How Oklahoma LB Kobie McKinzie Earned Playing Time in a Crowded Linebacker Room
NORMAN — At the start of the 2023 season, redshirt freshman linebacker Kobie McKinzie was playing sparingly for an Oklahoma defense that looked vastly improved from 2022.
With Danny Stutsman and Jaren Kanak manning the first team linebacker spots and Kip Lewis usually getting the first nod off of the bench, McKinzie was mostly getting on the field as a reserve defender with the majority of his snaps coming once the game was already out of hand.
In a 73-0 victory over Arkansas State, McKinzie recorded four tackles. When OU took down Tulsa 66-17 in Week 3, the Lubbock, TX, native recorded three more tackles.
Aside from the two aforementioned blowouts, however, McKinzie had just two combined tackles in the team's contests against SMU, Cincinnati, Iowa State, Texas, UCF and Kansas.
After Stutsman suffered an injury against the Jayhawks that held him out of Bedlam the next week, however, McKinzie was thrown into the fire against one of the top running backs in college football.
The 6-foot-2, 238-pound linebacker held his own against the Cowboys, playing a major role in helping the Sooners' defense hold Ollie Gordon to just 4.2 yards per carry, well below his season average of 6.7 yards per carry.
With Lewis and McKinzie taking over as the team's main two linebackers in Stillwater, each member of the young duo played well against the run. While Lewis' 15 tackles received most of the media attention, McKinzie tallied a career-high seven tackles against Oklahoma State.
A week later, McKinzie almost recorded his first career interception.
The hard-hitting defender stepped in front of a pass from West Virginia quarterback Garrett Greene, but dropped the ball on what would've been a third down takeaway.
"West V, we called a blitz and it literally would’ve been a sack but the quarterback threw the ball to me," McKinzie said on Monday. "Should’ve had an interception."
Against BYU on Saturday, McKinzie played a big role in the Sooners' defense once again, earning plenty of snaps alongside Stutsman, the team's star linebacker. While McKinzie recorded just five tackles, his impact felt much bigger, as the second-year player was all over the field.
At one point, the Cougars broke off a long run, and McKinzie tracked down the ball-carrier nearly 20 yards downfield. Later in the game, the blossoming linebacker sprinted out to the flat to help blow up one of BYU's screen passes.
On Stutsman's game-changing strip sack of Cougars' quarterback Jake Retzlaff, McKinzie recognized that the Oklahoma defense wasn't in the right alignment and quickly changed the call, allowing Stutsman to come off the edge and make one of the biggest plays of the game.
"Big, for the simple fact that if I don’t communicate to Danny right there, they have enough to pick us up and we don’t have enough to guard them per se," McKinzie said on Monday evening.
"We’re going to be really weak in that situation. The quarterback would have all day, there’s big on big protection and ultimately bringing Danny over, they didn’t have enough."
Over the past three games, McKinzie has played 106 total snaps for the Sooners' defense compared to just 47 snaps in the previous eight weeks.
After practice on Monday, the former 4-star recruit from Cooper High School (TX) said that even when he wasn't getting as much playing time as he wanted, he maintained his poise and awaited his opportunity.
"That’s the belief that the work you have put in that you will ultimately have the output. I have lived my life like that," McKinzie said.
"I know that I’ve done my deeds. I will reap what I sow. I’ve been happy for everybody in every moment. Never jealous of anybody. As a man, that’s just an aspect of growing up. It’s good that it’s happening and not surprising to me at all because I’ve put in that work, for me and everybody in that room."
According to head coach Brent Venables, McKinzie's intelligence is one of the attributes that has helped the young linebacker make an such a big impact for OU over the past month.
"Been real proud of him. His mental part of the game is really good. He takes full responsibility. A lot of young guys don’t want to look at the man in the mirror and they allow themselves to beat themselves or they let external factors distract," Venables said at his weekly press conference.
"Kobie has a maturity when it comes to those things. He’s one of the smartest linebackers we have. He’s improved tremendously fundamentally. He’d fall down a lot ten months ago. He’s gotten quicker with his feet and his balance and his blitz timing and his ability to strike. He has a tremendous upside, too. He has a high ceiling still in front of him as well. He comes in on his own a lot and lets you coach him hard and takes responsibility."
With Kanak still struggling to adjust to the linebacker position after playing quarterback in high school and Lewis still needing to add weight at 212 pounds, McKinzie has stepped in and played very well for the Sooners.
Lewis and Kanak have still earned plenty of playing time and likely will continue to get their share of in-game reps, but McKinzie has the size, experience and mentality that help him succeed alongside a veteran linebacker like Stutsman.
With at least two games left in Oklahoma's season, McKinzie will likely play an important role in Venables' defense going forward, as he has proven that he can be a difference-maker for OU. After a solid close to the 2023 season, the talented young defender will have a chance to compete for a starting spot in 2024, especially if Stutsman declares for the NFL draft.
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