Ted Roof ‘real proud’ of Oklahoma’s improved consistency

Ted Roof and the Oklahoma defense have a pretty simple job for 2023: Be better. More specifically, the Sooners need a more consistent showing from the defense as Brent Venables pushes the program to compete in the Big 12 again in Year 2.

And Roof, the defensive coordinator, has seen plenty more of that from the defensive group. There’s of course more room to improve, but for the end of April, things are in a good spot, he said.

“It’s, again, improvement in all areas. And we needed too, obviously. To our guys credit, they’ve done that,” Roof said. “And again, I’m real proud of them.”

The Sooners finished No. 122 nationally in total defense in 2022, giving up 461 yards per game and 49 touchdowns — as many as they scored — en route to a 6-7 mark.

With another year under Venables, a former defensive coordinator, and Roof, the hope is that the Sooners present a much stiffer challenge to offenses in 2023.

Roof analyzee Oklahoma’s defensive play in spring game

Roof is in the midst of his second season with the Sooners and gave his thoughts on the performance of his defense after the game.

“And it was really cool because everybody got a chance to play today, because during the practices we got some guys that don’t get a whole lot of reps. And for them to have a chance to get in today, that’s always fun to see,” Roof said. “And you saw our sideline get excited when those guys got opportunities as well.”

The White team’s 84-82 came from a scoring system that awarded points to the defense for making plays like pass breaks up and sacks or fourth down stops. Freshman early enrollee Peyton Bowen earned his team seven points for a first-quarter interception on a deep pass attempt by Dillon Gabriel.

Roof spoke about the impressive play and the importance of big plays in general, something that Sooner fans will hope to see more of from Oklahoma’s defense this upcoming season.

“We had some big plays, and you’re talking about the interception with Peyton, he was in phase, he did a great job locating the ball, and he went up and high pointed it and made the pick. Football’s such a game of inches with a small margin for error and when you go up and make those plays, as not making them, that’s a big difference in a game, a season, a whole deal. So pleased with him, he’s had a great spring and excited to be taking the next step and moving forward.

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