We continue our countdown to the OU football 2015 season opener on Sept. 5 with a look up front at what should be an improved Oklahoma defense this season.
Charles Tapper, Eric Striker and Zack Sanchez are the three players on the Oklahoma defense that you read and hear the most about, and there are very good reasons for that. But a name you are going to start hearing a lot more this season belongs to sophomore defensive lineman Charles Walker.
Walker is as solid as they come, and I’m not just talking about his on-field performance. He is a 6-2, 297-pound man of steel, and those Big 12 offensive lineman who aren’t that familiar with him will shortly be properly introduced, and they probably won’t soon forget it.
Sep 6, 2014; Tulsa, OK, USA; Tulsa Golden Hurricane running back D
“Athletically, he may be as good as we’ve had here,” OU head coach Bob Stoops told 247Sports reporter Joey Helmer recently. “When you look at his 40 time, his reach, his ability to change direction, his strength – all of it – he just has exceptional athletic ability.
Another Sooner player from the Lone Star State who found his way north of the Red River, Walker redshirted his freshman season in 2013. He played in eight games last season, but missed five in the middle of the season after suffering a knee injury in his second game as a collegian.
Walker talked about the injury with reporters last week at the Sooners’ preseason training camp. “It hurt me a lot. It hurt me mentally too. I had to come back and show that I’m going to stay,” he said “This year, all that is out the window. If I get hurt, I’m going to fight through it. My team needs me.”
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The Sooners’ depth and versatility on the defensive line is going to enable them to play multiple fronts this season. When OU goes with a three-man defensive front, Walker will probably play opposite Tapper at the other defensive end spot. When they line up with four men on the D-line, Walker will man one of the tackle spots along side either Matt Romar or Jordan Wade.
Why the switch off on the defensive line? “It mixes up the defense and makes the offense think some more,” Walker said.
Whichever defensive alignment coordinator Mike Stoops goes with, Oklahoma’s front seven could be the best in the Big 12. The OU linebackers are, for sure, the best the Big 12 has to offer, and when you combine that with what Tapper, Walker, et al. bring up front, its not hard to see why the Sooner defense should be much improved in 2015.