Oklahoma football: Sooners land top defensive tackle from transfer portal

The transfer portal giveth and taketh away, and the Oklahoma football program landed a giant defensive find on Thursday in more ways than one.

The Sooners beat out Texas, LSU and Missouri to land the services of prized defensive tackle Damonic Wiiliams, one of the top players available in the spring transfer portal. The transfer from TCU is the third transfer to commit to Oklahoma in the spring portal window, joining defensive lineman Jermayne Lole from Louisville and center Branson Hickman from SMU.

Williams announced his commitment on Thursday evening via social media. "Sooner Nation, I want you to know at the end of the day I chose you because of relationships with Coach V & Coach Bates & the staff," he wrote on X (formerly Twitter). "They were genuine & I believe in their ability to develop me as a man & a player & prepare me for the next level."

Williams is an ideal fit to the mold that head coach Brent Venables likes to have in the interior of the defensive line and the type of big, strong and athletic player at the point of attack that Venables built his championship-level defenses around when he was at Clemson and before at Oklahoma.

Williams will be a plug and play addition to the 2025 Sooner defense when OU debuts this coming season in the SEC. He will likely start at nose tackle. The 6-foot, 2-inch, 320-pound D-lineman has two years of eligibility remaining, but there is a good chance he will declare to move on the next level

A California native, from Mission Hills, Williams started every game for TCU the past two seasons and was part of the Horned Frogs team that played in the College Football Playoff national championship game in January 2023. He has recorded 60 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks in his college career.

Williams is the "prototypical nose tackle," says recruiting analyst John Wiiliams of Sooners Wire, and Oklahoma-dedicated website affiliated with the USA Today network. "He's got great size, strength and quickness to be a force in the middle of a defensive line."

The addition of Williams will definitely help upgrade the Oklahoma defensive front next season. The rotation of Wiliiams, Da'Jon Terry and freshman Jayden Jackson provides OU with experience, strength and depth at the important nose tackle position.