Tag: Oklahoma Sooners Defense

Former Sooners edge rusher Reggie Grimes commits to Memphis

The former defensive end for the Sooners committed to Memphis after a stint in the transfer portal.

Former Oklahoma Sooners football defensive end [autotag]Reggie Grimes II[/autotag] is going back to his home state to continue his college career. He committed to the Memphis Tigers late Sunday night.

Grimes hails from Brentwood, Tennessee and was a four-star prospect according to 247Sports in the 2020 recruiting class for Oklahoma. Grimes committed to [autotag]Lincoln Riley[/autotag] and [autotag]Alex Grinch[/autotag] in late November of 2019, and spent four seasons as a Sooner, the last two of which were under the direction of [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag].

 

Grimes was a two year starter at defensive end for Oklahoma, and his best season came in 2022, when he tallied 4.5 sacks and nineteen tackles. He entered the transfer portal in December, after a redshirt year in 2023, and arrives in Memphis for head coach Ryan Silverfield with two years of eligibility remaining.

As it stands, the other former Sooners still searching for a home in the transfer portal are quarterbacks [autotag]General Booty[/autotag] and Jacob Switzer, linebackers [autotag]Shane Whitter[/autotag] and Konnor Near and tight end Hayden Bray.

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Oklahoma’s defensive line holds the keys to Sooners’ present and future

The Sooners went to work in recruiting and portaling the defensive line position this offseason. If it pays off, Oklahoma could begin to become a top-flight contender again.

It’s been about two-and-a-half years since [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] became the head football coach for the Oklahoma Sooners. In that time, he and his staff have diligently worked to build the program the right way after stripping it down to the studs in 2022.

A focus on toughness, discipline and complimentary football arrived in Norman on Dec. 5, 2021. Though there were growing pains in a 6-7 first year, the Sooners bounced back with a 10-3 mark in 2023. As the program enters the SEC, the challenge grows.

All of the preview magazines and national pundits will agree that one of the biggest keys to OU’s success in 2024 is the development of the offensive line. While that is absolutely the case in Year 1 in the SEC, it’s the guys on the other side of the ball that hold the keys to the future in Norman.

The Sooners have added some bona fide talent to the defensive line since the conclusion of last season via high school recruiting and the [autotag]transfer porta[/autotag]l. These are the players who will develop under Venables, [autotag]Todd Bates[/autotag] and [autotag]Miguel Chavis[/autotag] to form the future core of the Oklahoma Sooners defense.

Let’s start with high school recruiting and focus on the five defensive linemen that Venables and Co. brought in. The 2024 recruiting class on the D-line is quite simply the future of football in Norman, with five-star defensive tackle [autotag]David Stone[/autotag] leading the way.

Stone hails from IMG Academy in Florida and was the linchpin of the ’24 class. His recruitment was a wild one, but the Sooners won in the end for the interior force. He was the highest ranked defensive tackle to sign with OU in the “star era,” and is maybe the best indication that Lincoln Riley and Alex Grinch no longer reside in the state of Oklahoma.

[autotag]Nigel Smith[/autotag] is a four-star player from Melissa, Texas, who committed to the Sooners in September. He figures to play inside and on the edge, filling multiple roles on the defensive line. North Texas high school football is filled with all kinds of talent all over the field, and Smith more than held his own against excellent competition.

Also slotting in the interior defensive line will be [autotag]Jayden Jackson[/autotag], Stone’s teammate at IMG Academy. He has been locked in with OU since July and was perhaps the most impressive of the five in spring football, according to reports. Jackson took reps with the starters in the spring game.

Moving outside, [autotag]Wyatt Gilmore[/autotag] hails from Minnesota and was the first piece of the puzzle to fall into place with his June commitment. The four-star is still adding weight to his frame, but he plays with a high motor and intensity that will make him a favorite of Chavis.

More: Damonic Williams, Defense makes OU a contender

The final piece of that puzzle came in the form of four-star edge [autotag]Danny Okoye[/autotag] from Tulsa. The edge-rusher committed a couple of weeks after Smith and should pair nicely with players such as [autotag]Adepoju Adebawore[/autotag] when it comes to pinning their ears back and rushing the passer.

While high school recruiting forms the base, the portal plugs holes. The staff was active in both the winter and spring windows.

[autotag]Jermayne Lole[/autotag] comes in after transferring from Louisville to help on the interior of the defensive line. At 6-foot-3, 310, Lole already has the measurables of an SEC lineman, which the Sooners have to have present. He had elite production at Arizona State before injuries limited Lole over the previous few seasons. As a true sophomore in 2019, Lole recorded 10 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks. If he can regain that form that put him on NFL draft radars, the Sooners have an elite presence in the middle of their defensive line.

