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Oklahoma football: PFF cites two Sooners best of returning Big 12 edge rushers

By Chip Rouse

Trace Ford, right, pushes Rondell Bothroyd as the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) college football team holds spring practice outside of Gaylord Family/Oklahoma Memorial Stadium on March 21, 2023 in Norman, Okla.tramel cover
Trace Ford, right, pushes Rondell Bothroyd as the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) college football team holds spring practice outside of Gaylord Family/Oklahoma Memorial Stadium on March 21, 2023 in Norman, Okla.tramel cover /
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It’s no secret that Brent Venables and his Oklahoma football defensive coaches are placing prime emphasis on getting not just better but much better on the defensive side of the ball.

While he was defensive coordinator at Clemson, the Tigers were renowned for recruiting and developing some of the best defensive line talent available, numerous of which have been high NFL draft picks. Venables is a strong proponent of creating disruption at the point of attack and getting constant pressure on the quarterback.

Rushing the passer and playing the run are two areas the Sooners must get better if they want to win more than six games, and especially of they are going to get back to the 10- or 11-win total.

The good news for Sooner football fans looking ahead to the 2023 season is that two Oklahoma players are among the highest-graded 2022 edge rushers in the Big 12 who are returning for the coming season, according to Pro Football Focus.

https://twitter.com/PFF_College/status/1667918863701544962?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1667918863701544962%7Ctwgr%5Ee28eb9d7567ff0465f398b801164889bb4350d71%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fsoonerswire.usatoday.com%2F2023%2F06%2F12%2Foklahoma-sooners-2024-defense-pff-rondell-bothroyd-ethan-downs-miguel-chavis%2F

Wake Forest transfer Rondell Bothroyd graded the highest of all Big 12 edge defensive players entering the 2023 season. OU Junior Ethan Downs ranked sixth, based on the PFF grading system.

Oklahoma and Cincinnati, a newcomer to the Big 12 beginning in 2023 are the only two teams with two returning edge rushers in the top 10.

The past two seasons playing at Wake Forest, Bothroyd was credited with a total of 93 tackles, 24.5 tackles for loss and 13 quarterback sacks.

In 13 starts for Oklahoma last season, Downs got progressively better as the season went along and was playing his best football at the end of the season. He had 38 tackles, 13.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks. Seven of those tackles for loss and two sacks came in the final three games of the year.

Although those are good numbers, the Sooners are going to have to get even more out of those two players in the coming season if Oklahoma is going to be able to demonstrate marked improvement in its defensive performance.

The Sooners ranked 121st out of 131 FBS teams a year ago in total defense. Most defensive coordinators will tell you total defensive performance is largely predicated on what happens upfront in the trenches and on the edge.

Defensive line was a key area of recruiting in Oklahoma’s No. 4-ranked 2023 class and continues so in the 2024 recruiting cycle.

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