The Oklahoma Sooners have undergone a total turnaround at one key position group under head coach Brent Venables. OU’s defensive line was undersized and not physical enough for the Big 12, much less the SEC when Venables was hired to replace the departed Lincoln Riley in December of 2021.
The former defensive coordinator at Oklahoma (1999-2011) and Clemson (2012-2021) had built some of the greatest defenses in college football before getting his first head coaching job. When he left Norman, the Sooners were talented, physical and beefy in the trenches on defense. He built his Clemson defenses in the exact same fashion.
The Tigers won national championships in 2016 and 2018 and played in two more title games in 2015 and 2019. There were also two other seasons where Clemson made the College Football Playoff, but got knocked out in the semifinals (2017 and 2020). A lot of the success was largely on the back of Venables’ defenses.
Meanwhile, the Sooners also had a successful era, but it was primarily due to their offensive firepower. OU made four CFPs in five years but never made it to the championship game because they couldn’t stop their opposition from scoring.
Under defensive coordinators Mike Stoops and Alex Grinch, Oklahoma got smaller, less physical, and less talented players on the defensive side of the ball. That was evident on the defensive line most of all.
When Venables arrived in Norman, he hired Todd Bates to coach the defensive tackles and Miguel Chavis to coach the defensive ends. Over time, and through recruiting and the transfer portal, that trio has built the Oklahoma defensive line into a force again.
Cole Cubelic, a college football analyst for the SEC Network, ranked the top five defensive lines in the SEC on his podcast, “Cube Show.” He placed the Sooners atop his list, a remarkable transformation for a unit that used to get pushed around by the likes of Kansas State and Iowa State.
“The easiest team for this list to select was number one, and it’s Oklahoma. And folks, it ain’t even close,” Cubelic said. “I’m just going to be honest with you. This was not a debate with Texas, this was not a debate with Georgia, this was not a debate with Florida in my head. Oklahoma, by far, has the best defensive line in the SEC, and it is by a landslide. I mean, they literally have a 40-yard head start on everybody else.”
That’s a powerful statement from Cubelic, but Oklahoma has the depth to back it up. At defensive tackle, Bates has a solid four-man group of Jayden Jackson, Damonic Williams, Gracen Halton, and David Stone to work with. It’s a talented group that has experience and potential. Each player brings something a little different to the table.
At the defensive end spots, the Sooners aren’t quite that deep, but Chavis has R Mason Thomas returning after a breakout season a year ago. Opposite him, the tandem of Marvin Jones Jr. and Adepoju Adebawore will be looking for breakout years of their own off the edge. Cubelic also thinks Oklahoma likes what they have in Danny Okoye, who was a four-star prospect in the 2024 recruiting class.
Cubelic also believes that with Venables taking control of the defensive play-calling in 2025, the Sooners will assume even more of his attacking, aggressive mentality. The best defenses Venables has had were able to dictate what the opposing offense could and couldn’t do, not the other way around.
There were plenty of moments a season ago where the Sooners owned the game defensively up front, most notably in the win over Alabama. Cubelic seems to believe the SEC could be in for more performances like that one from Oklahoma, as Year 4 with Venables, Bates, and Chavis could yield even bigger results.
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