OU defensive end breakdown: Newcomers look to lead group
A trio of newcomers at defensive end has OU feeling optimistic heading into 2023.
After struggling on the edge last year, Oklahoma was aggressive in the transfer portal and on the recruiting trail, hoping to find more talent at defensive end. And after spring practice, there is hope they improved exponentially there.
Five weeks, 14 practices, and a spring game later, here are some of the biggest things we learned about the Sooners’ defensive end room in the spring.
OU defensive end
No position group improved more in the offseason than arguably defensive end. Oklahoma struggled on the edge last season, lacking depth and talent. Junior Ethan Downs, sophomore R Mason Thomas and seniors Reggie Grimes, Jonah Laulu, and Marcus Stripling got most of the reps, but that could change drastically this season. There’s a reason OU was most aggressive at that position in both the portal and recruiting.
Laulu has moved inside and while Grimes, Stripling, Downs, and Thomas will contribute this season, it’s possible none will start. Some believed Grimes or Stripling might transfer following the spring, but neither did, which should provide Oklahoma plenty of depth. Thomas, though, especially feels like a player who could take a leap, putting on 17 pounds this offseason. But odds are that one of the newcomers will start and all will play major roles.
Those newcomers on the edge are Wake Forest’s Rondell Bothroyd, Oklahoma State’s Trace Ford, and true freshman Adepoju Adebawore. All three are expected to contribute next season, and rightfully so. Bothroyd was a top prospects in the portal, totaling 13 sacks and 24.5 tackles for loss the past two seasons. Ford was another top target in the portal and, when healthy, he’s shown he can be an elite pass rusher. In his first two seasons at OSU, he totaled 7.5 sacks before suffering a torn ACL in 2021. And Adebawore has the most upside of anyone in the room. A five-star out of Kansas City, many believe he could be OU’s best defensive player in a decade. And he certainly looked the part this spring.
There are high hopes for the defensive end room this year. They lost no one from a season ago and added three high-potential players to the group. And that could make a big difference for a defense that struggled to contain the edge and pressure the quarterback.
They said it…
“Tell them we want to win a championship. This is Oklahoma. I’m never going to apologize for bringing great players in. I’m never going to apologize for trying to assemble the best defensive end group in the entire country, and then coaching those guys that way.” – Defensive ends coach Miguel Chavis
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