibility, and his first year saw him as a staple in Oklahoma’s EDGE rotation.

He played in every game and made starts against Iowa State, Texas Tech, and Florida State in the Cheez-It Bowl. He totaled 20 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, one interception, one pass breakup, and two QB hurries.

It wasn’t an earth-shattering performance by any means, but Laulu, like many of his peers who decided to return for 2023, knew they had to improve this year. For one of the worst defenses in recent Oklahoma memory, that just won’t cut it, especially with a defensive wizard at the head coach like Brent Venables.

Laulu fully bought in this offseason to the culture change and commitment to turning OU around defensively and accepted a position change to play along the defensive interior instead of just inside. To do that, Laulu added over 30 pounds in size. As Oklahoma prepares for fall camp, the former Hawaii transfer has gone from 260 pounds to 293 pounds.

At Big 12 Media Days, Laulu discussed how the position change came about, his motivation, and his overall thoughts. Laulu spoke about being in a leadership position and how he got there.

“I think it’s because of how well I took on the position change,” Laulu shared. “Because some people would kind of refuse it at first, and they wouldn’t want to change that position because you don’t want to let go with being on the edge. I mean, I just wanted to do what I needed to do to help this team be the best that they can be. So whatever I have to do, I’ll do it.”

Laulu continued and shared when the decision came that, he would move inside.

“We knew I was going to play DT before the season started last year,”  Laulu said. “So in fall camp, when we were maybe like little bit halfway through camp, my coach, Coach Chavis came up and talking to us, like, ‘We noticed that your movements on the inside,’ or ‘you look so natural,’ and ‘you’re way more comfortable on the interior. And, you know, we probably think about putting you on the interior next season.’ Putting me with Coach Bates. I’ll do whatever it takes. For this team to win. I’ll do whatever it takes.”

Laulu’s ability to buy in is the core tenet of what Brent Venables and the rest of his staff have talked about in full regarding the shift in mindset and accountability needed for Oklahoma not just to be better this year but to compete for a Big 12 title.

He represents the type of buy-in Oklahoma needs, especially on defense, where accountability and a willingness to do the hard and gritty work. The stuff that may go unnoticed by the general audience resonates with the coaches and his teammates and permeates the rest of the locker room.

As one of their leaders on the defense, Oklahoma looks well-equipped to be better this year. Jonah also shared some names he thinks are primed for a breakout year or that the Sooner fans need to know about defensively.

“I’d say R Mason Thomas,” Laulu said. “He’s actually living with me right now. I mean, if you’re watching this defense, look out for Mason. He’s a great player. His ability to use his quickness, and his quick twitch and his high motor.”

Laulu also mentioned sophomore Gracen Halton, true freshman Ashton Sanders, and former five-star safety Peyton Bowen. As for some older guys, Laulu mentioned transfers Phil Paea and Da’Jon Terry are slowly acclimating themselves, learning the playbook, and trying to fit in amongst the rest of the guys.

Oklahoma should be well positioned to be better on defense next season simply due to more familiarity in the scheme, another year under strength and conditioning coach Jerry Schmidt, and a massive infusion of talent from the transfer portal and their freshman class. Guys like Laulu will need to lead the charge, having been in the fire of the Big 12 schedule and knowing what it feels like to struggle. Leaning on that experience could help Oklahoma reach the top of the Big 12 mountain in their final year in the league.

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What does defensive tackle look like after Derrick LeBlanc’s departure

What does the defensive tackle position look like after Derrick LeBlanc’s departure?

With the news of former four-star defensive tackle Derrick LeBlanc’s departure from the program, let’s take a look at where Oklahoma goes at defensive tackle.

LeBlanc announced on Twitter there were some “unforeseen circumstances” that resulted in him having to enter the portal.

Losing a guy like LeBlanc, you can look at it in one of two ways. On one hand, you don’t want to lose defensive linemen, especially those at defensive tackle. This is a position the Sooners are weak at, and you never want to lose talented players.

On the other hand, you aren’t losing any production. Did he have potential? Absolutely. But he hadn’t played a game yet.

Let’s be real. Unless something changed, he wasn’t going to be in the two-deep this year. I could argue he wasn’t top six at his position for 2023.

