Danny Stutsman made an announcement on Monday afternoon that completely changes the trajectory of Oklahoma's future in the Southeastern Conference.
The Oklahoma linebacker announced he'll return for his senior season in a video posted to social media.
With his return in 2024, there's an argument to be made that the SEC's top linebacker in the SEC will reside in Norman, Oklahoma, considering the numbers he's put up the last two seasons: 224 tackles, 26.5 tackles for loss, 6.0 sacks, three interceptions, seven passes defended, and 21 QB hurries (per Pro Football Focus). This year, he led the Sooners in tackles (99) and TFLs (16.0) while ranking third on the team in snaps despite missing the Oklahoma State game with an injury, per PFF.
It's safe to say that, under Brent Venables' tutelage, there's a widespread sentiment that No. 28 in Crimson is one of the top defenders in the country.
So, when Stutsman announced his return, with the help of former OU linebacker Brian Bosworth, it sent every member of Sooner Nation into the stratosphere knowing that the leader of the OU defense was coming back for one more round in the interlocking "O-U."
It was particularly meaningful considering there was confusion regarding Stutsman's future. Steve Stutsman, Danny's father, confirmed that Danny did inform OU's coaching staff last week that he was declaring for the NFL Draft. Before his announcement on Monday, Danny posted a screenshot of his empty locker, which further led to speculation about a potential departure.
However, Steve told KREF, a radio station in Norman, that a variety of factors helped him decide to stay for one more season with the Sooners.
"This wasn’t a hoax, it was just a matter of getting information, trusting information, and then making a decision," Steve told KREF hosts Parker Thune and Mike Steeley. "It just came down to he made a decision with his heart and you can’t put a dollar sign on what that is. He got a more-than-favorable draft grade. He was ready to go. He didn’t get bombarded by agents, he wasn't pulled around being told different things. He had all the correct information from Oklahoma, from all the contacts I have, NFL, and with the agency that we deal with, one of the top agencies in the NFL.
"So, he had all the correct information and he didn't want to be in a camp somewhere thinking, ‘Man, I wish I could go back. What did I do?’ He didn't want any buyer's remorse so I told him, ‘If you have one ounce of, 'I wanna be there and finish this and then do this for my teammates, my coaches, and fans,' then no one is going to fault you either way, but you can't go back. You can always go to the NFL, but you can’t go back to college.
"This time next year, he won’t have to make that decision. That decision has already been made. It’s life is changing, there’s a fork in the road and you have to choose a fork. Next year, there’s no fork. It’s just go down the path and the path turns into the NFL. I'm happy for him. I know it’s a relief. It's killing him and now he’ll be at practice and we’re on to San Antonio.”
When it came to fatherly advice on one of the biggest decisions of Danny's life, Steve told his son that things change once football becomes a profession and that sometimes, it's not all about the money.
“One of the things I’ve told him is, of course, we talked about pros and cons and what you're feeling right now, these are men's decisions," Steve said. "These are decisions with family and this is what happens daily when you're making big decisions like this. When you get to the NFL, you’re there to possibly take a guy’s job. This guy has a kid and a family. It isn’t going to be chummy, chummy locker room stuff. He’s gonna go home to his wife and kids, you’re gonna go home and play Xbox. It’s two different things. It’s a professional world. There are a lot of things that are expected out of you and there’s a lot of things that go into that so you gotta make sure that this decision is the right one.
"He’s got great coaches that are going to fine-tune his skills and will even make him a better person and player when that happens next year. So, it’s just having all the information and a great team and people around him who want him to do the best and not do it for money. Everything’s not always about the money.”
So, just how close was Oklahoma to moving on without Danny? Well, according to the elder Stutsman, the process had already begun with the equipment staff.
“I want say this, and I hope [Chris] Plank is listening" Steve said with a chuckle. "When Danny took a screenshot of his empty locker, and Plank jumped on it -- which was right. That was his locker. Danny] went up there to go workout and the equipment staff had emptied his locker. He was like, 'what the heck, man? They emptied my locker. I came up here for a lift and I didn’t say anything yet.' They were like, 'Well, you weren’t at practice, we just thought you were gone.’ He said, ‘put my stuff back, I gotta lift.' So he took a picture of his locker and put a little sad face and to say that Danny doesn't know what he's doing is an understatement. He knows exactly what he's doing when he does some of that stuff."
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