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Oklahoma Sooners coaching staff excited for the whole world to respect their defensive line heading into the 2025 season

Originally posted on A to Z Sports | By AJ Schulte | Last updated Aug 22, 2025 5:03 PM ET

If you had told an Oklahoma Sooners fan three or four years ago that Oklahoma would have the best defensive line in college football, they would have looked at you like you had grown a second head.

After all, the Sooners were getting pushed around frequently in the trenches under Lincoln Riley, with their run defense relying more on unpredictable disruption instead of consistent stuffing. Now, however, under Brent Venables, things are changing.

Venables, defensive tackles coach Todd Bates, and defensive ends coach Miguel Chavis, have completely turned the Sooners' defensive line around, and have turned it into one of the strongest position units in recent Oklahoma Sooners memory.

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Oklahoma Sooners' Dominant Defensive Line

Bates spoke about the transformation Oklahoma's defensive line has undergone under his watch. This staff has rebuilt the bodies of this room in order to stack up against the SEC.

"We only have one guy now that’s under 300 pounds at defensive tackle. When I first got here, we had only one 300-pounder. So we’ve flipped the script on that and just put the work in. We had only one 300-pounder in the room. I believe I was the heaviest in the room. That ain’t the case anymore."

The only player in their defensive tackle room who isn't close to the 300-pound mark is Nigel Smith II, who converted over from defensive end and is still at a respectable 290 pounds. It's abundantly clear that the Sooners have built the beef up front to handle the size of the SEC.

Their defensive end room is just as potent, but it's their pass rush potential that has the staff excited. R Mason Thomas is one of the most dominant pass rushers in the country, but the rest of that room is five legitimate players deep and buzzing with potential.

"We’re very versatile, very aggressive, and we’ve led the country in sacks and tackles for loss under Coach V for a long time. And those guys, they see that, they wanna be a part of that sack culture, that tackle for loss culture that we have, where we’re being aggressive and you get to pin your ears back and go get the quarterback."

The Sooners aren't the only ones high on their defensive line this season. SEC Network analyst Cole Cubelic stated Oklahoma has the best defensive line in the country. However, this coaching staff is wary of embracing that kind of poison, with the staff emphasizing that they have to earn respect every Saturday.

However, this unit is hungry and ready to prove itself. After returning all of its talent from their stellar showing last season, the Sooners' defensive line is looking to put its stamp on the college football world and finally earn nationwide respect for its ability.

This article first appeared on A to Z Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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