Oklahoma Sooners’ offseason standout is quietly having one of the best seasons on the team that no one seems to be talking about
The Oklahoma Sooners have gotten a ton of production from defensive end Taylor Wein.
This offseason, during both spring and fall camps, the Oklahoma Sooners had a ton of younger players who kept showing up in practice reports as guys to watch or guys who had been showing out. I’m not sure anyone had their name mentioned as a guy to watch more than sophomore defensive end Taylor Wein did.
“I told you guys about him, didn’t I?” head coach Brent Venables told SoonerScoop.com. “My favorite part about him is how hard he works. The consistency of how hard he works. So this is a great example of why he’s playing up here because of all this work. His confidence comes from the work. The consistency comes from a win-the-day mentality every single day.
“His ability to be coached really, really hard — he’s one of those guys who is easy to coach hard because he receives it well. He doesn’t go in the tank. He’s not soft-minded or soft-hearted. He’s got very thick skin. The critique goes to all the right places. And sometimes your words are so powerful that they can crush someone’s spirit, so that’s the mark of a coach to figure out what your players need, what they feed off of.”
Wein showed out against South Carolina in Oklahoma’s win
Right from the get-go on Saturday, Wein was in the mix. It’s not easy to stand out on the edge when you play next to guys like R Mason Thomas, David Stone, Jayden Jackson, and so on. However, Wein has managed to do that this season. He’s not only standing out, but he’s making plays every single game, and even near the top of the team in some stats.
Coming into the game on Saturday, Wein was top-three on the team in tackles for loss, which is usually a good parameter in telling how good someone is at stopping the run. Teams have been afraid to run to Thomas’ side, but Wein has shown he can do the job, too.
Sooners DE Taylor Wein’s stats in 2025
- 3.5 sacks, second on the team behind R Mason Thomas.
- 19 total tackles, sixth on the team.
- 10.5 tackles for loss.
On the first defensive drive of the game for the Sooners, after a big run busts through for the Gamecocks, South Carolina stared at a goal-to-go situation. They decided to go for it on fourth down, and none other than Wein was there to get the stop and force the turnover on downs.
Later, on another fourth down, but this time in the second half, South Carolina attempted a fake punt, and Wein intercepted the pass, putting the Sooners in immediate field goal position. That interception by Wein led to an eventual touchdown by the offense.
Wein put constant pressure on the pocket all day long when he was on the field, and was a threat on the edge in the run game, allowing at one point negative rushing yards in the second half as a whole for the defense. He’s been incredible, and while he will be the first one to shoot himself down that he’s not playing good enough, it’s clear he’s getting so much better every week. Wein was a major reason the Sooners got a win on the road against South Carolina.
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