Oklahoma's defense strong behind top-ranked defensive line

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For the last couple of years, the Oklahoma Sooners have seen their defensive line become the strength of their team. That’s not expected to change this year, as Athlon Sports’ Steve Lassan has the group as the best in the entire SEC.

However, there’s so much more to OU’s defense than just the front four. The Sooners have a strong back seven behind them that also hopes to be among the SEC’s best this season.

Lassan ranks Oklahoma’s linebacker unit as the third-best in the conference, behind only Georgia and LSU. Not to be outdone, the OU secondary also ranked third on his list, trailing only Georgia and Alabama. With what could be the best d-line in the league, the Sooners could be fielding a very good defense again in 2026.

At inside linebacker, the losses of Kobie McKinzie and Sammy Omosigho definitely sting, as the Sooners had to rebuild a lot of the depth in their absence. Both players had multiple seasons in head coach Brent Venables’ system, and were on the field a lot.

Fortunately for the Sooners, they do return both Kip Lewis and Owen Heinecke, and they’ll be the starting duo at weakside and middle linebacker, respectively. Both players are seniors who will be veteran leaders for this team in 2026. OU also added Michigan transfer Cole Sullivan, who will certainly play a lot of snaps this year. He’ll need to learn Venables’ complex system on the fly.

Behind them, the Sooners will be looking to James Nesta to step into a key role for the first time in his career. OU’s success at inside linebacker last year was partially due to the depth that Oklahoma could rotate through at those two spots, so Nesta and fellow youngster Marcus James will be counted upon in 2026.

At the Cheetah position, OU loses Kendal Daniels, who is one of the more underrated losses heading into this season. His size and versatility made him the perfect chess piece for Venables to move around the board, and he’ll be missed in Norman this fall.

However, Oklahoma does have Reggie Powers III returning to step into that spot, as he got his first taste of real action last season. He’s a different type of player than Daniels was, but he’s been learning for two years and waiting his turn.

Behind Powers, the Sooners also have Jeremiah Newcombe at the cheetah spot. He missed most of last season with an injury, but he’ll look to establish himself as a rotational piece of the OU defense. Oklahoma could also rotate Sullivan to the Cheetah spot as well, as he brings some of the size that Powers and Newcombe lack. OU will need multiple kinds of players this year to play a position that has to do a lot of different things, and do them all well.

OU will certainly miss Taylor Heim, who can play both inside linebacker and cheetah. He was in line to be part of the rotation at both positions, but a serious spring ball injury sounds like it will keep him out for the entire season. Losing him for the year means that the Sooners won’t have as much depth as they’d like at either spot, though there are still options for Venables to work with.

Oklahoma looks very strong at the cornerback position this year, despite losing Gentry Williams, Devon Jordan, Kendel Dolby, and Maliek Hawkins. Williams started a number of games for the Sooners when he was healthy over the last few years, including the first half of last season.

However, the starting duo down the stretch is back, as Eli Bowen and Courtland Guillory are both still in Norman. Both were impressive as underclassmen last year, and they have a chance to be even better together, now that they’re a year older and more battle-tested. Jacobe Johnson is a veteran who will be on the field plenty this year, and he could probably be a starter for a lot of other Power Four teams if he wanted to.

Behind that trio, the Sooners are unproven. Oregon transfer Dakoda Fields and Mississippi Valley State transfer Prince Ijioma join homegrown youngsters like Newcombe and Trystan Haynes, as they’ll all battle to become part of the rotation this fall. Cornerback is another position where OU benefited from being able to trust multiple players last season, and they’ll need to do the same again this year.

Losing Robert Spears-Jennings, Jaydan Hardy, and Marcus Wimberly has left the Sooners a bit thinner at safety than they’ve been in a couple of years. Spears-Jennings was a multi-year starter and a leader and captain for the Sooners as a senior last year.

Having Peyton Bowen back is a huge boost for Oklahoma, as he turned into a star during the stretch run last year. He’ll be asked to play an even larger role this season, with many of OU’s defensive leaders now in the NFL. His running mate at safety will likely be Michael Boganowski, who likely steps into a starting role after two years of watching and waiting. Omarion Robinson will also be counted upon to play a lot this season, after he got his feet wet a bit last year. Oklahoma needs him to grow up fast in the SEC jungle.

Behind those three, the Sooners are thin at safety, as Powers would likely be the next man up at that spot. Aside from him, Oklahoma would be counting on true freshman Niko Jandreau or junior Reed DeQuasie at safety, so OU needs to stay healthy at the last line of defense this year while they develop their depth at that spot.

For as much (deserved) attention that OU’s defensive line gets, there’s no shortage of star players on the field behind them for the Sooners this year. Lassan has all three levels of the Sooner defense ranked inside his top three in the SEC, and Oklahoma joins two-time reigning conference champion Georgia as the only two teams in the league that can say that.

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This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: Sooners stronger than just their excellent defensive front

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