Injuries could change that, obviously, but it was unlikely he’d get playing time ahead of guys like [autotag]Da’Jon Terry[/autotag], [autotag]Phillip Paea[/autotag], [autotag]Jonah Laulu[/autotag], [autotag]Isaiah Coe[/autotag], [autotag]Jordan Kelley[/autotag], [autotag]Jacob Lacey[/autotag] and [autotag]Gracen Halton[/autotag]. One could make the argument that [autotag]Ashton Sanders[/autotag] was in a better position to compete for snaps inside given the size he arrived in Norman with.

There’s been a great deal of buzz about Sanders and Halton this offseason, but both are still young guys that have developing to do. Halton was a four-star signee in the 2022 recruiting class after flipping from Oregon.

There have been rumors about Lacey not being able to play this year, so that would hurt. But we’ve heard Ethan Downs and Rondell Bothroyd could play up and down the line.

2024 is trickier, though. Laulu, Lacey, Kelley and Coe are out of eligibility after this season. Now the Sooners are in the running for elite players in the 2024 class. They can also address issues in the portal. But defensive tackle has some questions to answer in 2023 ahead of the program’s move to the SEC in 2024.

In their first year in the SEC, the Sooners could have very little depth at one of the most important positions. 

If there’s a positive takeaway from the departure from the Sooners’ perspective, it’s that Derrick LeBlanc made the decision now as opposed to next winter. The Sooners are in the midst of recruiting so they might be able to get in on some recruits they had moved on from now that they have an extra spot available on the defensive line depth chart.

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Oklahoma Sooners bolster DL depth with portal addition of Phillip Paea

The Oklahoma Sooners added their second transfer defensive line commitment in as many days with the pledge from Phillip Paea.

The Oklahoma Sooners are hoping to have an improved defensive line in 2023. After allowing 187 rushing yards per game in 2022, the Sooners have been active in the transfer portal to improve that element of their defense.

The Sooners added their fourth defensive tackle through the transfer portal, receiving a commitment from Utah State transfer defensive tackle [autotag]Phillip Paea[/autotag].

Paea, who spent the last two seasons with Utah State, is coming off an ACL injury suffered early in the 2022 season. Prior to that, he was a starter for the Aggies, helping them win the 2021 Mountain West Conference championship. Paea originally signed with the Michigan Wolverines in the 2017 recruiting class, but didn’t make much of an impact in Ann Arbor, transferring to Utah State after the 2020 season.

Paea joins a defensive tackle room that’s added [autotag]Jacob Lacey[/autotag], [autotag]Davon Sears[/autotag], and on [autotag]Da’Jon Terry[/autotag] through the portal. Terry committed to the Sooners on Friday.

The defensive tackle group has a bunch of depth and experience with these additions. The transfer group joins ascending players like Isaiah Coe, [autotag]Jordan Kelley[/autotag], and [autotag]Gracen Halton[/autotag]. Jonah Laulu moved inside to allow his size and agility be more effective against guards.

Oklahoma also brought in a trio of interior defensive line prospects in the 2023 recruiting class with four-star [autotag]Derrick LeBlanc[/autotag] and three-star prospects [autotag]Ashton Sanders[/autotag] and [autotag]Markus Strong[/autotag].

Like Terry, Paea figures to help the Sooners as a nose tackle in Brent Venables’ defense. Last year, Paea was listed at 6-foot-4 and 305 pounds.

With all of the additions up front, it’s going to be fascinating to see ow the Sooners deploy their defensive tackles in 2023. The Sooners’ defensive tackle rotation is going to be deep this season. The addition of Phillip Paea ensures they have multiple players that can make life difficult for teams that want to run inside against Oklahoma’s defense.

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‘He has the ability to do something special for us this year’: Jonah Laulu showing out at defensive tackle

Jonah Laulu is making the transition to defensive tackle this spring, and DT Coach Todd Bates believes he’s a player to watch.

This spring, the Oklahoma Sooners are looking for answers on how to improve their defense from 2022. They’ve made moves in the transfer portal to bring in talent and the coaching staff is hoping that having been in the system for a year will help those returning to the squad for 2023.

While many are getting the opportunity to build upon their 2022 season, Jonah Laulu is making the move from defensive end to defensive tackle for the Sooners.

And according to co-defensive coordinator and defensive tackles coach Todd Bates, big things are coming for the fifth-year senior.

“And Jonah has really moved inside and made an impact,” Bates said after practice on Monday. “I mean, he is just a handful to deal with blocking him. He’s so athletic, and he’s just learning more and more every day. So you guys, that’s the one to watch. I think he has the ability to do something special for us this year.”

