Already elite Sooners defense set to be reinforced by return of veteran playmaker from injury for 2025 season
Despite an underwhelming 6-7 season in 2024, the Oklahoma Sooners were one of the best defenses in all of college football last season, very quietly finishing among the top five and top ten of most metrics. One of the best defenses in program history already returns plenty of playmakers like R Mason Thomas, Kip Lewis, […]
Despite an underwhelming 6-7 season in 2024, the Oklahoma Sooners were one of the best defenses in all of college football last season, very quietly finishing among the top five and top ten of most metrics.
One of the best defenses in program history already returns plenty of playmakers like R Mason Thomas, Kip Lewis, Eli Bowen, Gracen Halton, and Damonic Williams, but one veteran playmaker who will shore up the defense is an underrated return to this unit, and could be the missing glue piece for the defense next year.
Kendel Dolby, the starter at Oklahoma's "Cheetah" (a hybrid linebacker/safety) position, was one of Oklahoma's most disruptive defenders early on in the 2024 season. Dolby was productive and had a case as Oklahoma's best defender in their first three games.
However, Dolby suffered a brutal lower leg injury in the Sooners' Week 4 loss to Tennessee that knocked him out for the rest of the season.
The Sooners tried to rotate players there to mitigate such a loss, but taking Woodi Washington away from the perimeter exposed Oklahoma's cornerback depth, and Samuel Omosigho was suddenly thrust into the starting lineup without as much experience as Dolby.
Heading into 2025 though, it sounds like Dolby will be ready to play in Week 1 for the Sooners, reinforcing what was already an elite defense. Dolby is focusing on his rehab, but has been locked in doing individual work and should be ready to go by the time summer camp rolls around.
Dolby's return brings some much-needed experience to Oklahoma's secondary, a unit that lost Billy Bowman to the NFL this offseason. The Sooners added some depth here with the addition of transfer Kendal Daniels, but having a player as talented and instinctive as Dolby back in the lineup would be a boon for Oklahoma.
