All Sooners

Oklahoma Camp Questions: Linebacker

Do the Sooners have enough depth built up at linebacker to feel comfortable heading into Brent Venables' second season?

Ross Lovelace

Oklahoma Camp Questions: Linebacker
Oklahoma Camp Questions: Linebacker /
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AllSooners breaks down the most important questions for each position going into 2023 training camp. Today: linebacker:

Q: Is Danny Stutsman ready to lead the defense?

A: It sure seems like it. With a year of experience and two full off seasons of development under Brent Venables, the time is now for a player like Danny Stutsman. Venables has been quick to praise the veteran linebacker all summer long, and he seems like an easy candidate to have a breakout season.

Stutsman led the Big 12 Conference with 125 total tackles and ranked 18th nationally with 9.6 tackles per game. He did his best to help the defense stay together down the stretch, but the unit continued to struggle. Seeing those struggles up close and personal, it appears Stutsman has taken it upon his shoulders to orchestrate Oklahoma’s defensive turnaround.

“Danny would be the first one to admit that 17 months ago, he wasn’t capable of leading, and he’s in a much different place now,” Venables said at Big 12 media days. “The whole team follows Danny, his emotion, his work, his action. He’s a doer and a giver.”

“I love the maturation that’s taking place with him off the field as much as on the field,” Venables said. “His seriousness, his commitment to excellence every day. He’s put the team and the expectations on his back, and I love that.”

Venables has been around a handful of elite defenses. He knows the type of player it takes to lead one, and clearly believes Stutsman has what it takes.

Q: Where’s the depth outside of Stutsman?

A: Venables hopes that depth has been developed with a year of experience. The Sooners are relying on practice reps and a player led defense to step up and make a difference this fall.

It’s a young group, but it’s a talented group. Kobie McKinzie is an obvious candidate after coming to Norman as a highly touted recruit. He has been under Venables for a year now, learning the in’s and out’s of the complicated defense — and Oklahoma will need him to step up in a big way. Kip Lewis is in the same boat as McKinzie, and he received valuable playing time a season ago to help his development move even faster.

Of course, Jaren Kanak is one of the most promising young players across Venables' defense, and could be slotted next to Stutsman. He played primarily cheetah a season ago, but is talented to move around the unit wherever the Sooners have a need. He added 24 total tackles and one tackle for loss as a true freshman a season ago.

Shane Whitter returns from injury, which gives the Sooners another veteran voice in the room. Venables also added Ferris State transfer Konnor Near, and sang his praises during Media Days. He truly believes Near can make a huge impact on the team.

“The thing about Konnor Near is he’s a four-year starter,” Venables said. “He’s an All-American. He’s a captain. He’s a national champion. My fear at linebacker is that we’ve got one linebacker that’s ever started a college football game in Danny Stutsman. And really wanted to bring the right person, the right individual, the right player that fit our culture, our playing style.

“You know, that brought experience. I wasn’t just going to bring in an experienced guy. I wanted a guy that can line up and play winning football for us. And so Konnor is a guy that’s going to bring instincts, toughness, physicality. He’s gonna be able to lead a defense.”

The incoming freshman class will have a chance to provide depth, too, led by Lewis Carter, Phil Picciotti and Samuel Omosigho. Carter has already been turning heads, impressing his teammates and coaches with otherworldly strength, and that could land him early playing time if the Sooners are in a bind.

The quick answer to this question is Oklahoma’s linebacker depth could come from many different places this season. It’s certainly there, it’s just an inexperienced group needing someone to step up with extended playing time.

Q: Which young linebacker is ready to step up?

A: Of all the highly touted freshman at the linebacker spot, Picciotti, Omosigho, Taylor Heim and Carter, Carter feels like the early favorite for immediate playing time.

It’s hard to adjust to the physicality of Power 5 football coming in as a true freshman, and most of the time it takes a full season to add the weight and strength necessary to make an impact at the next level. For Carter, though, he’s already an outlier in the weight room.

"Lewis Carter, he's a freak in the weight room," fellow linebacker Danny Stutsman said. "We were benching, he did 350 (pounds) for six reps. That's unheard of. (Former Sooners and current Minnesota Vikings linebacker) Brian Asamoah was doing that as a senior, if not even that much."

Venables is waiting on a young linebacker to step up and provide competitive depth, and Carter has a leg up with his strength on the field. Carter was a 4-star recruit, and ranked as one of the top 10 linebackers in the 2023 class according to Rivals. He's listed at 6-foot, 213 pounds, but will seemingly play much bigger than he is. With high praise from Venables and the team's defensive leader in Stutsman, Carter is building trust on the practice field that could lead to early reps.

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Ross Lovelace
ROSS LOVELACE

Experience Ross is a young, up-and-coming sports reporter who has covered the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Oklahoma Sooners over the past six years. He's made guest appearances on various radio stations and has helped out with the All Sooners podcast whenever he gets the chance. Ross enjoys public speaking and has done so at multiple churches and high schools across the OKC metro area. In addition to writing, Ross has been the Play-by-Play announcer for Crossings’ basketball and football programs since 2020. In high school, Ross worked for self-starter blogs and latched onto Thunder Digest, where he discovered his passion for writing. From there, he worked for the OU Daily as a women's basketball reporter and was hired by All Sooners. Ross landed an internship with Sports Illustrated's Inside the Thunder and has since become a full-time contributor. One day, Ross hopes to work in the NBA. Work History Education Ross holds a bachelor's degree in Public Relations and a minor in Communication from the University of Oklahoma. Personal Born and raised in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Ross played basketball and wrote for his own Thunder blog at Crossings High School in OKC, OK. He enjoys reading, New York Jets football and a week at the beach. Ross is engaged to be married at the end of the year. His Twitter handle is @Rosslovelace.

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