Oklahoma football: Sooners add 2 powerful defensive lineman from the portal

June is off to a hot start for the Oklahoma football program. Over the weekend, the Sooners’ defensive line room added two transfer portal defensive linemen, raising the stakes in Todd Bates’ defensive line room.

Da’Jon Terry – Transfer from Tennessee

The first addition came yesterday, June 2nd when former Tennessee defensive tackle Da’Jon Terry notified the Sooners’ staff he’d be headed to Norman. The 6′ 4”, 320-pound monster of a man played his last two seasons at the University of Tennessee. While in Knoxville, Terry played in all 25 games totaling 35 total tackles, six TFLs, and three sacks. He ended his SEC career earning a 2021-2022 First Year SEC Academic honor roll.

Before Terry was in Tennessee, he was a Kansas Jayhawk. While at KU, Terry was a key contributor to the Jayhawks’ defensive line.

Phillip Paea – Transfer from Utah State

The second transfer announcement came this morning when Utah State transfer defensive lineman Phillip Paea announced his intentions to transfer to the Oklahoma football program. Paea is on the second transfer of his career. He initially played for the University of Michigan. During his two years of action in Logan, UT, Paea totaled 16 tackles; 2 were for a loss and an interception. He’s another large defensive tackle, standing 6’4”, 305 pounds.

Terry and Paea add significant mass to the Sooners’ defensive tackle position. These two also mark nine new cycle transfer portal defensive players, indicating that Brent Venables and his staff understand the importance their defensive front plays on the program’s success. The key to the Sooners’ 2023 success hinges on the defensive front.

These two new linemen will be interior guys. Solidifying a three-deep, two-defensive tackle rotation. Depth is critical in long-term season success, especially up front. It’ll be interesting to see how Venables rotates in this interior lineman. Will he manage his rotation situationally? Having the bigger guys in on rushing downs and rotating in pass rushers? Or will he simply stick to a three-pair cycle?

The EDGE position in Norman offers a wealth of pass-rushing capacity. I see this defense trending to an SEC-style defensive front. That will showcase bigger interior guys who demand doubles and allow the edge rushers to be one-on-one with the offensive tackles. Increased sacks and edge pressure opportunities put quarterbacks in more challenging positions and force turnovers.

These two transfer linemen, Terry and Paea, are a continuing sign of a transition to the SEC. Bigger, more physical linemen are a way of the future in Norman. And more importantly, with the potential haul the Sooners could be looking at from the 2024 recruiting class, the defensive line room is quickly becoming the Sooners’ brightest group of all.

Stay tuned for more insight, especially this month. The massive OU Champ U bar-b-q recruiting event is coming up this month. Several of the 2024 recruiting classes’ most significant prospects will be in attendance. Stay tuned to Stormin in Norman for all OU recruiting updates.