OU DEPTH CHART: OKLAHOMA SEEKS DEPTH BEHIND STRONG DEFENSIVE TACKLE FOUNDATION
NORMAN, OK — As the Oklahoma Sooners prepare for their highly anticipated 2025 campaign, one area drawing considerable attention from coaches and fans alike is the defensive tackle (DT) position — not because of weakness, but due to the impressive talent at the top and the urgent need to build reliable depth behind it.
Anchoring the interior of the Sooners’ defensive front is returning All-Big 12 performer Jayden Wallace, a 6-foot-3, 305-pound wrecking ball known for his elite combination of strength, quickness, and football IQ. Wallace enters the season as a preseason All-American candidate and is projected as a first-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. Alongside him is rising junior Tyrese Montgomery, a former four-star recruit whose breakout spring has turned heads inside the Switzer Center.
“Wallace and Montgomery give us a dominant 1-2 punch in the trenches,” head coach Brent Venables told reporters during summer workouts. “But championship teams don’t just have starters — they have rotational guys who can produce with no drop-off.”
Behind the starters, however, question marks remain. Sophomore Malik Abrams has shown flashes in limited reps but struggled with consistency in gap integrity last fall. True freshman Cameron Dorsey, a 6-foot-4, 290-pound early enrollee from Houston, has drawn praise for his motor but remains raw against seasoned offensive lines.
Defensive line coach Todd Bates has emphasized cross-training players like Kelvin Rhodes, a converted end, to add versatility and cover potential injury scenarios. “We’ve got to build depth the same way we build trust — rep by rep, practice by practice,” Bates said.
With the move to the SEC looming in 2026, Oklahoma’s urgency to bolster its defensive tackle rotation is as much about long-term survival as it is about short-term success. For now, the top-tier foundation is solid. But the Sooners know that in today’s college football landscape, depth wins championships — and Oklahoma is still digging.
