Oklahoma’s defensive tackle room enters 2026 with a different look, but not a weak one.
Fall camp is set to open next week, and as Brent Venables begins Year 5 in Norman, the Sooners are sorting through a group that lost major pieces from last season’s interior line but still has real star power at the top. Todd Bates’ unit helped drive one of the best defensive fronts in the country a year ago, and now the challenge is replacing production while keeping that standard intact.
The departures are significant. Gracen Halton is headed to the NFL Draft, Damonic Williams has graduated, Markus Strong transferred to Clemson, and Siolaa Lolohea moved on to Appalachian State. That leaves Oklahoma with a new core in the middle, even if the top end still looks strong.
Jayden Jackson, a junior and the lone returning starter listed, is back to anchor the position. He’ll be joined by fellow junior David Stone, who is also expected to play a major role as Oklahoma reshapes the interior of its defensive line. Those two are the headliners now, and they give the Sooners a pair of established pieces to build around.
Behind them, the room has a mix of returning youth and incoming help. Nigel Smith II is back as a redshirt sophomore, while Trent Wilson returns as a redshirt freshman and Jacob Henry as a redshirt sophomore.
Oklahoma also added depth through the offseason with Kenny Ozowalu, a redshirt sophomore transfer from UTSA, and Bishop Thomas, a redshirt senior transfer from Georgia State. The Sooners further bolstered the group with freshmen Tank Carrington and Brian Harris, both three-star recruits.
The big picture is pretty clear: Oklahoma still has quality at the top, but the margin for error gets thinner once you move past Jackson and Stone. The Sooners have options, and they’ve got time spent developing inside the system as well as portal reinforcements. What they don’t have is the same proven depth they leaned on a year ago.
That makes this one of the more important position groups to watch when camp opens. The talent is there. The question is how quickly the rest of the room can catch up.
In Other News...
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 🡒]
Oklahomas 2026 Offense Hinges On One Long Awaited Change
Fall camp has arrived in Norman, and with it comes a familiar offseason priority for the Sooners: making the run game and offensive line sturdier before the 2026 season gets underway. Oklahoma has spent the buildup adding experience on both fronts, bringing in offensive lineman EMarion Harris and running backs coach Deland McCullough as part of a broader push to add physicality and depth. The goal is clear enough, even if the work is just getting started, with the opener against UTEP serving as the first chance to see whether the changes are showing up where they matter most.
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 🡒]