What a breath of fresh air. There’s national optimism surrounding Oklahoma’s defense. Asked by a reader in his recruiting mailbag to pick the best destination for a five-star recruit at each position, The Athletic’s Ari Wasserman chose Oklahoma for defensive line.
Can you believe that Oklahoma is making an appearance on this list at a defensive position? Well, the Sooners lost out on quarterback because their coach left, so they should be able to absorb the resume of their new coach. And Brent Venables really knew how to put together an elite-level defensive line while at Clemson. Looking back at the 2019 draft, the Tigers had three D-linemen picked in the first round. Bryan Bresee will also be a first-round pick one day. If I were a five-star defensive lineman, I’d want to play for a defensive-minded head coach who has a history of producing NFL Draft picks. It also doesn’t hurt that he was one of the faces that defined the defensive renaissance for one of America’s best programs. – Wasserman, The Athletic.
Clemson defensive linemen Clelin Ferrell, Christian Wilkins and Dexter Lawrence were all taken in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft. Defensive end Austin Bryant was also selected in the fourth round of that same draft.
This is the hope moving forward for Oklahoma. With OU head coach Brent Venables and co-defensive coordinator and defensive tackles coach Todd Bates, the Sooners have two coaches in place with a proven track record for landing some of the nation’s top defensive line players annually.
Bates said ahead of the start of spring practice on March 22 that he expects Oklahoma will be able to attract the best players up front.
“Man, it’s because they’re attracted a lot of times [to] the scheme that you run. Does it highlight their skillset? Does it create a one-on-one matchup? And then you’ve got to go recruit guys that can win those. And they want to play in an aggressive scheme, attacking scheme, and that’s what we’ve been. We’ve led the country in tackles for loss and sacks over the last decade. And that’s what guys are attracted to. They want to see [that]. They want to have a chance to produce, and they want to see you producing draft picks. And so you’ve got to be productive, and that’s what we’ve been under Coach Venables’ defense. We’ve been very productive, and we’ve been very intentional, and it hasn’t just happened by chance. You don’t do something 10 years in a row and that’s just by chance. So, recruits are drawn to that,” Bates said.
OU will have several players drafted from its defensive line in short order. Both Isaiah Thomas and Perrion Winfrey will hear their names called and Nik Bonitto will in the 2022 NFL Draft as well. That also can’t hurt Oklahoma’s pursuit of five-star defensive linemen targets Lebbeus Overton and David Hicks.
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