OU season review: Defensive tackles

A lack of elite defensive line play has plagued Oklahoma for some time now, making them susceptible to opposing rushing attacks and unable to shrink the pocket in passing situations.

However, 2023 was a step in the right direction for the Sooners' defense, and much of that was thanks to improved play along the defensive front.

In 2022, OU allowed 187.5 yards per game, ranking them 104th nationally against the rush. In 2023, that total plummeted to 138.6 yards per game, good for 43rd in the country. Oklahoma opponents' yards per rush also dropped significantly over the past year, from 4.5 yards per carry (91st) to 3.9 yards per attempt (43rd).

The play on the interior defensive line also helped Oklahoma finish seventh nationally in tackles for loss this year, with 7.5 per game (98 total).

In this version of the OU season review, let's take a look at how the defensive tackles fared in 2023:

(Note: All snap-count data and performances grades are provided by Pro Football Focus. PFF assigns both game and season-long grades for individual players on a 0-100 scale; 90-99 is considered elite, 80-89 good, 70-79 above average, 60-69 average, 50-59 below average, 0-49 poor).

Isaiah Coe — 26 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, 1 HIT, 16 QBH (Per PFF)

Jonah Laulu — 11 tackles, 3.0 tackles for loss, 1.0 sack, 3 HIT, 13 QBH

Jordan Kelley — 14 tackles, 3.0 tackles for loss, 1.0 sack, 3 HIT, 10 QBH

Da'Jon Terry — 18 tackles, 4.0 tackles for loss, 1.0 sack, 5 QBH

Jacob Lacey — 17 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, 1.0 sack, 1 HIT, 3 QBH

Gracen Halton — 11 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, 3 HIT, 7 QBH

Kelvin Gilliam — 3 tackles, 1 QBH

Ashton Sanders — 1 tackle, 0.5 tackle for loss

Davon Sears — 1 tackle, 0.5 tackle for loss, 1.0 sack, 1 HIT, 2 QBH

(Note: This list does not include players who saw fewer than 30 snaps)

Jacob Lacey — 385 snaps (60.7 defensive grade, per PFF)

Isaiah Coe — 355 snaps (81.6)

Da'Jon Terry — 306 snaps (76.2)

Jordan Kelley — 299 snaps (75.4)

Jonah Laulu — 279 snaps (68.9)

Gracen Halton — 91 snaps (76.2)

Kelvin Gilliam — 47 snaps (62.2)

Before the 2023 season started, there were a lot of questions about whether or not Jacob Lacey would be able to help the team out this season due to health issues. During the offseason, Lacey was diagnosed with pulmonary embolisms in his lungs, and his future in football was quite unclear.

Fast forward to present day and the same kid who wasn't cleared to participate in summer workouts has led the Sooners' defensive tackles in snaps for the season. Lacey developed into a major part of the Oklahoma front over the final stretch of the season.

His PFF grade of 60.7 isn't indicative of the kind of play that we saw over the course of the year, but there's certainly some room for improvement. Defensive tackles are asked to eat up blocks in the middle for Brent Venables' scheme to be at its best, and Lacey certainly did that. Considering the fact that his career was in jeopardy just a few months ago, I'd call this season a major success for the senior transfer.

SEASON GRADE: B-

Isaiah Coe saved his best season for last during his time at Oklahoma, turning in 26 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, 1 quarterback hit, and a whopping 16 quarterback hurries (per PFF, the OU site credits him with 3). His performance earned All-Big 12 Honorable Mention for the 2023 season, and his 81.6 PFF grade led all defensive tackles.

Coe excelled in run defense this season, leading the interior defensive linemen to win an 82.5 PFF grade against the run and six "stops," which PFF defines as "tackles that constitute a failure for the offense."

For his final season in the Crimson and Cream, Coe emerged as one of the anchors to a much-improved defense, and for that, he's earned an "A" grade.

SEASON GRADE: A-

Listed at 6-foot-3, 321 pounds, Da'Jon Terry is Oklahoma's most physically imposing interior defensive lineman on the roster, and he played like it in 2023. The Tennessee transfer was a menace against the run with an 82.4 rush defense grade and led his position group with 12 "stops," per PFF.

