After Two Solid Years, Oklahoma DT Gracen Halton is Still Trending Up

The Sooners' defensive line looks more SEC-ready than it's been in a generation, and Halton's continued improvements are one of the big reasons why.

Oklahoma defensive lineman Gracen Halton / Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

NORMAN — You know Da’Jon Terry. You’ve heard all about Damonic Williams. You no doubt have seen highlights from David Stone and Jayden Jackson.

But don’t undersell what Gracen Halton can bring to the Oklahoma defense in 2024.

Now a junior on the Sooners’ defensive front line, Halton is up to 291 pounds, is fully healthy and has seemingly worked his way into the rotation among OU’s d-tackles.

“I really like the improvement of Gracen Halton,” head coach Brent Venables said recently.

Remember, Halton was a disruptive force in each of his two Red/White Games, with five tackles and two quarterback sacks as a true freshman in 2023 and four tackles, two tackles for loss and another sack this past spring.

Quarterback sacks in spring games can be spotty — QBs wear a blue no-contact jersey and get called down any time a defender so much as swipes a paw in their direction — but Halton did beat his blocker and collapse the pocket consistently in those scrimmages.

“G-Baby has been around the scheme for a while,” now-retired Jacob Lacey said last spring, “even though it’s a little different with Coach (Zac) Alley, but the same concepts.”

For his part, Halton said he’s just using each rep, each practice as an opportunity to get better, and he’s trying to make small improvements each day as the Sooners lead up to next Friday’s season opener against Temple.

“Just stacking days, getting one percent better every day,” Halton said. “I’m going 1-0 every day. Coach BV always stresses that. So just trying to get better every day. That’s a big part of my process, the team’s process. Just stacking days.”

---

MORE GRACEN HALTON

Oklahoma Lands Talented Defensive Lineman
Five Defensive Players to Watch in the Spring Game
Three Defensive Players to Watch Coming Out of Camp

---

Halton said he and his teammates can’t wait to take on the Southeastern Conference.

“Definitely, I’ve been thinking about it every day, every night,” he said. “I have dreams about it, just making plays. Like you said, the SEC, they’re the No. 1 division, so we’re ready to attack it.”

Performing well in the spring scrimmages beats the alternative, of course, but it’ll be a major step up when the Tennessee Volunteers come to Norman on Sept. 21, or when the Sooners visit Auburn on Sept. 28.

Halton does have real-game experience on the OU defensive front. As a freshman in 2022, he played 74 defensive snaps, according to Pro Football Focus, and he posted an overall defensive grade of 54.0, with a 56.6 on run defense and a 57.9 on pass rush situations.

Last year, Halton played 91 snaps, and his PFF defensive grade surged to 76.2, while his grade against the run was 74.2 and his pass rush grade was 71.8. His best single-game grades were 75.6 against Tulsa and 74.7 against Arkansas State, but he also posted a 71.7 against TCU in the regular-season finale. He got double-digit snaps in six of his nine games in 2023.

Now, even with Terry back, even with Williams’ arrival from TCU through the transfer portal, even with Stone and Jackson’s impressive high school resumes, more will be expected of Halton this year as he continues to learn the nuances of the game under d-line coach Todd Bates.

“Really excited,” Halton said. “It all started in January. We were ready for the season coming up. For it to finally be here, guys are excited and ready to get playing. Get hitting some heads.”

Halton was a 4-star prospect out of St. Augustine High School in San Diego, and was No. 264 on the ESPN 300. Athletic and explosive, the 6-foot-3 Halton was projected to play defensive end out of high school, where he also played tight end (he caught 14 passes for 195 yards and five touchdowns as a senior) and was a finalist for San Diego County’s Silver Pigskin Trophy.

He originally committed to Oregon, but when Mario Cristobal left Eugene for Miami, Halton decommitted. He picked OU over Miami, Oregon, USC and others.

Now, two years in, Halton is preparing to make a lasting impact on the third iteration of Venables’ defense. He’s been motivated all offseason to get more snaps and make more plays, and has been working diligently.

“Just knowing what I need to get better at,” he said. “Either the playbook, getting off the ball, technique issues. Every day getting better at what I need to get better at.”

Such as?

“Just technique issues,” he said. “If I made a mistake yesterday in practice, just being better. That’s just one percent — just fixing my mistakes.”

Since Halton measures his progress on the concept of percentages, does he feel comfortable offering an assessment on how much better he is this year — percentage-wise — than he was last year? 

“This is a very humbling question,” Halton said. “I would say from last year, I was about 40 percent (better), now I’m about another 40. So 80 percent total. Ready to go. So once the season gets here I’ll be 100.”

Halton also said he’s learned the defense — and Bates’ techniques — almost like a second language. 

“Way better understanding from last year,” he said. “Just going over the mistakes that I made last year, technical issues and being better.”

In the SEC, teams with great defensive line play tend to win games much more often. It’s a tenet of SEC football, and defense who can’t compete up front, defenses who can’t disrupt the opponent’s attack from the inside out, have little chance of succeeding.

Game days will be the ultimate test, of course. But this offseason, and certainly this preseason, OU’s defensive line rotation is by all accounts more SEC-ready now than it’s been in a generation. 

“Loving it,” Halton said. “A lot of work to do. A long season ahead. But those guys have got a good head on their shoulders so they know the hard work it takes to understand the playbook. Just getting prepared, they’ve done a great job. 

“Myself, I’m just studying every day. The young guys have done a great job staying ahead and just being great on the field.”