Edge rusher [autotag]Caiden Woullard[/autotag] arrives in Norman after a stint at Miami (Ohio), and was 247Sports’ fourth-ranked edge in the portal class. Last season for the Red Hawks, Woullard recorded 12 tackles for loss and 9.5 sacks.

But perhaps the best indication that the Sooners are gaining traction is the transfer portal win that will bring [autotag]Damonic Williams[/autotag] to Owen Field this fall.

Even with the Venables’ arrival, the Sooners had been left at the altar by some notable defensive line names like David Hicks and Williams Nwaneri. But, Oklahoma simply refused to be bullied by SEC dollars this go-around in the early May saga that was Williams’ recruitment. The Sooners wanted him, and the tandem of Venables and Bates did whatever it took to get that “all-in” poker chip.

This development speaks volumes. The Sooners are beginning to play with the big boys in the NIL world of college football. Additionally, the reputations of Venables, Bates, Chavis, and the rest of the staff will certainly help sway players to be developed in Norman.

If Oklahoma wants to play ball with programs like Alabama, Georgia, Clemson, LSU, Ohio State, and Michigan (all teams with CFP championships), then the Sooners will need to continue this philosophy all over the roster. Along the defensive line is where it will be the most pivotal.

Defense win championships in college football, and that is doubly true in the SEC, where the trenches quite literally win or lose football games. Complimentary football is a must, as a great offense and subpar defense can only get you so far. A complete roster is the only way to capture a championship in this sport. The offense has to be lethal. The defense has to be suffocating.

Luckily, Oklahoma seems to have the right man at the wheel. If this new aggressive name, image and likeness licensing philosophy continues to emerge, Venables could be bringing all kinds of talented players to the Sooner State.

His 2024 defensive line acquisitions are a great way to start.

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Final thoughts on Oklahoma Sooners vs. Iowa State Cyclones

The Oklahoma Sooners take on the Iowa State Cyclones tonight and here are a few final thoughts on the matchup.

The Oklahoma Sooners welcome to Norman a team that’s been a nemesis of sorts in recent years, the [autotag]Iowa State Cyclones[/autotag].

Though Iowa State hasn’t been a national power, they’ve made life difficult on the Sooners, picking up a pair of wins in the Matt Campbell era. The 2022 matchup was the first game in Campbell’s tenure that the Oklahoma Sooners won by two touchdowns or more.

And that was the Sooners worst team in 25 years.

It won’t be an easy matchup, but the Sooners are more than talented enough to come away with another big win on the season.

Getting ready for the primetime matchup, here are some final thoughts for Oklahoma vs. Iowa State.

ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit highlights improvement of Oklahoma’s defense on College Game Day

On ESPN College Game Day, Kirk Herbstreit highlighted the improvement of the Sooners’ defense ahead of their road tilt against the Cincinnati Bearcats.

In their 3-0 run through the nonconference portion of their schedule, the Oklahoma Sooners outscored their opponents 167 to 28. They look like a much-improved team and a team on a mission.

Dillon Gabriel has been impressive to start the season, completing 82% of his passes with 11 touchdowns and just one interception. But what has Oklahoma hopeful they can make a run in 2023 is the improvement of their defense.

And ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit has taken notice of that improvement as well.

On ESPN College Game Day when talking about the Oklahoma Sooners, Herbie said, “I think the great story has been the improvement of the defense. Last year they looked like they were learning a new scheme, weren’t playing fast. Now, much more comfortable in the scheme.”

“Emory Jones is going to have to run the football,” Herbstreit said. “If Cincinnati’s going to hang around, it’s going to be QB run, set up some opportunities to maybe get some one one-on-one chances and make some big plays.”

The Oklahoma Sooners defense has looked improved this season and the numbers bear that out. They’ve been a better third-down defense and have looked really good against the run. Though SMU and Tulsa were able to make some plays through the air, neither team could sustain whatever offensive success they did find.

The Cincinnati Bearcats pose a significant threat because of their rushing attack. If the Sooners can mitigate that threat, it’ll be a big step in proving this is a significantly improved defense.

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5 takeaways from the Oklahoma Sooners win over SMU Mustangs

From Danny Stutsman to Tawee Walker, here are five takeaways from the Oklahoma Sooners 28-11 win over the SMU Mustangs.

“Just win, baby.” The words made famous by long-time Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis, remind us the most important thing a football team can accomplish on Saturdays is going home with a W.

And that’s what the Oklahoma Sooners did.

