Brent Venables has turned Oklahoma’s defense into the kind of unit that sells itself.
When he arrived as the Sooners’ 23rd head coach after the 2021 season, the assignment was clear: fix a defense that had fallen apart. The early numbers showed just how much work there was to do. In 2022, Oklahoma ranked 122nd nationally in total defense, giving up 461.0 yards per game, and 99th in scoring defense at 30.0 points allowed per game.
The turnaround since then has been dramatic. Last season, the rebuilt Oklahoma defense climbed all the way to No. 6 in the country in total defense at 272.5 yards allowed per game and No. 7 in scoring defense at 15.5. The Sooners also piled up 45 sacks, which ranked third in the FBS.
That production helped Oklahoma lead the SEC on defense last season, and even with some important departures, the 2026 group looks positioned to stay near the top. The reason is simple: the Sooners have talent, experience and continuity all over the field.
What stands out most is how homegrown this defense is. Every projected starter on the unit began his college career at Oklahoma. In today’s game, with NIL money and the transfer portal giving players plenty of options, that’s a striking detail.
Only one projected starter, sophomore cornerback Courtland Guillory, has been in the program for less than a year. Everyone else on the projected starting defense played on the 2024 team that went 6-7 and closed with a disappointing loss to Navy in the Armed Forces Bowl.
After that season, it would have been easy for players to look elsewhere. None of them did, and they were rewarded with a College Football Playoff trip in 2025.
" None of these guys are portal guys, they're are all home-grown, recruited out of high school and guys that have helped us become an elite (defensive) unit," Venables said in a recent interview on SEC Network.
He was referring to defensive linemen Tyler Wein, David Stone, Jayden Jackson and Danny Okoye, linebackers Kip Lewis and Owen Heinecke, cheetah Reggie Powers, cornerbacks Guillory and Eli Bowen, and safeties Payton Bowen and Michael Boganowski. Those 11 starters have combined for 27 seasons in Venables’ defensive system.
"That's a group of guys who are incredibly invested in our program," Venables said, "and have been here."
Oklahoma may not have quite the same depth at every level that it had with last season’s defense, but there is still plenty behind the starters waiting for a chance. If the offense makes the kind of improvement people inside and outside the program expect, Team 132 could be a problem for just about anybody in the SEC. And with the 2026 schedule packed with some of the league’s best, the Sooners are going to find out fast.
In Other News...
Taylor Wein Just Made A Fascinating Oklahoma Breakout Prediction
Taylor Weins turn at SEC Media Days came with a little bit of history attached. A year after R Mason Thomas put Wein on the map as Oklahomas breakout defensive player, Wein was the one doing the spotlighting in 2026, and the Sooners have reason to pay attention when a player who has already lived through that kind of prediction starts making his own. The setting matters here, because Oklahoma is again trying to sort out who can step into a larger defensive role and become more than just a familiar name on the depth chart.
PJ Adebawore fits that conversation neatly. He has been around the program for three seasons, has appeared in every game, and has yet to make a start, but the expectation is that his role grows in 2026 as Oklahoma looks for answers on the edge. There is also a longer runway here, with another season of eligibility potentially waiting after this one, which gives the Sooners a little more flexibility as they try to replace production and find the next defender ready to follow the same breakout path. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahoma Just Lost Ground In A Recruitment Fans Thought Was Safe
Micah Rhodes recruitment took an unexpected turn after the highly regarded 2028 running back prospect backed off his Oklahoma commitment, reopening a race that had looked settled for the Sooners. Rhodes has become one of the more sought-after backs in the class, and his profile has only grown as more programs have piled on with scholarship offers and fresh interest.
For Oklahoma, the timing stings because Rhodes was viewed as a name worth building around in the class, and now the pressure shifts to keeping pace with a national chase that has only intensified. Texas has long had a natural pull in his background, while Georgia has stayed active in the mix as well, leaving the Sooners with work to do if they want to get back into a recruitment that suddenly feels much less secure. [Read more 🡒]
OU Linebacker Room Suddenly Puts Cole Sullivan In The Spotlight
With Oklahomas linebacker room thinned by departures and injuries, Brent Venables has had to lean harder on transfer Cole Sullivan than the staff might have expected when he arrived from Michigan. Sullivan has been trained to handle multiple linebacker spots, and the Sooners have already seen him earn trust in the room, not just as a body in a depleted rotation but as a player teammates have gravitated toward.
The depth chart around him has only made his importance grow. Oklahoma has lost Kendal Daniels, Kobie McKinzie and Sammy Omosigho, while Taylor Heims injury has further squeezed the group behind the top options, leaving little margin for error at linebacker. Sullivans versatility gives the staff some flexibility, but it also puts him squarely in the middle of a situation that could keep shifting as the season unfolds. [Read more 🡒]