2014 Oklahoma Sooners Preview: The Defense

The Oklahoma Sooners’ defense in 2014 is going to be terrible. They lost their two best secondary players, their linebacker unit has almost no depth, and the Sugar Bowl performance wasn’t that impressive. Eric Striker and Zach Sanchez are both undersized and I bet I could have defended Tyler Lockett better than Quentin Hayes did last season.

Good. I’m glad I got that out of my system.

Here’s the reality: Oklahoma’s defense is (hopefully) going to be really good in 2014. They’ll run a 3-4 scheme, but expect there to be a few added wrinkles that we haven’t seen before. Two things that we do know are different: Geneo Grissom has moved to OLB and Eric Striker has experimented some at the nickel back position.

Grissom’s move seems more permanent (he’s listed as a LB on the team’s official roster), where as Striker’s new position likely just adds flexibility. While it may seem foolish to mess with two key components of the defense, this will only make them more versatile. Grissom at LB allows for another talented DE to enter the mix (and adds significant depth to LB) and Striker at the NB position part-time means the potential for more creative blitz packages.

Start with the defensive line, which returns all of its starters from a year ago. Charles Tapper, DJ Ward, Chuka Ndulue, Jordan Phillips, Jordan Wade, Matt Dimon and Charles Walker will be the names you hear most often this season.

With Grissom’s move to OLB, that opens up a spot for one of Oklahoma’s other DE’s in the starting lineup. I would expect Dimon or Wade to fill that spot, but Oklahoma has several options here.

That leaves Charles Tapper on the other end, with a rotation of Ndulue, Phillips, and Walker to get most of the playing time at DT. Ndulue and Phillips have proven that they belong, and everything we heard out of spring practice was that Walker will be playing on Sundays at some point. With those kinds of options, Oklahoma should be very formidable on the DL in 2014.

If you don’t believe me, just ask Kansas State:

Or Texas Tech

Moving along to the linebackers, the Sooners will feature several players who are capable of winning all-conference awards. The leader of that core was Frank Shannon, but he was suspended by the school after an internal investigation found him to be guilty of sexual assault charges.

After Shannon, there is still plenty of talent for the Sooners at linebacker. Youngsters Dominique Alexander, Jordan Evans and Ogbonnia Okoronkwo will be heavily relied upon to drop back into coverage and to stop the run. The problem that the Sooners will face is not the loss of Shannon, but rather the loss of depth.

Grissom’s move to OLB makes the Sooners more flexible because he is capable of dropping back into coverage but also has the ability to be a great pass rusher from anywhere on the field. Grissom and Striker will both likely see time at the jack LB position, which only adds to the possibilities for defensive schemes.

With another year of growth and maturity for Striker comes many more responsibilities. Striker will lineup in a couple different positions on the field this season, both as a jack LB and as a nickel corner. With his athletic ability, he’s a threat to rush the passer or drop back into coverage from either position. Again, it’s all about adding options for Mike Stoops and this defense.

After the five linebackers that were mentioned above, it’s down to true freshman to fill the void for the most part. Ideally, Oklahoma would redshirt Devonte Bond, Curtis Bolton and Tay Evans. Unfortunately, a lack of depth will probably prevent that from happening. Expect those three, especially Bond, to see the field at some point this season.

Either way, that’s not a ton of experienced LB’s when you realize that Oklahoma runs a 3-4. Both Bond and Bolton have received praise for their work this offseason (Bond looked great as pass rusher in the spring game) but they will need to grow before Oklahoma can expect too much. If the LB unit can avoid injuries, this could be one of the strongest linebacker units in the conference. But if recent history tells us anything, that’s more of a pipedream than a reality.

Going into the secondary, there are only two certainties: Zach Sanchez and Quentin Hayes. Sanchez looks poised to take over much of Aaron Colvin’s production as a sophomore, and Hayes will likely be the leader of the defense as one of its only seniors.

Julian Wilson is the favorite to take the spot opposite Sanchez, while the other safety position could be determined by what formation the defense is in. Expect Ahmad Thomas, Hatari Byrd, Steven Parker, Jordan Thomas and Dakota Austin to see time in the secondary as well.

Schematically, the Sooners will be anything but simple. This will be Mike Stoops’ third season at the helm of the Oklahoma defense, and many expect it to be his best since his first stint in Norman.

Most of the time, the Oklahoma Sooners will give offenses a 3-4 look but with additional caveats. It’s difficult to predict exactly what we will see out of the Sooners this season, since much of it will likely be new concepts.

According to comments made by Mike Stoops, the Sooners didn’t show much in the spring game. They stayed in their base defense about 90% of the time and rarely blitzed. Which is interesting, because Trevor Knight was under pressure on almost every play he saw. Here are a couple examples:

Quick tangent: that’s Jordan Evans laying out that ferocious hit on that play above. Doesn’t really have anything to do with the pass rush, but I knew I couldn’t post this GIF without recognizing that play. That’s the kind of player that we’re getting in Jordan Evans (if he stays healthy).

If Oklahoma is able to get to the passer while only rushing four players, Big 12 offenses are not going to have a good time this year. Sending Ndulue, Tapper, Wade and Striker on every play will cause problems, and what happens if OU decides to send Grissom as well? Or Bond?

If OU is consistently able to get after the QB, the offense really only has two choices. The first being a screen, which shouldn’t work more than once or twice a game if the defense is coached properly. The other way is to run routes like this:

That’s something that Oklahoma is more than willing to sacrifice, especially on first and second down. The hope is that, if teams consistently run those types of routes, OU’s corners will eventually swat them away or pick them off. Worst case scenario, it’s a seven yard gain and a first down.

On obvious rushing downs, Jordan Phillips and Jordan Evans will be the highlights of the front seven assuming that they can both stay healthy. This is probably the biggest concern for the defense to this point: If the main linebackers can’t stay healthy, will Oklahoma be able to stop the run?

Only time will tell. There’s sure to be an injury or two along the way, but it’s crucial that Jordan Evans can stay healthy. If not, the Sooners will have problems stopping the run, especially late in the season. Oklahoma faces Kansas State, Baylor and Oklahoma State in the second half of the year, all of whom will try to have success on the ground.

When Oklahoma isn’t in their base 3-4, they’ll be in a nickel package. Julian Wilson was great as the nickel back a year ago, but it looks like he will see time opposite Sanchez. Filling the NB role will likely be Dakota Austin or, in certain situations, Eric Striker. True freshman Jordan Thomas also received praise from Mike Stoops over the weekend, even suggesting that he has jumped up to no. 3 on the CB depth chart.

While all of Oklahoma’s options at CB are young and inexperienced, they are also talented. With the exception of Hayes, everyone who figures to get time in the secondary this season will be no older than a sophomore. That could mean a lot of growing pains, but it will also be an infusion of youth and athletic ability that the Sooner’s have lacked in recent years.

Overall, this is a defense that has an exciting amount of talent and potential. It’s unique combination of youth and experience (as of now, the defense will only lose three starters to graduation) should wreak havoc on the rest of the Big 12.

It certainly has its fair share of holes, but there are a lot teams who would sacrifice OU’s problems (only five great LBs, inexperience in the secondary) for their talent (Charles Tapper, Eric Striker, Zach Sanchez.)

Just like the offense, only time will tell if they can live up to the monster expectations of the 2014 season.