College Football Analyst isn't concerned with Oklahoma's defense

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The Oklahoma Sooners have a lot of question marks entering the 2026 season. The defense isn't one of those.

Oklahoma ranked as the No. 6 defense in college football last season in total defense. The Sooners also ranked No. 1 in tackles for loss and sacks. They also return a lot of key players from last year's team. The Sooners bring back defensive linemen Taylor Wein, David Stone and Jayden Jackson, as well as linebackers Owen Heinecke and Kip Lewis and secondary members Peyton and Eli Bowen and Courtland Guillory. On top of that, they have one of the best play-callers in college football, Brent Venables.

Given what Oklahoma returns, college football analyst Josh Pate revealed the defense is one of the things he doesn't worry about.

"Some things I think that I know about Oklahoma," Pate said on 'Josh Pate's College Football Show.' "Defense has stars on every level. Shouldn't come as a surprise… When I talk about Oklahoma, I don't even talk about defense a lot. Not because they won't be good. It's the opposite. It's because they'll be really good."

Pate's confidence isn't difficult to understand. Oklahoma's defense was already among the best in the country last season, and the Sooners have the rare luxury of bringing back impact players at every level.

Wein, Stone and Jackson give Oklahoma experience along the defensive front. Heinecke and Lewis return after productive seasons at linebacker, while the secondary brings back multiple contributors who already have significant experience in Venables' system.

That continuity could be especially valuable early in the season. Rather than spending the opening weeks figuring out what it has defensively, Oklahoma can focus on refining what already worked.

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This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: College Football Analyst isn't concerned with Oklahoma's defense

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