OU Football 2015: Breaking Down the Defensive Secondary

If the Sooners are to improve upon their disappointing 2014 season of OU football, they are going to have to do a much better job at the back end of the defense in the secondary.

Inexperience and misplays in the defensive secondary was a major contributor to Oklahoma giving up a back-breaking 276 passing yards a game, second worst in the Big 12 last season and ranked 117th in the nation.

Two of the more experienced members of last season’s Sooner defensive backfield, strong safety Quentin Hayes and cornerback Julian Wilson are gone this season, but defensive coordinator Mike Stoops, who had responsibility for the defensive backs last season in addition to his DC role, believes that the game experience juniors Ahmad Thomas and Hatari Byrd and sophomore Steven Parker gained filling in a year ago, along with the talent they possess, will make them stronger and more formidable as a group, which is what the Sooners must have if they are to get better on defense.

“Probably the best secondary class that I have been a part of signing. I think it’s a group that is really going to help us improve there.” —Bob Stoops, talking about his 2015 recruiting class

OU does have an All-Big 12 First-Team performer in Zack Sanchez at one of the corner positions. Sanchez, a junior in 2015, led the team with six interceptions, second best in the Big 12, eight pass breakups and 14 passes defended.

Sanchez is the leader in the secondary, having started all 26 OU games in his freshman and sophomore seasons, and the Sooners will be counting on his contributions in a big way again in 2015.

Recognizing the difficulty the Sooners experienced last season defending the pass – which is a very big problem to have in a pass-heavy conference like the Big 12 – head coach Bob Stoops signed a 2015 recruiting class that included six defensive backs, or a quarter of the 24-man class. The 2015 class included three cornerbacks and three safeties.

“Probably the best secondary class that I have been a part of signing,” Bob Stoops told Athlon Sports during the spring. “It is a group that is really athletic and has great size and range to them. I think it is a group that is really going to help us improve there.”

That could be a very good sign for the future, because OU definitely has not played up to its usually high standards on defense for several seasons now, and much of the defensive breakdown has fallen in the back end in the defensive secondary.