NORMAN — Danny Stutsman faced two decisions. He could either follow his NFL dream and declare for the draft, or he could return to Oklahoma for one final season and welcome the Sooners to the Southeastern Conference.
Just how difficult was that decision? For the junior linebacker, it was one of the most stressful weeks of his life.
Initially Stutsman decided to go pro and told OU coach Brent Venables earlier this month. That discussion eventually became public, and all indications pointed towards the Sooners losing their defensive leader.
"When I first talked to him, I told him I was fully decided," Stutsman said during Tuesday's media availability. "If you’re talking to coach V, you can’t really have any doubt because he’s going to talk to you for hours and try to convince you to stay. I knew when I called him that first time, I had to be 100% committed. He gave me his spiel.
"I said, ‘Look coach, it’s what’s best for my family.’ He had my back 100%. He was like, ‘If that’s really what you think, I’m going to support you no matter what. You’ve done so much for this university. You’ve given so much to the University of Oklahoma.’
But even as Stutsman told Venables of his decision, he had doubts. As he talked to his family, Stutsman continued to go back and forth.
But a few things ended up pulling Stutsman back to Norman. One of them, critically, was OU safety Billy Bowman announcing last week he would return for one more season.
“200%," Stutsman said when asked how much Bowman's decision impacted his own. "Me and Billy came in here together. We’ve done everything together. We really tried to build this defense together. When he came, said he was coming back, we were talking right after the TCU game. Everything that we’ve done, we wanted to do it together. When I kind of wanted to leave, and he said he was staying, yes, it did sway my decision for sure.”
Another reason? Venables called him on Friday night to talk through the decision again. Eventually, Stutsman felt fully confident about what he wanted to do — he decided to stay for one more go around with the Sooners.
Even still, Stutsman decided to troll OU fans on social media before officially announcing his return. On Monday morning, Stutsman posted a picture of his empty locker, leading some to speculate that his eventual departure was confirmed.
"I kind of had to throw a little smoke screen out there with the locker, which was genuine," Stutsman joked. "I saw my locker getting cleaned out, I was a little sad. I was listening to (norman radio station KREF), he literally said, ‘I know he’s sitting back and laughing.’ Which I was. You guys fell for the bait just how I wanted it. I kind of got you guys on that.”
A few minutes later, Stutsman officially announced his return with a video that featured former OU linebacker Brian Bosworth. The video was originally shot a few weeks ago as part of campaigning for the Butkus Award, an annual honor given to the nation's top linebacker. But when Stutsman wasn't named as a finalist, he repurposed the footage as part of the announcement of his return.
That video is how OU cornerback Gentry Williams learned that Stutsman was staying.
"That was pretty cool," Williams said. "... I had (taken) a nap, I woke up and then it was like ‘I’m not leaving.’” I was like, ‘Woah,' because we all thought just like you guys that he was taking that next level, but he decided to come back and that was pretty cool.
"That was a cool video. He had the Corvette and then he had the little license plate with the ‘Danny Defense.’ Yeah, that was hard. He did a good job with that."
Either way, the announcement was music to the ears of OU's staff and players.
"My dad talked to (Venables) first Sunday night," Stutsman said. "Obviously coach Venables was very ecstatic, then he called me back 10 minutes later and told me he had chill bumps for awhile."
Stutsman's return is significant for the Sooners. The junior led the team in tackles (99) and tackles for loss (16.0) — he ranked second in the Big 12 in both categories — while adding three sacks, an interception and two forced fumbles. He'll also play in the Alamo Bowl on Dec. 28 against No. 14-ranked Arizona, and his return also fortifies the Sooners' defense heading into the first SEC season.
"It's great for the locker room, for the fans and for this culture," Bowman said. "It's great to have a guy like Danny come back and finish his last season out."
While Stutsman initially struggled with the decision, it ultimately became an easy one for him.
"It’s Oklahoma, man," Stutsman said. "It’s where I’ve been my whole career. It’s a place I love. Obviously, this was a very tough decision. I think the heart wanted to stay here. At the end of the day, you can’t turn that down. When it was time for pen to go to paper, it just didn’t feel right. I wasn’t ready to leave this program, all that we’ve built going into Year 3 with Coach Venables; I wasn’t ready to leave just yet.”
