Brent Venables was brought in as the 23rd head coach of Oklahoma football after the 2021 season and charged with the chief objective of improving a broken down and ill-functioning defense.
Mission accomplished... and then some.
In Venables' first season back in Norman in 2022, the OU defense he inherited ranked 122nd in the country in total defense, allowing opponents an average of 461.0 yards per game and 99th in scoring defense, giving up 30.0 points per outing. Last season, the rebuilt and reengineered Sooner defense ranked No. 6 nationally in total defense (272.5 yards allowed per game) and No. 7 in scoring defense (15.5). The Sooners also wreaked havoc in their opponents' backfields, totaling 45 sacks, third-best in the FBS.
Sooners defense built on program guys
That stellar 2025 Oklahoma defense led the SEC last season, a conference that regularly possesses some of the best defensive teams in all of college football, and although it lost some key pieces after last season, the OU starting unit should be equally elite heading into the 2026 season because of all the talent and experience the Sooners have returning.
The Oklahoma defense has made steady improvements each of the four seasons under Venables' direction and leadership. He has built a sterling reputation as one of the best defensive minds in the college game, and the Sooners are once again reaping the benefits of what attracting and acquiring top defensive talent and, importantly, developing and retaining that talent can produce.
A closer look at the projected starting 11 on the Oklahoma defense entering the new season reveals a particularly telling characteristic that helps explain the Sooners' dramatic turnaround on defense and a design for continued success going forward.
All 11 of the projected defensive starters began their college careers at Oklahoma. This is a remarkable statistic given all the options and financial incentives available to college student-athletes today through NIL and the transfer portal.
Only one projected starter, sophomore cornerback Courtland Guillory, has been in the OU program for less than one year. Every current defensive starter other than Guillory played on the 2024 Oklahoma team that finished with an overall 6-7 record, including a disappointing loss to Navy in the Armed Forces Bowl.
Coming out of such an unsatisfying first season in the SEC, it would have been easy for some players to consider their options and transfer out. But none did that, and they were subsequently rewarded with a trip to the College Football Playoff in 2025.
"None of these guys are portal guys, they're are all home-grown, recruited out of high school and guys that have helped us become an elite (defensive) unit," Venables said in a recent interview on SEC Network.
Venables was speaking specifically about defensive linemen Tyler Wein, David Stone, Jayden Jackson and Danny Okoye, linebackers Kip Lewis, Owen Heinecke, cheetah Reggie Powers, cornerbacks Guillory and Eli Bowen, and safeties Payton Bowen and Michael Boganowski. Between them, those 11 defensive starters have 27 seasons of collective experience in Venables defensive system.
"That's a group of guys who are incredibly invested in our program," Venables said, "and have been here."
Read more: Brent Venables sounds like he already has the Sooners' starting defense figured out
The Sooners may not have the level of competitive depth at all three levels of the 2026 defense that they had with the 2025 group, but believe me, there is still plenty of backup talent waiting for their opportunity and the chance to shine.
The bottom line is, if the Oklahoma offense is able to make the improvements that a number of internal and external sources are expecting, Team 132 of Sooner football is going to be a very difficult team for even the best in the SEC to contend with. And the 2026 OU schedule is loaded with some of the best the SEC has to offer.
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