Laulu played 465 snaps in 2022, according to Pro Football Focus, the tenth most snaps on defense last season. On 224 pass rush snaps, he created 22 pressures, according to PFF. He had 5.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks after transferring from Hawaii and the Sooners are hoping he takes a big step in 2023.

With his size, strength, and athleticism, putting him on the inside will allow him to get quicker pressure working up the middle and will be a difficult matchup for interior offensive linemen.

While he’s making an impact in spring ball, there’s still a bit of a learning curve moving permanently to the inside. He goes from playing in space to fighting in a phone booth with often one or three blockers on a given play. And Bates believes once he gets the feel for how to deal with the playing environment on the inside, he’ll be a force.

“It’s a little bit different on that inside when you’re dealing with combo blocks and double teams, and you got to play with low pads, and you got to fight pressure, and you got to understand where that’s coming from. But when it’s third and long, and it’s on, he can get off the ball. He can rush the passer, and that’s what you want.”

As the Oklahoma Sooners look to iron out their defensive line rotation for the 2023 spring game, Jonah Laulu looks like he’s earning opportunities with each spring practice.

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Report Card: Oklahoma Sooners defense shines in Bedlam win on Senior Day

Oklahoma’s defense led the way in this week’s report card, while Oklahoma’s offense cooled off after a tremendous first quarter. From @thatmanbryant

In a game that didn’t have championship implications for the Sooners this year, a lot of other things were on the line for Oklahoma. Senior Day, over 20 prospects in the building, and the fact that in-state rival Oklahoma State was in the building. Oklahoma couldn’t take a loss, and they came out firing on all cylinders.

They won a 28-13 game that, for 15 minutes, looked like Oklahoma was going to put up 60 points on Oklahoma State. That wasn’t the case, but a win is a win, and Oklahoma handled its business.

With the win, they also became bowl eligible, an achievement considering how poorly Oklahoma has looked at times.

A Herculean effort from the Sooners’ defense is the biggest story of the day. Taking a big-picture approach, how did the rest of the team fare as we grade out the performance? Here’s a look at this week’s report card.

Oklahoma Sooners earn bowl eligibility with 28-13 win over Oklahoma State

The offense erupted early, and the defense closed out a big win over Oklahoma State 28-13 in Norman. From @john9williams

The Oklahoma Sooners came out on fire in the first quarter, putting up a record-setting 28 points on the Oklahoma State defense. After the first 15 minutes of play, it looked like a Bedlam blowout was on the way, but from the second quarter on, the Sooners struggled to get anything going on offense and the defense made the plays necessary to pick up a win over the Cowboys to move to 6-5 on the season and gain bowl eligibility.

[autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag] was hot in the first quarter, going 14 of 18 for 224 yards and two touchdowns, hitting [autotag]Jalil Farooq[/autotag] and [autotag]Drake Stoops[/autotag] on beautiful deep balls down the right sideline. Gabriel added a touchdown on the ground

But after the first quarter, the offense struggled to find any footing. Two turnovers in the second quarter took points off the board, and Oklahoma’s struggles on third down continued. After converting just one third down a week ago against West Virginia, the Sooners struggled again on third down against Oklahoma State, going 1 for 14.

While the offense struggled, the Sooners’ defense played one of their best games of the season. It wasn’t perfect, but they came up with big plays in big situations to limit Oklahoma State to 13 points despite [autotag]Spencer Sanders[/autotag] throwing for 381 yards.

Oklahoma collected four Spencer Sanders interceptions and, with how they were flying around the ball, had several more opportunities to take the ball away from Sanders and the Cowboys. The Sooners’ defense also collected six sacks and 13 tackles for loss.

The Sooners’ defense bailed out an offense that produced just 135 yards of total offense over the final three quarters and no points. Dillon Gabriel was 6 for 22 after his efficient first quarter, for 35 yards and one interception. Though the finish wasn’t great for the Sooners’ offense, that first quarter would be all they needed on the night.

Drake Stoops had an incredible game in what could be his final home game as a Sooner. He led the Sooners with six receptions for 89 yards and a touchdown and made two incredible catches. One put the Sooners inside the five-yard line before their first score of the game, and the second closed Oklahoma’s scoring outburst in the first half.

