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Oklahoma 2024 Report Cards: Led by Danny Stutsman and Kip Lewis, OU's LBs Were the Heartbeat of the Defense

Danny Stutsman and Kip Lewis were relied upon to make big plays all year long for Oklahoma's defense.

Ryan Chapman

Oklahoma linebacker Kip Lewis
Oklahoma linebacker Kip Lewis / BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
In this story:

Brent Venables’ vision for his linebackers was fully realized in 2024.

Danny Stutsman, the leader of the team both on and off the field, was voted a consensus All-American for his high levels of play, and the future revealed itself alongside him. 

Zac Alley and Venables led a unit that was both productive and deep, helping power the OU defense to a fantastic year despite struggles elsewhere on the team. 

Stutsman led the team in tackles, and it wasn’t particularly close. 

He ended the year with 110 total tackles (safety Robert Spears-Jennings was second on the team with 66 tackles), including eight tackles for loss and a quarterback sack. 

Even when Stutsman wasn’t filling up the box score like against Alabama, where he finished with four total tackles, he was hard at work pre-snap lining everyone up and his leadership was invaluable throughout a tough season. 

Read More: Oklahoma 2024 Report Cards

Stutsman became OU’s 83rd consensus All-American in 2024 and the Sooners’ first since wide receiver CeeDee Lamb in 2019.

Entering the season, Stutsman had already cemented his status as a star. 

Alongside him, Kip Lewis continued to bloom in 2024. 

He hit both Alabama schools, Auburn and the Crimson Tide, for pix sixes that effectively ended each contest — though in two very different circumstances — but that was just the flash. Lewis backed up those big plays with substance all season long. 

The 6-foot-1, 215-pound linebacker finished third on the team with 63 total tackles, a mark that fell one tackle short of his 66 tackles in 2023. 

He again totaled four tackles for loss, but his passion and execution in 2024 set the table for him to take over as the leader of the 2025 linebackers alongside Kobie McKinzie. 

Playing both alongside Stutsman and in place of him on various drives, McKinzie finished with career-high 30 tackles, three tackles for loss and 1.5 quarterback sacks. 

Venables once described McKinzie as having concrete in his helmet, and his physicality defending the run added another element to OU’s linebacker room in 2025. 

The well-spoken McKinzie will pair his play on the field with leadership in 2025, as he’s poised to step into a more vocal role next year alongside Lewis. 

Oklahoma’s rotation was also bolstered by Dasan McCullough and Lewis Carter. 

Carter contributed 23 tackles and two tackles for loss in his sophomore campaign, and he also forced a fumble and recovered a fumble.

As McCullough got healthy midway through the season, he was an asset as well — especially in short yardage situations.

McCullough finished with 17 tackles and three tackles for loss in seven games.

Both McCullough and Lewis opted to enter the transfer portal, however, so the Sooners will have to replace that depth in 2025.

At cheetah, outside linebacker Sammy Omosigho was thrust into a much larger role following Kendel Dolby’s season-ending injury against Tennessee in Week 4. 

Omosigho made 39 tackles and ended his sophomore season with five tackles for loss, as well as a pass breakup and a forced fumble. 

Jaren Kanak ended the year with 17 tackles, where he also was a key member of OU’s coverage units on special teams. 

He recovered a fumble for a touchdown in the season-opener against Temple off a punt, and will factor into the rotation next year playing a fourth season under Venables’ guidance. 

At times, the linebackers struggled in space against opposing tight ends, but its just a minor nitpick on a massively successful season for the unit. 

Sooners on SI Grade: A

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Ryan Chapman
RYAN CHAPMAN

Ryan is deputy editor at AllSooners and covers a number of sports in and around Norman and Oklahoma City. Working both as a journalist and a sports talk radio host, Ryan has covered the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma City Thunder, the United States Men’s National Soccer Team, the Oklahoma City Energy and more. Since 2019, Ryan has simultaneously pursued a career as both a writer and a sports talk radio host, working for the Flagship for Oklahoma sports, 107.7 The Franchise, as well as AllSooners.com. Ryan serves as a contributor to The Franchise’s website, TheFranchiseOK.com, which was recognized as having the “Best Website” in 2022 by the Oklahoma Association of Broadcasters. Ryan holds an associate’s degree in Journalism from Oklahoma City Community College in Oklahoma City, OK. 

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