Surprisingly, the Oklahoma Sooners were without defensive end Danny Okoye for their season opener.
As the Sooners were warming up for their Week 1 game against UTEP on Friday night in Norman, multiple reporters there noticed that Okoye was nowhere to be found with no known reason why. He was eventually on OU's sideline once the game kicked off, but was not suited up. There were multiple reports of injuries this week about the Sooners, but none included Okoye, which is what made his absence such a shock.
"He'll be back," Venables said when asked about Okoye during his postgame press conference. "He'll be fine. We just decided to hold him."
Adepoju Adebawore gets chance for Sooners breakout with no Danny Okoye
After a position battle throughout fall camp, Okoye, a 6-foot-3 and 257-pound junior, was listed as a co-starter at defensive end alongside senior Adepoju "P.J." Adebawore on OU's initial depth chart, which was released on Monday. Adebawore obviously got the start at the edge opposite of Taylor Wein with Okoye not in action.
It would have been Okoye's first career start, if he got the nod, after appearing in 13 total games in his first two years at OU. He tallied six total tackles, two tackles for loss, two sacks and a pass breakup in 11 appearances last season. In 2024, he played in just two games while redshirting, back when redshirts were still a thing in college sports.
Okoye got to Oklahoma in 2024 as a consensus four-star recruit from NOAH Homeschool in Tulsa. According to the 247Sports Composite, Okoye was the No. 12 edge rusher in the country and top overall prospect in the state of Oklahoma.
There's obviously plenty of time for Okoye to still break out in 2026, but for at least a week, Adebawore was in control and ran with this opportunity to reach what's even higher potential as a former five-star recruit and No. 2 edge rusher in the 2023 class. He was also the No. 11 overall player in the class.
Despite the insane recruiting rankings, Adebawore hasn't panned out yet while making his first career start Friday night despite appearing in 36 games between his first three seasons. Last year in 13 games, he had 17 total tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks and a quarterback hurry. In his first start Friday night, Adebawore tallied three total tackles, a tackle for loss and recorded the Sooners' first sack of 2026.
The Sooners were obviously fine without Okoye against UTEP and are fairly deep at defensive end, but he'llstill be a vital depth piece the Sooners need during SEC play, if not sooner for their Week 2 trip to Michigan. Venables was tight-lipped about Okoye, but hopefully that brief comment means the Sooners will have him for their trip to Ann Arbor.
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