Danny Stutsman named Walter Camp National Defensive Player of the Week

The Oklahoma Sooners moved to 2-0 on Saturday night with a 28-11 victory over the SMU Mustangs (1-1). In what turned out to be a much lower-scoring affair than many expected, evident by the O/U closing at 69 points, it was the Oklahoma defense that carried the day.

Brent Venables' squad has proven in the first two weeks of the 2023 season that they are capable of winning games defensively and did so in Week 2 by holding SMU to its lowest point total in six seasons.

While there were many who flashed defensively for the Sooners in Game 2, there is no question that Danny Stutsman was the best player on the field Saturday evening.

Stutsman tallied 17 tackles (career-high is 18), 2.5 tackles for loss, one sack, one quarterback hurry, and a key fumble recovery in Oklahoma territory, leading him to be named the Walter Camp Defensive Player of the Week.

Stutsman was the field general for an OU defense that held the Mustangs to 367 yards (473 ypg in '22) and 4.6 yards per play (6.1 ypp in '22). The Sooners also held SMU to 4-16 on third down, and 2-4 on fourth down tries.

Stutsman was an honorable mention All-Big 12 selection in 2022 when he led the Big 12 with 125 total tackles and ranked 18th nationally with his 9.6 tackles per game.

According to an Oklahoma press release, this is the 11th time that a Sooner has earned Walter Camp National Player of the Week honors since 2004. Stutsman is the first OU Defensive Player of the Week honoree since Kenneth Murray earned the designation on Sept. 23, 2018, after recording a school-record 28 tackles against Army West Point.

Oklahoma will hit the road for the first time in '23 next week as they head to Tulsa for a 2:30 tilt against the Golden Hurricane on ESPN2.