Tag: Rondell Bothroyd

3 defensive keys to a Sooners win against the SMU Mustangs

Oklahoma’s defense will have a talented offense to stop come Saturday. Take a look at three keys for the defense to be successful vs. SMU.

Saturday evening in Norman should provide the Oklahoma Sooners with a mini benchmark to test their defense’s off-season improvements. Instead of a defunct and rebuilding Arkansas State team, their defense will have to take on an SMU team with playmakers at every skill position and a veteran offensive line.

It won’t be a walk in the park, and Oklahoma’s defense knows this because their head coach knows this. Earlier this week, Brent Venables addressed the media and had this to say.

“The challenge is going to be greater this week for obvious reasons,” Venables said. “You’re looking at a team that’s probably got more depth and certainly got more experience. Arkansas State was a very young team. (SMU) has 15 seniors starting between the offense and the defense. That’s a bunch of seniors.”

SMU’s offense has multiple playmakers capable of giving Oklahoma problems. Still, the Sooners’ team speed and their improvement in overall talent can shine through if they play smart.

There are a handful of things Oklahoma can’t allow to happen if they want to win this game. Here are three defensive keys to a Sooners win Saturday night in Norman.

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5 takeaways from the Oklahoma Sooners first official depth chart of 2023

5 takeaways from the Oklahoma Sooners first official depth chart of the 2023 season.

If there’s one thing that signals we are genuinely back for college football, it’s the release of the official depth charts for colleges across the country. .

Earlier Tuesday morning, Oklahoma’s official football account released the depth chart, helping paint a clearer picture of how this year’s team will be deployed. Several names who played sparingly last year or didn’t play at Oklahoma are now in starting roles for the Sooners.

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All offseason, Brent Venables stressed competitive depth as one of the biggest changes from last offseason to this offseason. It clearly shows up on paper as the depth chart has 21 different “OR” situations.

In many ways, the game against Arkansas State is a tryout for many players to solidify or leap someone at their respective positions. Below, we share our five takeaways from the first official depth chart.

Analysis of the Oklahoma Sooners official depth chart for the 2023 season

A look at the depth chart for the 2023 Oklahoma Sooners ahead of their week one matchup with Arkansas State.

Week 1 of the 2023 college football season is upon us. With that comes the 2023 depth chart for the Oklahoma Sooners.

If there’s one thing about this depth chart, it’s there’s an emphasis on the word depth.

We heard from the coaching staff during OU media day that they had more “competitive depth” on the roster. Now that we have our first depth chart of the season, it’s clear the team has more depth. Now, how that translates to wins and losses will reveal itself throughout the season.

As Oklahoma gets set to take on Arkansas State in just a few days, here’s a look at the Sooners depth chart.

Reggie Grimes hopes to regain that magic from early last season

Reggie Grimes has become the forgotten man on Oklahoma’s defensive line, but he still wants to make an impact in 2023.

There may not have been an Oklahoma Sooners get off to a hotter start than [autotag]Reggie Grimes[/autotag] a season ago. Grimes had four sacks and five tackles for loss in the first two games.

The only problem is he finished the season with 4.5 sacks and 7.5 tackles for loss. Grimes told reporters the new depth is going to help not only him but the position as a whole this upcoming season.

“There’s not a guy who is going to go out there and play 80 plays because we don’t have any depth,” Grimes said. “We have depth now. Everyone can get a bigger piece of the pie.”

Grimes is someone who’s been lost in the shuffle when you talk about the key contributors at the defensive end position. The additions of Rondell Bothroyd and Trace Ford, the development of R Mason Thomas, and the signing of five-star prospect Adepoju Adebawore have added what the coaches have termed, “competitive depth.”

Last season, there was no depth, and that might be why he fizzled out as the season went on.

He said while this is the closest the defense line has been since he arrived in Norman, it still means a ton to him to be the starter.

“On one end, you are competing against the guy, but on the other, you just love these guys so much,” Grimes said. “I know they’ll have my back if I need anything, and I’ll have their back if they need anything. You want to be the starter, you want to be the dude, but the main thing, you can’t let your brother’s success mean it’s a failure to you. They’re your brothers, so you have to celebrate that and respond with something.”

