The Damonic Williams effect: Projecting the Sooners' DT depth chart

Oklahoma wasn't exactly subtle about where it needed to upgrade the roster heading into the offseason. After last month's spring game, Brent Venables referred to the lack of tangible experience on the interior defensive line as "concerning."

On Thursday night, the Sooners rectified that lack of experience while adding a massive talent in one fell swoop.

The Sooners added former TCU transfer Damonic Williams, marking one of the biggest acquisitions of the offseason. By adding Williams and Jermayne Lole, the Sooners have drastically changed the interior of the defensive line.

But it won't just be Williams. The Sooners had five interior lineman log at least 279 snaps in 2023, per Pro Football Focus, and the room next fall has a lot more depth and upside. Plus with the group losing four significant players, it'll largely be a brand new depth chart.

Here's a look at the Sooners' projected depth chart on the interior and how Williams' addition changes things:

Williams walks in the door as the Sooners' no-doubt starter at nose tackle.

It's hard to overstate just how significant Williams' commitment is for the Sooners. For one, they outbid Texas, Missouri and others for his services. But mainly, the junior shores up the Sooners' experience, size and versatility on the interior.

Heading into the offseason, Da'Jon Terry was the lone defensive tackle on the roster that had started a college game. That's no longer a concern with Williams, who started all 28 games for the Horned Frogs in his first two seasons, racking up 60 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks and a forced fumble. He's logged 1,087 snaps over his first two seasons, per Pro Football Focus, significantly more than anyone else on the roster outside of Terry (1,106), who's entering his sixth season, and Lole, who's entering his seventh.

Williams earned Honorable Mention All-Big 12 and Honorable Mention Big 12 Defensive Lineman of the Year in 2023. At 6-foot-2 and 320 pounds, Williams is now the biggest interior lineman on the roster.

But most importantly, he offers a skill set the Sooners really need. With his size and speed, Williams thrives as a nose tackle. Of his 1,087 snaps, he's lined up as the nose tackle on 849 of them, per PFF. But he's shown an ability to be moved all around the defensive line. Last year, he lined up on 97 of his snaps as a defensive tackle (3-technique), 84 over the offensive tackle and 42 outside the offensive tackle.

Venables and the defensive staff have flirted with three-man fronts the last couple of years, but they haven't had a disruptor quite like Williams at nose tackle. They really experimented with three-man fronts this spring. Now, they can plug Williams into those formations, or they can utilize him as a traditional DT or NT in four or five-man fronts.

Barring something unforeseen, Williams will play a lot for the Sooners.

The starting spot next to Williams will certainly up for grabs in fall camp. But nobody boosted their stock during the spring quite like Halton.

The former four-star prospect saw a significant amount of reps with the first-string defense during spring practices and was a standout in the Sooners' spring game, totaling four tackles, two tackles for loss and a sack (although he likely should've been credited with at least one more). He's also noticeably bigger than he was his first two seasons, and he was closing in on 300 pounds by the end of spring practices.

The main knock on Halton is his lack of playing time. He played just 165 snaps over his first two seasons, per PFF. But the potential has always been there, and he's a natural fit as a 3-technique next to Williams.

If Halton can continue his ascension, he could be one of the first 11 on the field come Aug. 30.

— Da'Jon Terry will certainly have an argument for one of the starting spots. He gradually improved as last season went on, finishing the year with 18 tackles, four tackles for loss and a sack in 306 snaps, per PFF. Before the additions of Williams and Lole, Terry was seen as an obvious starter and took a leadership role during the spring.

Obviously, Terry could earn a starting spot. The main question will be whether the coaches feel comfortable with him playing primarily as a 3-technique. That's where he played the majority of his snaps last season, but that was more out of necessity. He showed real potential as a nose tackle at Tennessee. Either way, Terry will have a significant role.

— No one has more experience or a history of production than Jermayne Lole. He's logged 1,824 snaps over his six seasons, per PFF, and appeared in 40 games. His career stats: 141 tackles, 25 tackles for loss, 12.5 sacks, three forced fumbles.

The only question will be his health. He missed essentially all of the 2021 and 2022 seasons with a injuries before bouncing back last season with Louisville, playing 411 snaps. If he can stay healthy, he's a quality depth piece as a 3-technique, where he's played for the majority of his career. The upside is there for more, too. Either way, the additions of Lole and Williams are huge for this room.

— Even as a freshman, Jayden Jackson has already established himself as a guy who's ready to play significant snaps at nose tackle. It's incredibly difficult to find a freshman with his size and speed who's also ready to contribute right away. He's a natural nose tackle, but Venables said he's also got the skill set to play the 3-technique. Jackson is going to play early and often, and should be a quality depth player behind Williams. Maybe he can be more than that?

— David Stone and Jackson were the talk of spring practices. Really, the only question centered around his size, and he's added nearly 20 pounds since the start of spring practices. Jackson looked a bit more polished, but nobody has a higher ceiling on the entire defensive line than Stone. And with the offseason additions, the Sooners can settle Stone and Jackson into key bench roles. But make no mistake, they're both going to play.

— It's certainly not out of the question for someone like Ashton Sanders or Davon Sears to move up the depth chart. Sears was named the most improved player on the defense during the spring. But they have an uphill battle to move inside the top three at either nose tackle or defensive tackle.

— That all leaves the depth chart tentatively looking something like this:

The Sooners will have, at worst, six guys earning playing time. It has the potential to be the best interior defensive line the Sooners have had in quite some time.

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