Oklahoma didn’t have to go hunting for a wholesale defensive makeover this offseason. The Sooners already had a unit that powered a 10-3 season and a College Football Playoff berth in 2025, and the numbers backed it up: first in the SEC in total defense at 272.5 yards allowed per game, first in scoring defense at 15.2 points per game and first in sacks with 45.
Even with several key names now in the pros - R Mason Thomas, Gracen Halton and Kendal Daniels among them - Oklahoma still brings back plenty of proven talent across all three levels. At every defensive spot, the Sooners kept multiple starters or players who logged heavy snaps a year ago.
That continuity is why the transfer portal stayed relatively quiet. OU’s only additions were defensive linemen Bishop Thomas and Kenny Ozowalu, linebacker Cole Sullivan and defensive backs Dakoda Fields and Prince Ijioma.
If there’s one group that looks ready to make the biggest jump in 2026, though, it’s cornerback.
The reason is simple: the Sooners already had two underclassmen playing at a high level there last season, and both should be even better with a year of experience behind them. Eli Bowen, a sophomore in 2025, came back from the injury that cost him the first four games and quickly became a difference-maker. He finished with 24 total tackles, 19 solo tackles, four pass breakups, two interceptions and a pick-six, good enough to earn All-SEC Third Team honors.
Courtland Guillory was just as important, and he did it as a true freshman. He played in all 13 games and started 11, piling up 41 tackles, seven pass breakups and a tackle for loss. His work earned him a place on the SEC’s All-Freshman Team and Freshman All-American recognition from On3.
Together, Bowen and Guillory played more than 1,000 snaps in 2025, and both posted PFF defensive grades above 73. Now they’re a year older, a year more seasoned and a year further into the grind of SEC football. That matters, especially after the lessons Oklahoma learned against elite receivers last season.
Auburn’s Cam Coleman - who now plays for Texas - gave Guillory trouble in a game that ended with 88 yards and a touchdown on three catches. Then in the College Football Playoff, Alabama’s Lotzeir Brooks caught five passes for 79 yards and two scores. Those kinds of outings are the kind of film that sticks with a secondary, and Oklahoma’s top corners should be better prepared for the next wave of star wideouts.
Jacobe Johnson adds another layer of stability. He’s the likely top backup behind Bowen and Guillory, and his experience matters. Johnson has played in 37 games over three seasons and put together a 70.6 PFF defensive grade as a junior in 2025.
The new faces could help, too. Fields arrived from Oregon in January as a former 4-star recruit, though he played in only three games across two seasons with the Ducks. Ijioma comes in after starting 10 games for Mississippi Valley State in 2025, when he recorded 39 tackles and four pass breakups.
Those two are positioned to help replace the depth lost when Devon Jordan, Kendel Dolby and Gentry Williams transferred out of Norman after the 2025 season. But the bigger story is the ceiling at cornerback.
Oklahoma already had talent there. Now it has more experience, more reps and a real chance for that room to take the biggest step forward on the defense.
In Other News...
Sooners Could Be Headed For Another Painful Wave Of Roster Losses
The transfer portal has already become part of Oklahomas annual roster reality, and another wave could be waiting after the 2026 season if several young Sooners cant find a clearer path to the field. A recent look at the roster pointed to five players who could be in that conversation, with the common thread being opportunity: some have been buried on the depth chart, others are facing crowded position rooms, and a few are still trying to turn early promise into a real role.
Among the names drawing attention are Daniel Akinkunmi, Ivan Carreon, Whitt Newbauer and Elijah Thomas, all of whom have reasons to wonder what their future looks like if their situations stay the same. Carreons case is especially notable because he already flirted with leaving once before coming back, while Thomas is the kind of young player Oklahoma would prefer to keep if his role grows. For the Sooners, the bigger concern is not just losing bodies, but watching another group of developmental players decide the path to playing time is easier somewhere else. [Read more 🡒]
Kip Lewis Just Got The Kind Of Snub Sooners Fans Hate
Kip Lewis came back for his redshirt senior season with the kind of resume that usually gets noticed in preseason league chatter. After leading Oklahoma in tackles a year ago, the linebacker has drawn praise from NFL scouts and some analysts, and even landed on Phil Steeles preseason First Team All-American list, which made him feel like one of the safer bets to show up on early SEC honor rolls.
Instead, Lewis was left off The Athletics preseason All-SEC team, a miss that stands out even more because several of his Sooners teammates did get recognized. It is the sort of omission Oklahoma fans tend to file away quickly, especially with SEC Media Days on deck and Brent Venables set to bring key voices like John Mateer, Taylor Wein and Eddy Pierre-Louis into the spotlight. [Read more 🡒]
Sooners Just Got The SEC Validation Fans Have Been Waiting For
Oklahomas move from the Big 12 into the SEC was never going to be a seamless one, and the first season showed it. The Sooners had to absorb the leagues weekly physicality, the constant scrutiny and the expectation that every Saturday carries weight, all while trying to prove they belonged in a conference that treats football like a year-round obsession.
Dusty Dvoracek, the ESPN analyst and former Oklahoma standout, sees that part of the transition as a natural fit for the program and its fan base. His perspective matters because it speaks to more than wins and losses - it points to whether Oklahomas culture can live comfortably inside the SECs nonstop spotlight, even as the Sooners continue trying to establish their place among the leagues heavyweights. [Read more 🡒]