{"id":14659,"date":"2023-08-25T13:32:10","date_gmt":"2023-08-25T18:32:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/?p=14659"},"modified":"2023-08-25T13:32:10","modified_gmt":"2023-08-25T18:32:10","slug":"what-we-learned-in-ou-preseason-camp-defense","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/what-we-learned-in-ou-preseason-camp-defense\/","title":{"rendered":"What we learned in OU preseason camp: Defense"},"content":{"rendered":"

We are a week away from the OU football season getting underway. The Sooners have been working at camp all this month, preparing for Year 2 under Brent Venables<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As Oklahoma shifts toward game preparation instead of camp, a look back at what the last month taught us about Team 129 and the 2023 Sooners.<\/p>\n

Defense<\/h2>\n

Defensive end<\/h2>\n

What we learned<\/strong>: You\u2019re starting to see leadership emerge with a familiar name in Ethan Downs<\/strong> but also Wake Forest transfer Rondell Bothroyd<\/strong> has stepped up for OU. Trace Ford<\/strong> has not been this healthy in ages, and Reggie Grimes<\/strong> is ready to \u2018just play ball.\u2019<\/p>\n

You can hear the excitement surrounding freshman P.J. Adebawore<\/strong>, but it\u2019s too early to know just how quickly he\u2019ll be in the rotation. And R Mason Thomas<\/strong> should be ready to take that next step.<\/p>\n

What we don\u2019t know<\/strong>: Think it\u2019s fair to say we don\u2019t know the OU starters. It feels like Downs and Bothroyd will be the guys. The rotations are unknown at this time as well. But you do feel very confident in what this group looks like compared to 2022.<\/p>\n

Quotable<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a really weird sport. Because on one end, you are competing against the guy, but you also love these guys so much. They\u2019ll have my back if I need anything and I\u2019ll have their back. But yeah, you want to be the star, you want to be the dude. The main thing is you can\u2019t let your brother\u2019s success mean it\u2019s a failure to you. They are your brothers. You have to celebrate that. They are going to celebrate you to. That\u2019s the biggest part, it comes with maturity. The immature person says \u2018oh, he\u2019s got all these sacks, that means I\u2019m going to get less playing time.\u2019 No, celebrate your brother and let me go out and get one so I can join the party. It\u2019s a race to the quarterback.\u201d \u2013 Reggie Grimes<\/strong><\/p>\n

Defensive tackle<\/h2>\n

What we learned<\/strong>: Expect a different Isaiah Coe<\/a><\/strong> this season. He wasn\u2019t a knucklehead by any means before, but you can hear a different tone in his voice. Coe and Jordan Kelley<\/strong> are going to anchor this group.<\/p>\n

A healthy Kelvin Gilliam<\/strong> gives OU more to work with. He is now around the 300-pound mark and could be on the verge of a breakout season. And Jonah Laulu<\/strong> is working to keep on all that good weight he put on. Gracen Halton\u2019s development seems to be going well.<\/p>\n

What we don\u2019t know<\/strong>: What transfers Da\u2019Jon Terry, Jacob Lacey<\/strong> and Davon Sears<\/strong> are bringing to the table? They\u2019re going to be crucial for the interior guys to stay fresh and, hopefully, make plays. If everything else is better, but defensive tackle isn\u2019t? It won\u2019t be the 2023 that it could be.<\/p>\n

Quotable<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t want to give myself credit, but just having people like me, Jordan Kelley, Kelvin Gilliam and Gracen Halton<\/strong>, just guys who were already here. We can help elevate them. When we got here, all we had was the coaches. We didn\u2019t have like a player or a leader who came from Clemson who could show us the defense. So now we can show them on defense. They don\u2019t have to necessarily be where we\u2019re at, but we can bring them ahead of where we were last year.\u201d \u2013 Isaiah Coe<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n<\/a><\/span>\n<\/div>\n

Inside linebacker<\/h2>\n

What we learned<\/strong>: Eh, learned is the wrong term, but Danny Stutsman<\/strong> has cemented himself as the guy for this group. It\u2019s no surprise, but you can appreciate how he\u2019s embracing the OU leadership every single day.<\/p>\n

The linebacker depth is as good (we think) as it has been in a long, long time. There are a lot of pieces that could come together and make something special happen.<\/p>\n

