NORMAN - Taylor Wein isn’t pretending Oklahoma’s defense was flawless, even after a season that put the unit among the nation’s best by ESPN’s SP+ metric.
On Tuesday after Fall Camp practice, one of the captains of the 2026 squad made it clear the Sooners spent the offseason staring straight at the problems that cost them. The conversation started with turnovers, or the lack of them.
"We fell short in many categories," Wein said. "One of those being the turnover margin. We didn’t get our first turnover last year until Week 5, and you can’t do that in a successful defense.
"Also, closing out games in the fourth quarter. Our three losses last year, we failed to close out in the fourth quarter," he added.
That kind of self-critique sounds right in line with Brent Venables, who said a few weeks ago, "Respectfully, we're not a great defense yet." It may feel sharp considering Oklahoma’s defense was widely praised for helping carry the team to the College Football Playoff a year ago, but Wein said the group has embraced the blunt assessment.
"We came together and we've understood our weaknesses," Wein said. "You find weaknesses and you've got to figure out how to fix that and you've got to watch tape with critical eyes and get better. This unit has done a good job doing that."
The fix, at least in part, starts with daily habits. Wein said the defense has been working on punching at the ball whenever possible and running tip drills every day, all in hopes of creating the turnovers that never came early enough last season.
He said that failure kept the defense from being successful.
"We still have a lot of improvements that need to happen before next Friday. But we understand our weaknesses and we know we've got to get better. So we should keep attacking that and keep going," Wein said.
The fourth quarter remains a major point of emphasis. In Oklahoma’s three losses to Texas, Ole Miss and Alabama, the Sooners were outscored 26-0, and Wein made it clear the defense wants to be part of the solution late in games.
"As a defense, we’ve got to not allow points in the fourth quarter and respond. We’ve got to punch first, punch back and punch last," he said.
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