Oklahoma football: LB Danny Stutsman leads Big 12 in tackles

Sophomore linebacker Danny Stutsman was a player coming into the year that had Sooner nation excited. He flashed quite a bit in 2021 when he was able to make it onto the field as a true freshman. The blue-chip linebacker was a high riser his senior season at Foundation Academy in Winter Garden, Florida. His recruitment blew up, and he was one of the early evaluations of former OU linebackers coach Brian Odom. He started outside of the top 700 prospects and ended up a top 200 player and a four-star prospect. He showed pretty early that he was tough, and had a solid future ahead. Certainly, it likely helped that his father Steve Stutsman had the experience of what it took to play at the next level, given that he was once a Baylor Bear tight end from 1987-1991 in the old SWC. His sister also played college softball for Florida State, so he is in a very athletic family, that understands the process.

Danny is a fun-loving young man, often playing pranks on his teammates, friends, and his own dad! We have been in many twitter spaces in the offseason where Danny has shown off his personality or seen him doing goofy stuff at the women’s basketball games. This leads him to be an endearing figure not only for his teammates and coaching staff but for the fans as well. He has an infectious energy, which is what is needed to be a tremendous leader.

Just how productive was Danny Stutsman in 2022?

Very! The young linebacker led the Big 12 conference in tackles and was 9th in the nation overall.  Stutsman racked up 118 tackles, 9.5 for loss to go along with two sacks. Stutsman also recorded two interceptions. In Danny’s last game against Texas Tech, he recorded a jaw-dropping 18 tackles. When Stutsman is on, he is a tough one to get away from, and he has a knack for always being around the football. According to Pro Football Focus, Stutsman was in on 48 stops, Stops are tackles made that constitute a failed play for the offense.

Exciting future ahead for the young linebacker

There is no better coach in the country at helping linebackers to get to the next level than Brent Venables. And Danny has come an awfully long way already in just one short year. His growth reminds me a lot of what we saw from Kenneth Murray Jr from his freshman to sophomore season. Can Stutsman make a similar jump in 2023? While Kenneth Murray has special athletic talent that few have, from a size standpoint, and speed standpoint, Danny has traits that give him a chance to be an early draft pick in 2024. He stands at 6-foot 4-inches and 240 pounds.  He has the size the NFL wants, and that can help you have an elite defense at the collegiate level. He also runs in the 4.5 – 4.6 range which is where you want to be as a linebacker in the middle.

Things he will need to clean up to reach the next level

Danny on tape had some issues at times with alignment, tackling, and angles. These things are all coachable and fixable issues.  With Venables at the helm Stutsman has improved quite a lot from a preparation standpoint and finds himself working his tail off in the film room, he just needs to polish up a shade in a few spots. The alignment issues were not exclusive to Danny either, run-fit busts have been a problem all season, and it would be tough to envision those types of things not being much improved in the 2023 season.

Danny is always around the football, but his 20 missed tackles on the season according to Pro Football Focus, is simply too many. Add in the angle issues he has shown to have at times and that’s probably about 10-15 more he could’ve in on. However, this is almost nitpicking, it’s rare for a true sophomore to be a starting middle linebacker in a complex defense like the one Brent Venables employs, you have to be an extraordinary talent, and young man to play this many snaps. He will continue to grow in his development and took big leaps throughout the season.