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OU DAILY
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY SARAH BARNEY AND CAITLYN EPES
Junior cornerback Parnell Motley pumps up the crowd before the Rose Bowl against Georgia Jan. 1. The Sooners’ defensive players are ready to redeem themselves this season.
GETTING DEFENSIVE Leaders of Oklahoma defense ready to take charge of new year despite mocking, criticism from fans
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aturday will mark 243 days since Sony Michel went untouched into the south end zone of the Rose Bowl, ending Oklahoma’s national title hopes. M i c h e l ’s t o u c h d o w n l e f t Sooner Nation with a bitter taste in its mouth. The loss was one of the biggest stings Oklahoma fans have experienced in recent history. Most fans can’t bear to rewatch the game or even talk about it, for that matter. The Sooners were arguably a squib kick or a fourthdown conversion or a completed pass to Rodney Anderson away from winning a national championship. But as the old saying goes, defense wins championships, and Oklahoma’s defense was nowhere near championship quality in 2017. Yet there still seems to be optimism surrounding the team even after it lost its best pass rusher and a three-year starter at safety. The odds are in the Sooners’ favor — it can’t get much worse than last year. Expectations are high, jobs may be on the line and returning players know their starting spots aren’t safe. And, while Oklahoma fans continue to have nightmares about the game that must not be named, a few Sooners have turned it into motivation. “I’ve watched the Rose Bowl 128 times,” said now-sophomore linebacker Kenneth Murray at Big 12 Media Days in July. “Every play, every snap — nobody has d i s s e c t e d i t m o re t ha n m e. Watching that motivates me for this season. It’s over with, it’s a new season.” When Oklahoma takes the field at 11 a.m. Saturday, its Jordan Brand jerseys won’t be the only new feature fans see. On the backs of those jerseys will be unfamiliar names, and underneath those crimson helmets will be fresh faces hungry to flip the script of the Oklahoma defense. “Another day, another dollar,” junior corner Parnell Motley
GEORGE STOIA • @GEORGESTOIA said with a smile. “New year, new team. We know what happened last year, but we’re ready to start new and move on.” “WE KNOW HOW OUR DEFENSE IS PERCEIVED.” Oklahoma’s defense used to be great. It boasted players like Lee Roy Selmon, Brian Bosworth, Roy Williams and Gerald McCoy. Oklahoma prided itself on defense in the ‘70s, ‘80s, and early 2000s. Today, national media and fans laugh at the Sooner defense. “We just have to block out that noise,” said Motley, who led the Sooners in interceptions last season. “We hear it. We heard it last year, we heard it all season.” “We know how our defense is perceived,” Murray added. “But it’s a new year. It’s time to start new.” Murray is one of the unquestioned leaders of this Sooner defense. He, among others, hopes to be the one that finally rights the ship. He rarely smiles, focused on the task at hand. Whether it be answering a reporter’s question or tackling his opponent, Murray is always dialed in. He’s no longer a freshman — he’s the voice of Oklahoma’s defense. “At the end of the day, I’m saying I want the defense to be built around me,” Murray said. “I’ve
got to be the one that deals with what comes with it ... If someone isn’t lined up correctly, it doesn’t matter what the excuse is, it’s going to come back on me.” Murray feels personally responsible for how the Rose Bowl played out. He missed tackles and took bad angles, leading to a host of mistakes. He spent his
“It’s a two-way
thing: You keep that chip on your shoulder, but at the same time you realize this is a whole new unit, a whole new team.” KENNETH MURRAY, SOPHOMORE LINEBACKER
summer in the film room, breaking down every game from last season and watching players like Carolina Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly. He’s ready to play with an edge in 2018. He’s ready to lead Oklahoma’s defense. “We’re definitely going to have a chip on our shoulders because of the way it ended,” Murray said. “It’s a two-way thing: You keep that chip on your shoulder,
but at the same time you realize this is a whole new unit, a whole new team.” “HE’S A GENIUS.” Last spring, Murray stood b e f o re t h e m e d i a d u r i n g a post-practice interview. A reporter asked him about defensive coordinator Mike Stoops and his perception as a play-caller. Murray quickly cut the question off and proceeded to give an answer no one expected. “He’s a genius, and I mean that with all my heart,” Murray said about Stoops. “That man, he knows exactly what he’s doing. He’s putting players in the right position to make plays. The defense he teaches us — it’s a great defense, it’s a pretty easy defense to understand.” Stoops’ defense hasn’t lived up to expectations in the recent past, and fans are quick to point that out. They finished 67th in total defense last year and tied for 70th in turnovers gained. The offense, led by Baker Mayfield, bailed them out of multiple holes throughout the season. Eight months ago, just days after the Sooners’ 54-48 loss to Georgia in the College Football Playoff, a fan created a petition to fire Stoops. As of Aug. 29, it had 226 supporters. This still seems low considering the amount of Stoops slander that is found when searching him on
Twitter. He’s aware of the criticism — it’s hard to miss. But he speaks w ith confidence and opens every interview the same way. “Fire away,” Stoops always says when he steps before the media each Tuesday, indicating he’s ready for the bombardment of questions about his defense. Every year, he says he likes the players he has and isn’t afraid to play the role of the scapegoat. This year will be no different. And when Saturday finally rolls around, if Stoops’ defense pitches a shutout, it’ll be the players that made it happen, and if they give up 50 points, it’ll be Stoops that takes the blame. “We have a lot of good pieces,” Stoops said Tuesday, Aug. 28. “We’re going to play the guys that give us the best opportunity to win on Saturday ... We feel confident in the guys we have.” “IT’S TIME TO START OVER. IT’S TIME TO IMPROVE.” The word “new” has been a consistent theme for the defense this offseason. New year. New team. New players. Saturday will end a healing process — a process that started 243 days earlier. The sting of the Rose Bowl isn’t going away anytime soon, but it’s a fresh start. The offense more than likely,will be one of the best in the countr y once again, returning multiple playmakers in Rodney Anderson, CeeDee Lamb and Marquise Brown. But Oklahoma’s season will come down to its defense, just like it did eight months ago. The 11 players that will trot onto Owen Field to represent Oklahoma’s defense Saturday know that. “Life goes on,” Motley said. “It’s time to start over. It’s time to improve.” George Stoia
georgestoia@ou.edu
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OU defensive coordinator Mike Stoops stands on the field before the Big 12 Championship game Dec. 2. Stoops said he is confident in his defensive players this season.