Oklahoma HC Brent Venables Says Backups on Front Seven Must Become ‘More Consistent’

The Sooners' front seven comes into the fall with lofty expectations, but Brent Venables believes the unit still must improve.

Oklahoma coach Brent Venables coaches against Missouri. | Carson Field, Sooners On SI

NORMAN — Oklahoma’s starting linebackers and defensive linemen make up one of college football’s most feared front sevens.

On the interior of the defensive line, David Stone and Jayden Jackson will be the starters. Taylor Wein will start at the left defensive end spot, while either Adepoju Adebawore and Danny Okoye will fill in on the right side. And at linebacker, the trio of Kip Lewis, Owen Heinecke and Cole Sullivan is loaded with experience and talent.

But what about the group behind them?

OU coach Brent Venables believes he has a talented group of backups on his front seven — but there’s still plenty of room for improvement.

“(I) like the attitude and the hunger of the guys,” Venables said. “We have a long way to go when it comes to that.”

Venables, however, singled out several players who have risen to the occasion throughout the offseason.

Two of them were Okoye and Adebawore, both of whom he said have “done a nice job.”

Adebawore is entering his fourth season at Oklahoma, and in 2025, he recorded career highs in tackles (17), tackles for loss (5.5) and sacks (2.5). Okoye was a sophomore last year, and he notched six tackles and two tackles for loss, both of which were sacks. One of them will emerge as OU’s Week 1 starter, while the other will almost certainly be the top backup on the edge.

Also at the position, Venables said that freshman Jake Kreul has similarly “done a nice job.” Kreul was a 5-star prospect, according to ESPN, while 247Sports and Rivals graded him as a 4-star. He likely won’t log any starts in Year 1, but it wouldn’t be surprising if he made several appearances.

OU’s linebacker room is crowded, but Venables noted Sullivan and James Nesta as fall camp standouts.

Sullivan transferred to Oklahoma from Michigan after the 2025 season. He compiled 44 tackles, five tackles for loss, three interceptions and two tackles during his last season with the Wolverines. Sullivan is competing for a starting linebacker spot, but he could also find playing time at the cheetah position, which is a hybrid between defensive back and linebacker.

Nesta only appeared on 40 defensive plays a year ago, and he will be a junior in the fall. He recorded a tackle for loss in the Sooners’ win against Temple in 2025, the first of his career.

Between the undisputed starters and the amount of quality backups, Oklahoma’s front seven has a higher ceiling than just about any other front seven in the nation.

But Venables also realizes that it isn’t where it needs to be yet from a depth standpoint. Playing nine SEC games and a non-conference game against Michigan makes OU’s schedule a gauntlet, and the fifth-year coach knows that his first and second-string linebackers and defensive linemen must be at their best.

The good news for Venables and company? They still have almost three weeks to get sharper and sharper before their season opener against UTEP on Sept. 4.

“I just want to see more of it — I want to see more consistency,” Venables said. “We have to strike blocks better. We have to play faster. We have to rush the passer better. We have to move with more precision and explosiveness, and then again, do it every single day. So we're still working on that.”