The question now is how big of a role Grimes will play. Could he be a starter for Oklahoma’s defensive line? Is he someone who can be a rotational player who plays well if you keep him fresh? I think he can and add more depth to a defensive line that was missing it a year ago.

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Oklahoma Sooners pass rush will be better in 2023

With added talent and more experience, the Oklahoma Sooners pass rush will be much better in 2023 than it was a year ago.

Among the many issues the Oklahoma Sooners ran into when they entered Big 12 play was the dropoff of their pass rush. In a defense predicated on pressure, the Sooners finished tied for 64th in the nation with 2.15 sacks per game. Much of that success came in their nonconference, when the Sooners defense was looking pretty good. Once they entered Big 12 play, the pass rush was a different story.

The losses of [autotag]Nik Bonitto[/autotag], [autotag]Isaiah Thomas[/autotag], and [autotag]Perrion Winfrey[/autotag] were felt up front as Oklahoma broke in several new starters along the defensive line.

There was solid play from guys like [autotag]Reggie Grimes[/autotag], who got off to a hot start to the season, and [autotag]Ethan Down[/autotag]s, who closed the season strong. However, the play from their defensive line was inconsistent, and that was felt throughout the back seven.

With Downs and Grimes returning, along with other prominent fixtures in the defensive line rotation like [autotag]Isaiah Coe[/autotag] and [autotag]Jordan Kelley[/autotag], there’s hope that the Sooners’ pass rush will be improved this year.

[autotag]R Mason Thomas[/autotag] showed flashes last fall, as did [autotag]Gracen Halton[/autotag] in the spring. Both Thomas and Halton play with incredible quickness that they can create pressure in a hurry.

With more experience and another year of development, Oklahoma’s key returners along the defensive line will play a big part in the Sooners’ pressure resurgence.

But the Sooners’ coaching staff didn’t sit on their hands and assume the defensive front would develop. Brent Venables and his crew attacked the transfer portal with the same intensity that he coaches.

Oklahoma Added four defensive tackles in [autotag]Davon Sears[/autotag], [autotag]Jacob Lacey[/autotag], [autotag]Phillip Paea[/autotag], and [autotag]DaJon Terry[/autotag]. They also added defensive ends [autotag]Rondell Bothroyd[/autotag] and [autotag]Trace Ford[/autotag]. [autotag]Dasan McCullough[/autotag], who figures to factor in at Cheetah, played EDGE for Indiana in 2022 and accumulated four sacks as a true freshman. In Bothroyd, Ford, and McCullough, the Sooners added 28 career sacks to their defensive end room.

Then there are the incoming freshmen like [autotag]Adepoju Adebawore[/autotag], [autotag]Taylor Wein[/autotag], [autotag]Ashton Sanders[/autotag], and [autotag]Markus Strong[/autotag]. Adebawore is the five-star edge rusher that is long and super athletic. Wein flew under the radar until late in his senior year, but he’s also a very good athlete in his own right. Sanders and Strong offer good size and athleticism in the middle and can be disruptive. It only remains to be seen how quickly the freshmen can acclimate and help add to the Sooners’ depth along the defensive front.

If there’s truly strength in numbers, the Oklahoma Sooners have turned what was a weakness a year ago into a strength ahead of the 2023 football season. The talent added to the development they had in-house will be a big reason why the Oklahoma Sooners improve from the six-win team they were a year ago.

The Sooners raised their talent floor along the defensive line for 2023. Although we won’t be able to truly evaluate the pass rush until they get into Big 12 play, and the Texas game in particular, this team has added talent to rush the passer. They’ve raised the talent floor, minimizing any dropoff the Sooners might see from their starters to their rotational guys. That improved talent and more experience will help Oklahoma win on the rush a lot more frequently than it did in 2023.

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‘Oklahoma bounces back’: ESPN expecting good things for Sooners in 2023

In their 2023 college football season ESPN’s Mark Schlabach believes Oklahoma returns to form.