The offensive performance may not have met expectations, but the defense certainly stood strongly, allowing the Sooners’ offense to do enough.

In the end, the Sooners won a tough football game in which the defense was relied upon to make plays and stand strong long enough for the offense to find its rhythm in the fourth quarter and put the game away.

The Sooners played a complete game in Week 2. Here are five takeaways from the win over SMU:

Oklahoma’s defense among most improved units in the nation

Heading into the 2023 season the Oklahoma Sooners defense is among the most improved units in the nation.

How far the Oklahoma Sooners go in 2023 will depend on the Oklahoma Sooners’ defense. The offense has to improve. Of that, there is no doubt. But if the defense doesn’t take drastic steps toward improvement, another average season is in the cards for the Sooners.

Brent Venables and his coaching staff exited the 2022 season with no misconception about how much the defense had to improve in 2023. They attacked the transfer portal and landed some of the best defensive players available to infuse talent and experience into a unit that was one of the worst last year.

[autotag]Dasan McCullough[/autotag], [autotag]Rondell Bothroyd[/autotag] and [autotag]Reggie Pearson[/autotag] figure to be immediate impact players out of the portal. All three will either start or play significant snaps for a defense that didn’t have a lot of depth last year.

Additionally, [autotag]Danny Stutsman[/autotag], [autotag]Ethan Downs[/autotag] and [autotag]Billy Bowman[/autotag] will enter their second year as starters for the Sooners.

The growth and the development of the defense in addition to the transfer additions has the Sooners trending in a much better direction defensively. Will Backus of CBS Sports tends to agree. Backus included the Oklahoma Sooners among his most improved units heading into the 2023 season.

It almost has to be better, right? For a defense under [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag]’ leadership, Oklahoma’s performance last season was appalling. There’s no questioning the talent, though. The Sooners have recruited really well recently, and even after [autotag]Lincoln Riley[/autotag] bolted, the cabinet was still fairly stocked. Venables also leaned heavily on the transfer portal to plug any holes and primarily addressing Oklahoma’s biggest defensive worry: the pass rush. The Sooners managed just 28 sacks as a team last season, which ranked 64th nationally. Adding difference-makers like (Dasan) McCullough and (Rondell) Bothroyd — who would have led the Sooners in 2022 with his six sacks — will go a long way toward fixing that. Pair those two with the likes of Ford — who should see a return to form after a couple of injury-plagued seasons — and returning stars like [autotag]Ethan Downs[/autotag] and [autotag]Danny Stutsman[/autotag], and the Sooners should have a pretty imposing front.  – Backus, CBS Sports

If the Sooners can make a substantial jump in performance this year, the Sooners will fulfill Brent Venables’ optimism that this team can win 10 games and have a chance to hang a banner at the end of the year.

Despite the turnover on offense, the defense’s performance will be the key to Oklahoma’s success in 2023.

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Danny Stutsman named to Lott IMPACT Trophy watch list

Danny Stutsman named to Lott IMPACT Trophy Watch List. Stutsman is looking to take the next step after a strong 2022 season for Oklahoma.

The soon-to-be junior linebacker for the Oklahoma Sooners, Danny Stutsman, has been named to the Lott IMPACT Trophy Watch List for 2023. The IMPACT Trophy awards the defensive player that showcases the best combination of character and performance both on and off the field in college football.

Last season, Stutsman had 118 tackles, good for fourth in all of college football. He was a tackling machine and was one of the bright spots for an Oklahoma defense that was filled with inconsistencies in 2022.

Stutsman also had 70 solo tackles, three sacks, and two interceptions in his first opportunity to start. The Florida native figures to be a massive key to the Sooners defense again this year. Another year in Brent Venables defense should lead to a more comfortable Stutsman.

The defense is expected to be better with an influx of talent through the recruiting class and the transfer portal.

This recognition before the season starts is great to see because it also shows people taking notice of an ascending player in a defense that should make improvements in 2023.

Does this give you anymore confidence in the Sooner defense this year? It’s a unit that needed the most help this offseason and it seems like they got it with Brent Venables being all-in on defense thanks to his background.

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‘This defense is one of none’: Dasan McCullough confident in OU defense after spring game

After a strong spring game performance, linebacker Dasan McCullough is confident in Oklahoma Sooners defense moving forward.

The Oklahoma Sooners spring game provided an opportunity to see several new faces that joined the squad this spring. One of the more highly anticipated players to watch in this year’s Red-White game was Indiana transfer Dasan McCullough.

