Mar. 22—Oklahoma hit the transfer portal to add some much-needed veteran depth on the defensive line.

The Sooners brought in four redshirt seniors on the defensive front that have combined to play 131 games. It was an area that the Sooners needed to upgrade after the unit struggled in the first year in head coach Brent Venables’ system.

Davon Sears played two seasons in junior college at Ellsworth Community College before transfering to Texas State. The 6-2, 282-pound defensive lineman played in all 12 games last season and recorded 15 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and a sack on a team that finished 22nd in the country in rushing defense.

Jacob Lacey was ranked the No. 114 recruit nationally in his recruiting class by ESPN, but saw his numbers go down each season after recording 14 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss in his freshman season.

Wake Forest transfer Rondell Bothroyd brings the most experience, having appeared in 58 games over four seasons. Bothroyd registered 30 tackles, eight tackles for loss and six sacks last season with eight starts.

“Those guys have a mature approach because this is their last shot,” OU defensive coordinator Ted Roof said about the defensive line transfers. “They’re here for a reason and they understand that. So a sense of desperation to make this work for them. In terms of physicality you’ve got to drill it, you’ve got to demand it and then when you put pads on you’ve got to do it over and over again. We coach really hard because it’s a habit just like anything else.”

Trace Ford was a four-star prospect coming out of high school, and started 15 of 28 games over his first two seasons with Oklahoma State. After missing the 2021 season due to injury, the 6-2, 251pound defensive lineman played in the first nine games last season before going down with another injury.

They’ll be joining a defensive front that are expected to take another step forward in their second year under Venables. Isaiah Coe, Reggie Grimes II, R Mason Thomas, Marcus Stripling, Ethan Downs, Jordan Kelley all return after seeing action last season.

The Sooners have talented freshman that can challenge them for starting roles. Adepoju Adebawore was a consensus five-star recruit from Kansas City and was rated the second-best edge rusher by 247Sports.

Derrick LeBlanc is a 6-5, 278-pound defensive lineman from Kissimmee, Fla that was ranked 34th in the country at his position.

“There’s a maturity usually that’s a little bit different just because they’re older and whether they’ve been scarred up or they’ve played a lot and they’ve grown, they’ve matured,” Venables said about the transfer portal. “So their mindset a lot of times is different than maybe a freshman. So that can be an advantage.”