After his 211-yard performance in last week’s loss to West Virginia, [autotag]Eric Gray[/autotag] ran for 90 yards on 20 carries and picked up 30 yards on three receptions. Jovantae Barnes had a good game as well, carrying the ball six times for 59 yards.

Defensively, [autotag]David Ugwoegbu[/autotag] led the team with 10 tackles, but [autotag]Danny Stutsman[/autotag] (9), [autotag]DaShaun White[/autotag] (8), and [autotag]Woodi Washington[/autotag] (8) were right behind him. Washington made a couple of touchdown-saving tackles in the game. One on defense after [autotag]Braydon Johnson[/autotag] broke away from [autotag]C.J. Coldon[/autotag] for a big catch and run. The other came on special teams when [autotag]Brennan Presley[/autotag] was attempting a return. While blocked, Washington stuck his arm out to bring down the shifty playmaker to prevent him from getting into the open field.

In addition to his eight tackles, White added a sack and an interception to continue his strong play of late from the Cheetah position. [autotag]Jordan Kelley[/autotag], [autotag]Isaiah Coe[/autotag], and [autotag]Jalen Redmond[/autotag] each had great games from their interior defensive line positions. Kelley had two sacks and six total tackles. Coe had five total tackles, 0.5 sacks, and two tackles for loss. [autotag]Ethan Downs[/autotag] had a sack, while [autotag]Jonah Lau’lu[/autotag] had five total tackles, 0.5 sacks, two tackles for loss, and an interception.

The Sooners picked up a win over an in-state rival, and while it wasn’t pretty on offense for much of the game, the defense made plays in key moments to pick up a win and provide a glimpse of what a [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] defense could look like in Norman.

With some uncertainty about how many Bedlam games there are before Oklahoma moves to the SEC, picking up this win in Brent Venables’ first Bedlam matchup while keeping Mike Gundy from winning two in a row against the Sooners was a great way to finish off the home schedule for 2022.

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Report Card: Offense carrying the load in a bounce-back performance

Oklahoma’s offense led the way versus Kansas, and it shows with their grades in this week’s report cards.

The last three weeks had to be an evaluation and film study nightmare for the Oklahoma Sooners. There were injuries, bad technique, and missed assignments on both sides of the ball. They needed a decent performance against a tough Kansas team, and they delivered on Saturday.

The result was far from dominant unless you look at the offense’s performance alone but what transpired was a team desperate for a win that played hard and didn’t let up.

As we do at Sooners Wire, we took time to grade each unit for their performance in Oklahoma’s 52-42 win..

Report Card: Sooners earn high marks in convincing road win vs. old foe Nebraska

Oklahoma earns high marks all around for a complete and thorough road win against long-time rival Nebraska.

Oklahoma’s win against Nebraska was their first notable win of the season as it came against a Power Five opponent.

The Oklahoma Sooners dominated the Cornhuskers 49-14, and in many ways, it served as the perfect tune-up before conference play forces Oklahoma to shift into another gear.

As a team, the Sooners looked good from top to bottom. Players who needed to step up showed up. Others showed they could be big-time contributors for the Oklahoma Sooners this season.

Now that the dust has settled and the Sooners turn their focus to Kansas State, we’ll share our final grades for Oklahoma’s win against Nebraska.

What has to go right for the Oklahoma Sooners to contend in 2022 according to ESPN?

ESPN looks at 20 teams who could be in contention in 2022 and the things that would have to go right for them. What about Oklahoma?

The Oklahoma Sooners head into the 2022 season in an unfamiliar spot in the Big 12 hierarchy. They aren’t the preseason favorite to win the conference. They’re a bit underrated as well, with zero selections to the preseason All-Big 12 team.

The preseason expectations won’t mean anything once the pads come on. At the same time, this team has questions they need to answer. Bill Connelly of ESPN looks at 20 contenders and determines how many “ifs” need to go right for those teams, including the Oklahoma Sooners, to be “legit national title contenders (ESPN+).”

This is my annual “Ifs List” piece — an attempt to see how many “ifs” it takes me to turn a team into a genuine national title contender. The favorites don’t require many; a few others might have more than you think. – Bill Connelly, ESPN

The Sooners fall into the “4 ifs” tier of teams along with Utah, Michigan, and Oklahoma State. Let’s look at what Connelly had to say about Oklahoma and what needs to go right for the Sooners.