Oklahoma football: Shoring up Sooners’ last line of defense

Believe it or not, there was a time not so long ago when Oklahoma football played defense with the best in the country.

In the early 2000s, with the same defensive  coordinator they have now, Mike Stoops’ defensive unit was actually the strength of the rejuvenated Oklahoma team. The Sooners ranked in the top-10 nationally in total defense for four straight seasons from 2000 to 2003. Those OU teams were especially strong in the defensive secondary.

Mike Stoops left the team after the 2003 season to take the head job at Arizona. He was let go at Arizona in 2011 and returned to join brother Bob, as defensive coordinator and assistant head coach of the Sooners, in 2012. Things have never been the same on the defensive side of the ball his second time around.

Some of that dramatic decline on defense can be attributed to lesser talent. But it should also be pointed out that in those good old defensive days in the early 2000s, the defensive responsibilities were shared by Stoops and a young, up-and-coming defensive coach named Brent Venables.

Oklahoma Sooners

Venables left the Sooners when Stoops returned to OU, and has done pretty well for himself and head coach Dabo Swinney at Clemson as one of the country’s top defensive coordinators.

In recent times, Oklahoma has managed to remain relevant and in national championship contention winning games by outscoring its opponents. The Sooners featured the No. 1 offense in the country last season behind Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Baker Mayfield. It’s a good thing the offense was so good, because defensively, the Sooners were a total liability.

Oklahoma ranked 67th in the country last season in total defense and 87th out of the 129 FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) teams in passing yards allowed, according to 2017 NCAA statistics.

The Sooners lose three starters off of last season’s defensive secondary. Safeties Steven Parker and Will Johnson and cornerback Jordan Thomas combined for 133 career games and 98 starts.

Junior cornerback Parnell Motley has the most game experience of the returning defensive backs. He started 13 of OU’s 14 games last season and led the team with nine pass breakups and tied for the team lead with two interceptions.

Also back in 2018 is redshirt sophomore Jordan Parker, who was injured in the opening game last year and missed the remainder of the season. Parker is expected to make the change from cornerback to safety this season.

The Sooner defensive backfield is the youngest position group on the team entering the 2018 season. On the surface, that does not portend well for a team that must get better on defense, especially on the back end, if it expects to make a serious run at its fourth consecutive Big 12 championship.

Although the OU defensive backs lack experience heading into the new season, they may be the most talented overall group they have had at the position in quite a few years. The group is comprised of two seniors and two juniors. The rest are sophomores and freshmen, seven of which were rated a four-star recruits before coming to Oklahoma.

The team signed five defensive backs to its top-10-ranked 2018 recruiting class, and four of the five were early enrollees and went through spring practice sessions.

One of those four early enrollees was five-star recruit Brendan Riley-Hiles, who is definitely a player to watch for in the coming season. A U.S. Army All-American and ranked by Rivals as the No. 17 overall recruiting in the country and No. 2 cornerback, Radley-Hiles chose to play at Oklahoma over Alabama, Clemson, Florida State, Nebraska, UCLA and others.

Sooner defensive backs coach Kerry Cooks says Radley-Hiles could play multiple positions in the secondary, but he is expected to be a starter at one of the safety spots.

The Sooner secondary is a primary concern if OU is going to improve defensively, which head coach Lincoln Riley has said is one of the team’s primary focuses this season. They will be some growing pains to begin with, but once this group gets on the same page, the talent is there to make a big difference.

Statistical information for this article was obtained from the 2018 Oklahoma Football Media Guide.