Taylor Wein got a preview of this moment a year ago.
At SEC Media Days in 2025, R Mason Thomas was the first Sooners player to jump on the Taylor Wein bandwagon, predicting Wein would be Oklahoma’s next breakout defender. Thomas ended up looking pretty sharp. Wein played all 13 games and piled up 39 tackles, 15 tackles for loss and seven sacks, good enough to earn second-team All-SEC honors from the league’s coaches.
Now the spotlight has shifted. Wein is the Oklahoma player at SEC Media Days in 2026, and he’s the one pointing to the next defensive name he expects to take off.
That player is PJ Adebawore.
"I think PJ Adebawore has played consistent ball. I live with him, and I know that his goals and his mindset has changed, and he's ready to attack and get better. So we expect a lot out of PJ, and he expects even more out of himself."
Adebawore arrived at Oklahoma with plenty of buzz as a former consensus five-star recruit, but the big statistical leap has not happened yet. The flashes have shown up along the way, though, and he’s stayed on the field. He played in all 13 games last season after appearing in 10 as a sophomore and 13 as a true freshman.
Across three seasons, Adebawore has recorded 27 tackles, 10 tackles for loss and five sacks. He still has not made his first career start, but that could change this fall.
Oklahoma needs help replacing Thomas on the edge, and Wein, Adebawore and Danny Okoye are in position to handle that job. That opens the door for Adebawore to take on a much larger role.
And if Wein’s read on him turns out to be as accurate as Thomas’ was last year, Adebawore may finally be on the verge of the breakout season people have been waiting for.
With the NCAA’s new five-seasons-in-five-years eligibility model, Adebawore is also expected to have another season of eligibility after this year, giving him a chance to build momentum in 2026 and still leave room for an even bigger 2027.
In Other News...
Sooners May Have An Unexpected Answer To Their Run Game Problem
Oklahomas rushing attack has been one of the biggest issues since the move into the SEC, and the Sooners spent the offseason trying to fix it with a reworked approach under Kevin Wilson, Bill Bedenbaugh, Deland McCullough and Jason Witten. The hope is simple enough: find a backfield answer that can help the offense stay on schedule and make the ground game a real part of the identity again.
One name drawing attention is Lloyd Avant, who reportedly made a strong impression in spring practice and has emerged as a possible X-factor heading into fall camp. The challenge for Oklahoma is sorting out how he fits in a crowded backfield that also includes Xavier Robinson, Tory Blaylock, Jonathan Hatton Jr. and DeZephen Walker, which makes the next few weeks especially important for a unit still searching for clarity. [Read more 🡒]
Brent Venables Thinks Oklahomas Tight End Room Just Took A Big Step
Oklahomas tight end room looks a lot different heading toward the 2026 season, and Brent Venables says the change has been more than cosmetic. The Sooners have rebuilt the group with transfers, and the early read from the head coach is that the room has gone from a question mark to a position that can actually move the offense forward.
Venables has been especially encouraged by the way the new setup has come together in the meeting room and on the field, with quarterback John Mateer also backing the direction of the offense. The bigger point for Oklahoma is practical: if the tight ends keep settling in, the Sooners believe it should give their run game a real boost. [Read more 🡒]