Why Oklahoma's Gracen Halton Says Because of Todd Bates, 'You'll See Me in the NFL'

There's a reason why Oklahoma's defensive linemen have serious confidence in highly regarded coach assistant Todd Bates.

Ross Lovelace | Dec 23, 2022

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Oklahoma Sooners

Despite an inconsistent season on the field, falling way short of the team’s preseason goals, Oklahoma’s young pieces remain locked in for the long haul.

It wasn’t the defensive resurgence expected by many in Brent Venables’ first season in Norman. Oklahoma won just six games, and the defensive problems of past Sooner teams seemed to show up all season long.

After losing a large amount of defensive talent to the NFL last offseason, a steeper dropoff likely should’ve been expected in hindsight. With so many departures, though, some of the talented youngsters found ways to have an impact on the field.

Despite the rough patches throughout the season, the future still looks promising, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Struggles on the field opened the door for early playing time. Players like freshman defensive lineman Gracen Halton, who found playing time at multiple positions and reaffirmed his trust in d-line coach Todd Bates and the rest of the coaching staff, are a big reason way.

“I'll say the one word is trust,” Halton said. “You know, all those guys that came before me (at Clemson) trusted him. And he put them in the league. So I'm just trusting him. Coach Bates, two or three years, four years, you’ll see me in the NFL.”

After spending the past few seasons with the Tigers, Bates developed quite the reputation for developing defensive linemen and helping his guys reach the next level. The addition of Bates was an important hire for Oklahoma’s future plans to move to the SEC.

Even though Oklahoma didn’t experience the expected on-field defensive success this season, Bates’ track record is still strong and the highly touted recruits from a season ago have reason to believe. Both Halton and fellow freshman R Mason Thomas progressed throughout the season and earned more snaps towards the end of the year. Halton finished the season logging 73 snaps, while Thomas led all defensive freshmen with 212 snaps. Their improvement throughout this fall adds another reason to trust Bates.

“He knows about ball,” Halton said. “He knows about the game, just like, technique and everything else. So you know, everything that we run, you know, it makes sense. It's not like I'm watching film and it’s like, ‘Oh, I don't understand this, coach, I don’t understand this.’ Because I'm looking at it like, ‘OK coach, I get what you're saying.’ So I know already, from the knowledge that he has, he's gonna get me ready to go.”

For Halton and the rest of the defensive line, having a coach as knowledgeable as Bates is a great resource. He knows how Oklahoma’s defense operates, and how to best help his players get to the next level.

“Oh, every day,” Halton said. “He's gonna tell me what to avoid and what to do right. You know, everything is 'Do everything right,' you know, try to do everything right. If I don't do it right, then he's on me. So that's what it is. That's true love right there.”

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Published Dec 23, 2022

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.