Oklahoma football: Two defensive linemen leave program, what does it mean?

Oklahoma football has suffered through some attrition in the past few days with 2018 defensive lineman Ron Tatum reportedly entering the transfer portal and 2019 defensive lineman Derek Green leaving school to serve in the military.

Losing two players at the same position almost always puts a dent in the depth chart. Losing a pair of defensive linemen after signing day can be downright troubling, especially for Oklahoma football where depth at the position has been a problem in the past few years.

Oftentimes players leaving the program points to other factors within the program, especially when that program is undergoing the kind of scheme change the Sooners appear to be headed for.

Both Green and Tatum were recruited to the Sooners’ engage-and-occupy style of defensive line play, where larger (sometimes slower) guys are expected to occupy blockers and control two gaps on every play.

Alex Grinch’s defense looks similar in alignment to what Mike Stoops (and Ruffin McNeil) have employed over the past few years, but a quick look at game film reveals just how different these two schemes are and why some Stoops defensive line recruits might not fit the plans Grinch has for what will want to do next year at Oklahoma.

If Grinch’s time at Washington State is any indication, the Sooners are going to fire off the ball into gaps, rather than attack opposing blockers. They will use slants, pre-snap shifts and stunts to get into those gaps and disrupt opponents plans. Rather than the old method of reacting to what the opponent wants to do.

One needs to look no further than next year’s defensive line class to see what the Sooners are going to be looking for in the future at the position. Kori Roberson, Joseph Wete, Marcus Hicks, LaRon Stokes and Marcus Stripling are all under 270 pounds coming out of high school (not to say that some of them won’t end up over 300 before Bennie Wyle and the OU strength and conditioning program is done with them). Out of that class only the recently departed Green was over 300 pounds his senior year.

Now that’s not to say the Sooners won’t go after bigger defensive linemen. There are plenty of athletes out there weighing over three bills who can move fast enough to play in Grinch’s scheme. They just won’t sacrifice size for speed.

What about the upper classmen?

The Sooners are more experienced up front than they have been in a long time going into 2019, but they also have a roster of guys who have played in the old system for their entire college careers.

Neville Gallimore, Isaiah Thomas, Dillon Faamatau, Tyreece Lott ant Amani Bledsoe are all bigger guys, but all have flashed the athleticism that can fit into Grinch’s attacking style up front.

Spring football will likely be a bit of a funnel for some of these guys. The Sooners have talent up front. They have more natural ability in their defensive line room than any program in the Big 12 outside of maybe Texas, but how those guys react and adapt to the changes Grinch will bring will determine whether or not there is more attrition at the position going forward.

Transfer market?

One would imagine the Sooners are always in the transfer market for quality defensive linemen. You can never have too many good players at the position and every team would love to be truly two-deep, especially in the Big 12 where the speed of the game takes a toll on the big guys in the trenches.

However, Oklahoma football isn’t going to go out and pull a bunch of warm bodies from the transfer ranks, so much will depend on how game-ready guys are.

Either way, we can expect an interesting spring for Oklahoma football, especially on the defensive side of the ball.