Even before the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, one of the biggest questions heading into the 2020 season for Oklahoma was going to be defensive tackle.

Losing Neville Gallimore, Marquise Overton and Dillon Faamatau saw a position of strength in 2019 turn into a giant shrug about this year.

When you add in losing spring because of COVID-19, it just hammers it home even more how big of a spot it is for the Sooners to find fast answers.

One of the guys being looked upon in Perrion Winfrey. The junior college transfer arrived in January but never really received that boost for showing up early once everything shut down.

Less than two weeks from the season opener, defensive line coach Calvin Thibodeaux is about to find out quickly who has made the necessary adjustments.

“You know, with junior college guys and particularly being a January enrollee, you hope to get to spring ball and transition from that JUCO mentality to now being a Sooner,” said Thibodeaux in a Zoom call Wednesday. “And he didn’t get that with spring being canceled.

“You can tell, 6-4, 295, he’s long, he’s athletic and he can do it. He’s got to do it on gamedays but he’s forming good habits in the midst of a pandemic so I’m proud of him. He’s got work to do like everybody else but you can see that the skills are there.”

Running back is a spot with a lot of potential and not a lot of in-game experience. You could say the same about defensive tackle.

No question OU is excited about what Winfrey and other guys brings to the table. But it can’t be about potential, narrative has to change to production.

“I look at a guy like Kori Roberson, he's done a pretty good job for us,” Thibodeaux said. “He's grown. He's taken advantage of his reps. You look at a guy like Jordan Kelley, he's been part of the program. He's grown and you see that, which adds to our depth. Perrion Winfrey, when everything's on he can do it. He can do it at a really high level.

“Josh Ellison, he's doing some good stuff. Isaiah Thomas has kind of swung back and forth. Due to the scheme, it allows him to be really active and penetrate gaps. He's really done some good things for us.”

The production from Gallimore is tough to replace, but it might be even tougher to find that next leader within the room.

It’s early, but if you ask Thibodeaux, his leaders might end up being a pair of former junior college stars.

“Laron Stokes. He's that quiet leader,” Thibodeaux said. “He's going to do it by example. He's just one of those guys that's never on the list. He's always where he needs to be on the field. I don't think he's ever — I'm going to knock on wood — missed a practice. He's just that guy that you know he's going to get everything done.

“Perrion (Winfrey) is an alpha dog. Between those two, being an alpha in Perrion and Laron just knowing what's expected and how to get things done, I think they've done a pretty good job of just holding the group accountable.”

Beamer room growing

There are still some schools that don’t really use the tight end/H-Back position, but we all know OU isn’t one of them.

Now entering his third season, Shane Beamer has seen that room grow and grow. Both in numbers and based on the on-field production.

He’s hoping for more of the same in 2020 from Jeremiah Hall, Brayden Willis and Austin Stogner, among others.

“At least in my room, the way I approach it with my guys, we need to go in with the mindset ‘we’re the guys.’ Coach Riley has a hard time taking us off the field,” said Beamer in a Zoom call Wednesday. “Since I’ve been here, we’ve increased our usage of the two-tight end sets. Selfishly, wish we had all four of those guys out there at one time.

“Brayden, Stogner, all those guys, they’ve changed their bodies and gotten bigger, stronger and more explosive to be able to help us more in the running game and passing game. Excited to see where the offense goes this year as well.”

Beamer said the group was challenged by strength coach Bennie Wylie and the coaches back in March that the time away from practice because of COVID-19 was going to tell a lot about the direction some of those guys would go.

For his group, Beamer said he was pleased with the mindset and the progress.

Stogner ready to make the leap

You begin to understand the learning curve for Austin Stogner and why 2019 could have been an up-and-down mess.

He began the year with Cale Gundy as an inside receiver before switching halfway through and going with Beamer at the tight end spot.

Everybody knew he could catch, but Stogner had to show he could block. Show that he could want to do it and do it successfully.

“At his size, I mean he is so big, just from a technique standpoint, he worked hard to really clean that up, spend a lot of time extra in the weight room with Bryan Kegans, one of our assistant strength coaches, just on footwork,” Beamer said. “It sounds crazy, but he is so long, being able to keep that condensed and being able to play in space and in a tight box as well in passing game and in the run game.

“But he’s really worked hard at it and you can see, when he came back from the time off this spring and summer, you could see how hard he worked — one, to get faster and stronger, but also just the athleticism, the run-blocking and especially the route-running. I’m excited about the steps he’s taken since last year and really looking forward to watching him play this fall.”