The Oklahoma Sooners have very few holes on the defense heading into the 2026 college football season. The Sooners return several key players from a top-10 unit last season. Players like defensive linemen Taylor Wein, David Stone and Jayden Jackson; linebackers Kip Lewis and Owen Heinecke; and defensive backs Peyton and Eli Bowen and Courtland Guillory all played major roles on last year's team and return this season. The question for the Sooners is depth at certain positions. Particularly, the interior defensive line. Stone and Jackson are expected to start this upcoming season. But the Sooners lost Damonic Williams and Gracen Halton, who started games last season. Oklahoma will have to rely on transfer Bishop Thomas and young players James "Tank" Carrington and Nigel Smith II. Head coach Brent Venables has said in the past that a defense can't be great unless they are great up the middle. He was asked on Friday if he had seen any progress during fall camp. "Still have a long way to go," Venables said via SoonerScoop. "I like the attitude and the hunger of the guys. We have a long way to go when it comes to that." Venables' comments shouldn't necessarily be viewed as a major concern, especially with the rest of Oklahoma's defense returning so much experience. But they do highlight the biggest area the Sooners need to get right before the season begins. The interior defensive line is particularly important because Oklahoma's defense is built around creating disruption and controlling the line of scrimmage. If Stone and Jackson can take another step forward while the younger players provide reliable depth, the Sooners should have one of the more complete defensive fronts in the country. Carringon could be especially interesting to watch after earning praise from Stone earlier in fall camp. The freshman has already shown enough to generate excitement, but Venables will need more than potential from him and the rest of the young defensive tackles once the games begin. The good news for Oklahoma is that this is a fixable problem on an otherwise loaded defense. If the Sooners can become more consistent in the middle, it could take an already elite unit and make it one of the best defenses in the country again in 2026.
Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X (formerly known as Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Jaron on X @jaronspor. This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: Oklahoma's Brent Venables gives honest assessment of the interior DL