Coming over from the Hoosiers, McCullough made the move from defensive end/edge rusher to Brent Venables’ cheetah linebacker position. As a former high school safety, McCullough is familiar with playing in space, but he showed quite the comfort level in a strong performance that has Sooners’ observers buzzing.

McCullough made an impact on the first play of the game, deflecting Drake Stoops’ pass attempt, setting the tone for a defense that came out strong in the opening quarter.

Making the switch didn’t look all that taxing. McCullough was flying around, running sideline to sideline to make plays, playing fast to the football, and showing off his physicality in the run game, stuffing Gavin Sawchuk on a short-yardage run for little to no gain.

There’s a need for McCullough and the rest of the Sooners’ defense to take a step this season. And a lot will be riding on how well the former four-star player can get a handle on his new position. With just one spring in the books, it doesn’t look like that will be a problem.

“Just from like a technique standpoint, from practice number one to (practice) 15 has been a crazy improvement,” McCullough said after the game. “Just learning different checks and how Coach Venables really wants to write his defense has been the most challenging part. Really just time has gotten me better. Just time and reps is all I needed.”

In just 15 practices and a spring game, McCullough looks like he’ll be an impactful player on a defense that had a nice day overall on Saturday in the spring game.

For Oklahoma’s defensive unit, there’s only room to get better. They were 122nd in yards allowed in 2022 and 99th in scoring defense. They’ll improve on both of those rankings this year. By how much is still to be determined. But if the early returns from the spring game are any indication, this is a much more talented roster on the defensive side of the ball than it was this time a year ago.

Though the Big 12 schedule will be the proof in the pudding, McCullough and the defense provided a glimpse of that improvement on Saturday.

“I feel like I played really well,” McCullough shared. “There’s some little things I definitely need to work on. I had a little tweak in my knee so that’s why I stopped playing, but I’ll be all good. I think the defense did great today. I think the defense had a really good day. Just some little details we got to clean up, but that’s normal spring ball stuff, so not too major.”

Though there are things to improve on, McCullough likes where the defense is and has the belief that this team is going to be really good.

“I feel like, as a group, this defense is one of none,” McCullough said. “We have guys at every position, and we have depth, too. I think we’re gonna make a great run.”

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College Sports Wire selling Oklahoma as a national title contender in 2023

Though there’s optimism that the Sooners can bounce back from their 6-7 season, College Sports Wire isn’t counting OU as a national title contender.

It’s that time of the year where hope springs eternal for college football fanbases across the country. Among those is an Oklahoma Sooners fanbase that’s hoping for a return to prominence after a 2022 season that left a lot to be desired.

2022 is in the past, and now it’s time to look ahead to the 2023 season. Over at College Sports Wire, Regional Editor Patrick Conn shared who he was buying and selling as national title contenders. Needless to say, he’s not too optimistic about the Sooners’ chances of competing for a national championship in 2023.

When [autotag]Lincoln Riley[/autotag] left for the West Coast, some thought that [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] was the man for the job with the Oklahoma Sooners. I wasn’t one of them. The team has reloaded in recruiting this past season but it isn’t enough for me to buy in after what I saw on the field a season ago. They have a tough schedule and their only easy win might be the opener against Arkansas State. – Conn, College Wire Regional Editor

There’s still optimism that Brent Venables can turn the Sooners into a contender. He’s only had one year in Norman to overhaul a team and a roster that had become a national title pretender in the final few years of the Lincoln Riley era.

Venables and his staff have done incredible work on the recruiting trail, setting them up with a couple of talent-rich classes in the 2022 and 2023 cycles.

The biggest obstacle to returning to title contention in the Big 12 or on the national stage is improving the defense.

The defense wasn’t good in 2022. They got better in the latter half of the season, but they have a long way to go before they prove to the college football world that they’re a legit national title contender.

Probably at this point of the Brent Venables era, few people view them that way. Of course, the same could be said for year two of the Bob Stoops era, and we saw how that all turned out.

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247Sports includes Oklahoma among programs ‘facing pivotal seasons in 2023’

247Sports believes the Oklahoma Sooners are facing a pivotal season in year two under Brent Venables.

2022 wasn’t a good season for the Oklahoma Sooners. There’s no way around it. However, it wasn’t a program-defining season in Brent Venables’ first in Norman. It was every bit of the “transitional year” that we hear about in college football.

At the same time, there’s an expectation that comes with being the Oklahoma Sooners. And those expectations haven’t changed. The 2023 season will be key to defining the future of this program under Brent Venables.

247Sports’ Brad Crawford believes the Sooners are a program facing a pivotal season in 2023. Other programs include Florida, Texas A&M, and Ohio State.

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