Sooners hoping for a big season from DB room

The Oklahoma Sooners have made remarkable strides on the defensive side of the ball since head coach Brent Venables took over. In the 2024 season, OU allowed just 21.5 points per game, good for 29th in the country. Those 21.5 points allowed per game were the least for Oklahoma since 2009, when Venables was the defensive coordinator under Bob Stoops. Now, Venables re-assumes full control over his defense, including play-calling duties.

OU’s best defense in 15 years was headlined by a very good front seven, specifically a stout and disruptive defensive line that was excellent at stopping the run. A versatile and athletic group of linebackers patrolled the second level of the defense, and they were hard to get past as well.

However, if the Sooner defense had a weak point last year, it was definitely in the secondary. They struggled at times, especially against some of the more explosive passing offenses they faced in the SEC. In a season where Oklahoma couldn’t afford to give up many points to have a chance to win, it was usually the defensive backfield that was the culprit if OU got scored on. If Oklahoma wants to continue to make improvements on defense under Venables, they’ll need to stay healthy and become more consistent in the secondary.

As with a lot of other position groups on this team, there are a lot of new faces and changes for OU’s defensive backs. The changes started in the winter, when the Sooners lost seniors Billy Bowman Jr., Woodi Washington, and Dez Malone. Bowman would later be drafted in the fifth round of the 2025 NFL draft.

But the defensive backfield also has a different look because of the winter edition of the transfer portal. Among others, Oklahoma’s DB room lost Kani Walker (Arkansas), Makari Vickers (Colorado), Jayden Rowe (Kansas State), Erik McCarty (Emporia State), and Devon Owen (Emporia…

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Publish date : 2025-07-26 15:00:00

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