Oklahoma’s linebacker room is still built around two familiar names, and both are back to steer a defense that already spent 2025 near the top of the sport.
Redshirt senior Kip Lewis is again set to anchor the unit after his third straight season as one of OU’s top three defensive contributors. Head coach Brent Venables made it clear at spring media day just how much he values what Lewis brings.
“I love watching Kip play on game day, …” Venables said at spring media day. “(He’s) one of the most disruptive linebackers in all of college football that's invested in this program, … his wisdom and all of his experience is just going to be great.”
Lewis and redshirt senior Owen Heinecke formed Oklahoma’s most productive defensive duo in 2025. Lewis finished with 76 tackles, four sacks and four pass deflections, while Heinecke posted 74 tackles, three sacks and four pass deflections of his own.
Heinecke’s rise kept going even after the season ended, when his eligibility situation became a talking point. General manager Jim Nagy pointed to the kind of player he is at spring media day.
“Owen’s just a guy you want to fight for, and we've got a locker room full of great young men,” Nagy said at spring media day.
The Sooners had enough talent to keep Lewis and Heinecke in Norman, but they did lose some depth at the position. Former Sooners Sammy Omosigho and Kobie McKinzie both transferred after the 2025 season, and former OU linebacker Kendal Daniels is now with the Atlanta Falcons.
Daniels had been a key piece in Venables’ hybrid linebacker-defensive back spot, the “Cheetah,” a role that gives Oklahoma a different kind of flexibility on defense.
Junior defensive back Reggie Powers III looks like one of the leading candidates to take over there. At 6-foot and 212 pounds, he’s smaller than Daniels, who was listed at 6 feet, 5 inches and 242 pounds. But Powers made his presence felt in 2025 anyway, finishing with 31 tackles, one sack, one pass deflection and a forced fumble.
There’s also a competition brewing at the more traditional linebacker spots. Redshirt junior Taylor Heim and junior transfer Cole Sullivan appear to be the front-runners to fill the openings left by Omosigho and McKinzie.
Heim played in five games for OU in 2025 and logged tackles in each of them, including wins over then-No. 4 Alabama and then-No.
22 Missouri. He finished with 12 tackles and a half sack.
Sullivan arrives from Michigan, where he spent the last two seasons and served as the Wolverines’ No. 3 linebacker. In 2025, he totaled 44 tackles, two sacks, three interceptions and a forced fumble, production that made him one of Michigan’s top five defensive players in Ann Arbor.
“The expectation here is for the linebackers to run the show,” Sullivan said on April 9. “Coach Venables emphasizes that, stresses that to us, so that's definitely important for us to be able to command the defense.”
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Oklahoma Just Got A Huge New Roster Question This Offseason
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For the Sooners, the issue is especially notable because several players on the 2025 roster could fall into that window and suddenly have a choice to make after the 2026 NFL Draft. If any of those players decide college is still the better move, Oklahoma could be dealing with a fresh wave of roster decisions well after the usual offseason business is supposed to be settled. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahoma Enters Camp With One Huge Question Up Front
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What comes next is the real test, because the Sooners need that group to hold up after losing so much experience. Oklahoma has blended in transfers and freshmen to help fill the gaps, and the early weeks of camp will go a long way toward showing whether the new-look interior line can match the standard the program expects, or whether this becomes the kind of spot that takes time to sort out. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahomas 2026 Offense Hinges On One Long Awaited Change
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For Oklahoma, this is about more than just shoring up one phase of the offense. The Sooners have returning players mixed with new additions, and the challenge now is turning that blend into a line and backfield that can hold up over a full season. The identity they are chasing is a more dependable, more physical attack, and fall camp will reveal how close they are to getting it before the spotlight tightens in September. [Read more 🡒]