College football season is upon us. Week zero is this weekend and while the Sooners won’t play until Sept. 2, we can begin to put the offseason behind us. And more importantly, we can put the 2022 season behind us.

In ESPN’s 2023 college football preview, they believe the Oklahoma Sooners ‪shrug off year one of the Brent Venables era.

Oklahoma bounces back: There’s no way a Brent Venables-coached defense can be that bad again. In the former Clemson defensive coordinator’s first season as OU’s coach, the Sooners ranked 122nd out of 131 FBS teams in total defense, allowing 461 yards and 30 points. They were ninth in the Big 12 in run defense (187.5 yards) and dead last against the pass (273.5 yards). With the addition of McCullough and five other defensive linemen out of the transfer portal, Venables should have enough bodies up front to play defense the way he’s used to. With quarterback [autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag] coming back, OU won’t have to worry about scoring. – Mark Schlabach, ESPN

It’s like Dabo Swinney said last fall, it’s not like Brent Venables all of a sudden forgot how to coach defense. Now, perhaps the offenses in the Big 12 are more challenging than the ACC. But the reality is that the talent on defense wasn’t good enough during the Lincoln Riley era and after five players were selected in the 2022 NFL draft, including Nik Bonitto in the second round, the Sooners were devoid of talent on BV’s side of the ball.

They made significant additions to the defensive side of the ball to bolster their front seven. [autotag]Rondell Bothroyd[/autotag], [autotag]DaJon Terry[/autotag], [autotag]Davon Sears[/autotag], and [autotag]Trace Ford[/autotag] join a developing defensive line. [autotag]Ethan Downs[/autotag] is likely to start again at defensive end and [autotag]Isaiah Coe[/autotag] and [autotag]Jordan Kelley[/autotag] are expected to see significant playing time after flashing in 2022.

The depth at linebacker will help that unit be better this year than last and the secondary could be one of the best units on the team this year.

The offense was inefficient at times in 2022, but it was good enough for the Sooners to win several more games if the defense had been merely average.

They’re an easy candidate to return to Big 12 title contention after a down year. This team is better for a lot of reasons and in less than two weeks, they’ll begin to show it.

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Adepoju Adebawore among top freshmen in best position for a key role in 2023

Oklahoma’s Adepoju Adebawore included among freshmen best positioned for key roles in 2023.

Last season the [autotag]Oklahoma Sooners[/autotag] had several weak spots along the defense. Among the most noticeable is the area where you need to be your strongest; the defensive line.

The Sooners coaching staff attacked that weakness this offseason, bringing in transfer additions like Rondell Bothroyd and Trace Ford to help. They also made a splash in the signing of five-star EDGE [autotag]Adepoju Adebawore[/autotag]. Adebawore is someone who has shown flashes throughout camp and just looks the part.

Bleacher Report included Adebawore among top freshmen in the best position for a key role in 2023.

[autotag]Rondell Bothroyd[/autotag] is a transfer expected to do big things, [autotag]Ethan Downs[/autotag] should at least begin the season with the first team, and [autotag]R Mason Thomas[/autotag] has the most potential of any returning Sooner pass-rusher. But Adebawore is on a different athletic plain, and none of the aforementioned guys really have established themselves as can’t-miss starters. Adebawore is a relentless pursuer of quarterbacks, and while there’s going to be a learning curve, the 6-foot-4, 240-pound former 5-star who was the No. 11-ranked overall player will have a chance to prove himself right away. Look for him to be starting by the middle of the season. Venables has a reputation of developing elite edge-rushers, and Adebawore looks like the first crown jewel for the coach at his new place of employment. – Brad Shepard, Bleacher Report

Adebawore has a great chance of being a first round when it’s all said and done. He has the size and athleticism that NFL defensive coordinators covet off the edge. He’s yet to take a snap at the collegiate level, so there’s a lot of growing that has to take place. However, the early returns have been promising. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Adebawore carve out a significant role along the Sooners’ defensive line.