What we don\u2019t know<\/strong>: Is Jaren Kanak<\/strong> ready for the spotlight? Can Konnor Near<\/strong> adjust to life at a Power Five and Big 12? With his incredible size, will Kobie McKinzie<\/strong> be able to move in space enough to effectively play the position? You feel confident about these answers, but you don\u2019t know just yet.<\/p>\n

Quotable<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you\u2019re trying to step up as a leader, you can\u2019t bring that intensity down any bit. Coach Venables does a tremendous job always being *212. So that\u2019s something when you step on this field, you can\u2019t have an off day. Everyone looks up to you to set the standard. So you\u2019ve gotta push through that wall, those days you\u2019re tired, your body hurts, you\u2019ve gotta find a way to get past that because you know everyone\u2019s looking at to you and you\u2019ve gotta be a spark plug for the defense.\u201d \u2013 Danny Stutsman<\/strong><\/p>\n

Cheetah<\/h2>\n

What we learned<\/strong>: It\u2019s a 1a. and 1b. thing between Justin Harrington<\/strong> and Dasan McCullough<\/strong>. Not just a runaway winner as maybe first thought. The Harrington preseason hype is here once again.<\/p>\n

What we don\u2019t know<\/strong>: Whether Harrington can put it all together for OU after camp ends. Perception was McCullough would be the guy, but Harrington was talked about more in camp. Does that actually mean anything?<\/p>\n

Quotable<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re going to both play. Both long. Both athletic. They\u2019re both competitive. And I know they both have their own strengths and areas to improve on. But they\u2019ve both earned the right to play.\u201d \u2013 Ted Roof<\/strong><\/p>\n

Cornerback\/Nickel<\/h2>\n

What we learned<\/strong>: Woodi Washington<\/strong> is playing the role of mentor but also needs a stablemate at the other corner spot. True freshman Jasiah Wagoner<\/strong> continues to get talked up a bunch. It sounds like the freshmen group of corners will be something special.<\/p>\n

What we don\u2019t know<\/strong>: Jay Valai<\/strong> told Gentry Williams<\/strong> don\u2019t wait to be great. But we honestly didn\u2019t hear much about Williams all camp. Is that a concern? Will there be a legitimate No. 2 starting cornerback? Or will everyone get a chance, and it\u2019ll work itself out during the season?<\/p>\n

Quotable<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cIt could be a game where you don\u2019t know who starts on the other side of you or starts beside you. Like you said, it\u2019s really competitive. That\u2019s a great thing because it forces guys that don\u2019t normally get to play, they get to come into the game and play and take as many reps as they can. And the guys that do play a lot of minutes, they can kind of get a breather when they\u2019re out there.\u201d \u2013 Woodi Washington<\/strong><\/p>\n

Safety<\/h2>\n

What we learned<\/strong>: This might be the position where a lot of things cleared up for OU. Incredibly rave reviews for Reggie Pearson<\/strong> and Peyton Bowen<\/strong> let you know they\u2019re going to figure big-time in the plans. Billy<\/strong> Bowman<\/strong> is one of your starters, and then someone had to win the job for the other spot. That\u2019s nice, instead of getting it by default.<\/p>\n

What we don\u2019t know<\/strong>: Pearson and Bowen are your newcomers, but what\u2019s going on with returners Key Lawrence<\/strong> and Robert Spears-Jennings<\/strong>? That\u2019s five names for two spots, how will the shuffling work out? Will everybody stay positive and accept their role?<\/p>\n

Quotable<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s confidence. Not just from me but the whole defense and the offense. Being in the system more than one year \u2014 for me my freshman year I played with a whole different staff. My sophomore year I played with a different staff. Now it\u2019s my second year in the same system along with other guys on the defense who are returning and the offense. So I feel like confidence allows you to compete at an even higher level. when you get comfortable in a certain situation, it allows for just twice as fast a reaction. Knowing what you\u2019re doing and why you\u2019re doing it. Last year we knew what we were doing, but we didn\u2019t know why we were doing it. So now that we know that why factor, we can play much faster, much more confident and make more plays.\u201d \u2013 Billy Bowman<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n<\/a><\/span>\n<\/div>\n

The post What we learned in OU preseason camp: Defense<\/a> appeared first on On3<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We are a week away from the OU football season getting underway. The Sooners have…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14659","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14659","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14659"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14659\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14659"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14659"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14659"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}