Oklahoma Sooners excited about state of key position room despite major offseason departures
The Sooners are still thrilled by their pass rush, even with the losses of several key players to the NFL.
The Oklahoma Sooners defensive line was one of the best units in college football during the 2025 season. Their relentless pass rush consistently dominated every team they played, finishing first in the country in sacks and tackles for loss.
The ability of their defensive line allowed them to be creative on the back end defensively, causing chaos in the secondary and creating confusion for opposing quarterbacks routinely. However, they lost key players like R Mason Thomas and Gracen Halton to the 2026 NFL Draft, causing some concern about their ability to recreate their 2025 success.
The Sooners don’t share those concerns.
Brent Venables confident in new defensive line
Fortunately for Oklahoma, they still return three difference makers in David Stone, Taylor Wein, and Jayden Jackson. Stone has the ability to be a first-round pick in the 2027 NFL Draft, and should be primed to hit the ground running in his first season as a full-time starter.
Wein took the reins from R Mason Thomas as the team’s top pass rusher when Thomas missed time due to injury. This offseason, Wein has slimmed down to 266 pounds to add some more juice to his game, and the Sooners feel confident he could be even better than he was last season.
However, the internal blockbuster ticket has been Danny Okoye. Ever since he stepped foot on campus, everyone has raved about Okoye’s upside, and it feels like this season will be his breakout year. Okoye is a tremendous athlete with all the ability in the world to be the team’s top pass rusher this season.
The Sooners are confident in their options on the inside as well next to Stone. Transfer Bishop Thomas (Georgia State) and Kenny Ozowalu (UTSA) are two options they like to step in as subpackage rushers, with Ozowalu boasting the ability to play all over the defensive line. Additionally, Nigel Smith and Trent Wilson have both “dominated” the offseason (in Venables’ own words).
Oklahoma could feasibly trot out some rotation of: Taylor Wein-Danny Okoye-PJ Adebawore-Wyatt Gilmore-Jake Kreul-CJ Nickson-Kenny Ozowalu on the outside with David Stone-Jayden Jackson-Trent Wilson-Nigel Smith II-Kenny Ozowalu-Bishop Thomas on the inside.
Sign me up.
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