Oklahoma football: OU secondary will only be as good as the guys up front

Anticipation is building for the start of the 2018 Oklahoma football season and chances for another successful championship run.

With less than two weeks to go before the kickoff to the 2018 college season, much has been written about an improved defense being the key to the Sooners chances of continuing to play at an exceptionally high level in Lincoln Riley’s second season as head coach.

Oklahoma ranked 87th in the country last season in passing yards allowed and 85th in passing efficiency defense, all of which can be partially attributed to the inability of the Sooner defense, especially the guys on the front lines, to get enough disruptive pressure on the quarterback.

The OU secondary has been much maligned, going back several seasons, for giving up too many big pass plays. The truth is, however, if you aren’t able to get to the quarterback and disrupt his passing rhythm, it becomes more difficult for the defensive backs to cover good college receivers — and, believe me, there are an abundance of high-quality receivers in the Big 12.

The Sooners’ poor pass-rush performance last season is underscored in their No. 82 ranking in team sacks. OU defenders averaged under two quarterback sacks per contest in 2017.

“Havoc rate,” according to Athlon Sports’ 2018 College Football Preview issue, is a defensive ratio obtained by combining a team’s tackles for loss, forced fumbles and passes defended (i.e., intercepted or broken up) and dividing that sum by total defensive plays. OU’s rate was 14 percent in 2017, which ranked 98th out of 129 FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) teams. Only Texas Tech ranked worst among Big 12 teams.

While Sooner fans are quick to point fingers at poor play in the secondary as OU’s biggest defensive problem, that is really more of an outgrowth or a symptom of where the real problem lies: the defensive line.

Oklahoma has a history of outstanding performers on the defensive line: the Selmon brothers, Tony Casillas, Tommie Harris and Gerald McCoy, just to name a few. And those are just the All-Americans. The OU defensive line play has not been strong in recent years as it has been historically, but if you buy into what Calvin Thibodeaux, Ruffin McNeill and other Sooner coaches who work with the defensive line are saying, this season could be a turning point in getting stronger defensive play up front.

You can’t have enough big, strong, athletic bodies up front who can get off blocks, plug up the running lanes and get into the backfield, says Thibodeaux, who coaches the defensive ends.

The Sooners’ experience, depth and overall talent on the defensive line is as good this season as it’s been in years, according to the OU coaches. Seven players return on the D-line who have extensive game experience, and they are joined by a talented freshmen recruiting class.

Senior Marquise Overton and redshirt junior Neville Gallimore provide a veteran presence in the interior of the D-line, along with Dillon Faamatau, who is in his second season at OU as a juco transfer.

There are high expectations for redshirt junior Kenneth Mann at defensive end. Mann was second on the team last season with 5.0 sacks and six tackles for loss. He also forced two fumbles coming off the edge. Junior Amani Bledsoe is another big, athletic guy, who can line up on the outside at defensive end or play inside and is expected to see a lot of playing time in 2018.

Among the newcomers who are expected to see action and help strengthen the Sooners’ play up front on defense are U.S. Army All-America ends Ron Tatum and Ronnie Perkins, as well as four-star defensive tackle Jordan Kelley.

Interestingly, Oklahoma’s 22-member 2018 recruiting class included five defensive lineman and five defensive backs, the most at any position.

So if Oklahoma is going to improve in overall defense, the play of the defensive line is going to have to be primary to improvements in the secondary.