Oklahoma’s defense was already a wrecking crew in 2025, and there’s no reason to think Brent Venables’ group is backing off anytime soon. The Sooners led the FBS in tackles for loss and sacks per game, and they finished in the top 10 nationally in both total defense and scoring defense. With that kind of production on the board, the players topping the stat sheet in 2026 could end up in some serious national award conversations.
So who’s taking the lead for OU in the big defensive categories next season?
Kip Lewis looks like the clear answer in total tackles. The linebacker already paced Oklahoma with 76 stops last season, and nothing in his track record suggests that number is about to come down.
Lewis added 10.5 tackles for loss, four sacks, five quarterback hurries and a forced fumble in 2025, and those numbers should climb even higher with another season of volume. A finish near 100 tackles wouldn’t be a surprise, and that kind of year would put him in the mix for more than just team-leading honors.
The tackles for loss crown should belong to Owen Heinecke. It’s hard to overstate how strong his rise was in 2025.
The former walk-on broke through, forced his way into the starting lineup and finished as a Second-Team All-SEC linebacker. He ended up with 74 total tackles, 12 TFL and three sacks, and he did it after opening the year as an unknown reserve and not starting until the final five games.
Now he gets to begin the season with a real role from the jump, which is why he’s the best bet to finish first on the team in TFL. He also has the strongest case to challenge Lewis for the team lead in tackles, and there’s a reason The Boz believes Heinecke could win the Butkus Award as the best linebacker in college football.
When it comes to sacks, Taylor Wein is the pick again. If R Mason Thomas had not missed three games with a hamstring injury, he likely would have finished first last year.
Instead, Wein led the Sooners with seven sacks in a breakout season, and he didn’t become a regular starter until the final six games. He also topped Oklahoma with 15 tackles for loss, which says plenty about how often he’s living in the backfield.
With that kind of production and a bigger role coming, he should clear his 2025 sack total and stay on top of the team list.
At cornerback, Eli Bowen is the projected interception leader. He missed four games last season because of injury and still managed to tie for the team lead with two picks, joining his brother Peyton and Jacobe Johnson.
That number may not jump off the page, but Bowen is expected to have more experience and better health this time around. He already showed he can turn a takeaway into a game-changer, including an interception return for 87 yards against Alabama.
If quarterbacks keep challenging him, he has a chance to pile up more. If they don’t, the best corner on the field may simply get avoided.
In Other News...
Oklahoma's QB2 Battle Just Got More Serious Than Fans Expected
The backup quarterback race behind John Mateer has become one of the more interesting camps stories around Oklahoma, and it is not just because the Sooners are looking for depth. Bowe Bentley, a 2026 recruit, and Whitt Newbauer, a third-year transfer from Mercer, have both kept themselves in the conversation, with Newbauer drawing attention for the kind of offseason growth that tends to matter once the pads come on and the reps get real.
Newbauer has reportedly taken a significant step forward in confidence and chemistry with his teammates, while the room around him has stayed healthy in the sense that everyone involved seems to understand what is at stake. Mateer, Bentley and Newbauer have all spoken in terms of mutual respect and learning from one another as Oklahoma works through the lead-up to the season, and that only adds to the sense that this competition is going to be worth watching long after the practice headlines fade. [Read more 🡒]
R Mason Thomas Is Giving Oklahoma Fans Another Reason To Watch
Former Oklahoma edge rusher R Mason Thomas is already making his presence felt in Kansas Citys preseason work, turning in a pass breakup and a quarterback pressure in the Chiefs loss to Tampa Bay. For Sooners fans, it was another reminder that the pipeline from Norman to the NFL is still very much alive, with Thomas flashing the kind of disruptive ability that made him worth watching in the first place.
He was hardly the only former Oklahoma standout showing up in preseason action, either. Robert Spears-Jennings, Kendal Daniels, Damonic Williams, Deion Burks, Febechi Nwaiwu, Nik Bonitto and Tony Jefferson all had notable moments in various games, while Baker Mayfield, Caleb Williams, Jalen Hurts and Kyler Murray were part of the Week 2 quarterback buzz, giving Oklahoma followers plenty of familiar names to track as camps move deeper into August. [Read more 🡒]
Reggie Powers Is Forcing His Way Into A Huge Sooners Role
Reggie Powers has spent the offseason turning himself from a promising piece into a player Oklahoma can count on, and fall camp has only strengthened that case. Entering his third season with the program, he has drawn steady praise from coaches and teammates for the way his physicality, speed and overall progress have shown up on the field, a sign that he is no longer just part of the rotation but a real factor in what the Sooners want to do defensively.
With Kendal Daniels now in the NFL, Powers is in line to step into the cheetah role and handle a much bigger weekly workload. That makes this season a meaningful one for both Oklahoma and Powers himself, since the chance to contribute consistently in a featured spot could go a long way toward shaping his NFL draft outlook. [Read more 🡒]