Adebawore is one of several new additions that have fans excited for the future. It’s now up to Adebawore and defensive ends coach [autotag]Miguel Chavis[/autotag] to bring out the best in the five-star EDGE addition so he can live up to those expectations.

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Ethan Downs named to 2023 Chuck Bednarik Award watch list

Ethan Downs ended the year playing really well in 2022. Now he’s found himself on the Chuck Bednarik Award watch list.

2022 was another poor defensive performance for the [autotag]Oklahoma Sooners[/autotag]. They ranked 122nd nationally in total yards, but one bright spot was ranking fourth in tackles for loss.

Head coach [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] feels they can build on that in 2023. A big reason they feel they can improve is they return their leader in that category, [autotag]Ethan Downs[/autotag], who finished with 13.5 tackles for loss a year ago.

Downs finished the season really strong with 7.5 TFLs in the team’s final four games. That has Downs making an appearance on a prestigious award watch list.

Downs was named to the [autotag]2023 Chuck Bednarik Award[/autotag] watch list, which is given to the nation’s top defensive player.

This is an award that’s been given out since 1995 and only one former Sooner has ever won. That was in 2003 when [autotag]Teddy Lehman[/autotag] took home the honor.

Downs is going to have his work cut out for him, though. Even though he finished the year strong, his head coach said, outside of [autotag]Danny Stutsman[/autotag], there might only be one returning starter in the front seven. Guys like [autotag]R Mason Thomas[/autotag] are progressing. Not to mention the additions of [autotag]Rondell Bothroyd[/autotag], [autotag]Trace Ford[/autotag] and five-star [autotag]P.J. Adebawore[/autotag].

Those guys are looking to take a starting spot from a position group that wasn’t good enough a year ago. But with those additions comes “competitive depth, ” which should be much stronger this season.

That kind of competition could be what drives Downs to improve on his first year as a starter for the Sooners. Then ultimately being the first Sooner in 20 years to take home the Bednarik Award at season’s end.

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No Sooners make Pro Football Focus’ All-Big 12 first team

Zero Sooners were included among Pro Football Focus’ All-Big 12 teams, but several made the second and third team.

It’s almost that time of the year for fall camps, which means preseason All-Big 12 teams are being selected by national publications.

The latest comes from Pro Football Focus. No Sooners made the first team, but several made the second and third teams.

The second team members were [autotag]McKade Mettauer[/autotag], [autotag]Ethan Downs[/autotag], [autotag]Rondell Bothroyd[/autotag], [autotag]Danny Stutsman[/autotag] and [autotag]Billy Bowman[/autotag].

The third team members were [autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag] and [autotag]Zach Schmit[/autotag].

After a season like 2022, having zero first-team members should be expected. But if the Sooners have the bounce-back year many expect, Oklahoma should get more recognition after the season.

[autotag]Tyler Guyton[/autotag], [autotag]Dasan McCullough[/autotag], and [autotag]Jovantae Barnes[/autotag] are players to watch this season. Each player could find themselves on the end-of-the-season list. Another guy to watch out for is R Mason Thomas. He has the unique skills to have a breakout season.

By season’s end, Stustman, Gabriel, and Bowman have a great chance to earn first-team honors.

Most preseason all-conference teams aren’t going to be kind to the Sooners. However, as long as the product on the field is better, there will be plenty of Sooners receiving postseason awards in 2023.

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5 Sooners who will be new starters for Oklahoma in 2023

When you have a below .500 season, there’s going to typically be quite a bit of turnover the following season.

When you have a below .500 season, there’s going to typically be quite a bit of turnover the following season. That’s exactly what people should expect for the 2023 season in Norman, Oklahoma.

There are going to be several positions with new starters, some familiar faces and some unfamiliar faces the fan base should get to know.

The defensive line might be the position that sees the most turnover. The position that could have a star step into a starting role is most likely in the secondary.

It might not be who you think, either. The offense also is bringing in some new starters this season after leading receiver Marvin Mims and starting tight end Brayden Willis were selected in the 2023 NFL draft.

Here are five players I expect to start this season for the Sooners that didn’t a year ago.