The Sooners' defensive line rotation was much better this season than we've seen it in years past, and a lot of the credit for that goes to Terry. He was the best-graded tackler of all defensive tackles (80.9) and seemed to show up in the biggest moments.

Against Texas, Terry dominated the interior and turned in his best game of the season with four tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, and one sack. Getting Terry back next season will be be huge for the Sooners' front, as he should be one of the best players they'll have in the trenches.

SEASON GRADE: B+

Jordan Kelley felt like the steady old head of the defensive tackle room in 2023, and his stat line tells that story as well. He never got too high, or too low, but had a good defensive grade (75.4), a good rush defense grade (75.0), and a good pass-rush grade for an interior guy (68.9).

Todd Bates' addition to the Oklahoma coaching staff seems to have been the ticket for Kelley to become a difference-maker for the Sooners and in his final year of eligibility that was certainly the case. Kelley ranked second among defensive tackles with 11 "stops" and had 13 total pressures on opposing quarterbacks.

While his name might not have the same staying power as a guy like Drake Stoops or Dillon Gabriel, Kelly will be a piece of Team 129 that will be missed going forward, if for nothing else but his experience and consistency.

SEASON GRADE: B

Asking a pass rusher to add weight and play inside the tackles isn't something that a lot of players can pull off, yet Jonah Laulu did just that in 2023. The former Hawaii Rainbow Warrior logged the fifth most stats of any DT on the roster and tied for the lead with 17 pressures on the year.

Laulu did struggle with tackling this year though, with a missed tackle rate of 26.7%, which led the entire defensive front. Despite that, Laulu played well enough to garner 279 snaps over 13 games.

It wasn't a standout year for the senior, but his play was adequate enough to keep the other players fresh, and that's half the battle in the trenches.

SEASON GRADE: C

Gracen Halton only logged 91 snaps on the year, so marking his as a contributor might have some folks scratching their heads. However, Halton logged the second-most tackles for loss (3.5 TFL) among defensive tackles despite playing a fraction of the snaps that guys ahead of him did.

What makes that even more impressive is that Halton only saw 32 snaps against the run, meaning his tackles for loss came on a rate of just over 10% of the snaps that he played rush defense. Halton also had nine total pressures on 58 pass-rushing snaps, which breaks down to a pressure rate of 15.5%.

Now, with a smaller sample size than the other players around him, it's fair to say that he might regress towards the mean with more snaps in 2023. Still, there's not much more you could've asked for from the sophomore, who figures to have a much bigger role in 2024.

SEASON GRADE: A

Defensive tackle grades don't often correlate with their individual stats. Sure, truly elite players at the position will have beefier stat lines, or a certain scheme could allow for bigger days on the stat sheet, but for the most part, defensive tackle is a thankless position.

That is certainly the case in Brent Venables' scheme, which allows linebackers and safeties to fly around and make plays on the football. If those guys aren't clean and free to run, they can't make the necessary plays, thus the thankless job of a defensive tackle.

The stats that are indicative of defense tackle play are how the defensive unit performs against the run and how well it pressures the quarterback.

As noted earlier, Oklahoma improved from 104th in rushing defense (187.5 ypg) in 2022, to 43rd in rush defense (138.6 ypg) in 2023. That monstrous jump was also joined by the Sooners tallying the seventh-most TFLs (98) in the nation.

When it comes to pressuring the quarterback, Oklahoma's defense didn't manage many sacks with only 24 on the season (T-87th), but it did force the second-most interceptions (20) in the country. That says just as much about the Sooners' pass rush as it does about its secondary.

Oklahoma's defensive tackles didn't play well in their loss to Kansas and gave up some chunk plays against BYU and TCU to end the regular season. For the rest of the season though, they were a strong group that managed to stay healthy and keep opponents mostly in check. With some room to grow heading into the SEC, but much improved from seasons past, this group gets a "B-" grade for 2023.

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