NORMAN — You know DaJon Terry, you’ve probably heard plenty about Damonic Williams and you’ve probably seen highlights of David Stone and Jaden Jackson.
But don't underestimate what Gracen Halton could bring to the Oklahoma defense in 2024.
Now a junior on the Sooners' defensive front, Halton has bulked up to 291 pounds, is fully healthy and appears to be slotting nicely into OU's defensive tackle rotation.
“I'm really pleased with the development of Gracen Halton,” head coach Brent Venables said recently.
Keep in mind, Halton was disruptive in each of the two Red/White games, recording five tackles and two quarterback sacks as a true freshman in 2023 and four tackles, two tackles for loss and another sack this spring.
Sacks on quarterbacks have been a mixed bag in spring games — quarterbacks wear blue no-contact jerseys and a defender simply waving a foot in his direction is enough to call a down — but Halton beat blockers and collapsed the pocket consistently in scrimmages.
“G-Baby has been working on this for a while,” now-retired coach Jacob Lacy said last spring. “It's a little different with coach (Zach) Allie, but the concept is the same.”
Meanwhile, Halton said he's using each practice as an opportunity to get better, trying to get a little better each day in preparation for next Friday's season opener against Temple.
“You just take it day by day and get a percent better every day,” Halton said. “Every day is 1-0. Coach BV always emphasizes that, so you just try to get better every day. That's a big part of my process, my team's process. You just take it day by day.”
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Halton said he and his teammates can't wait to take on the Southeastern Conference.
“Obviously, I think about it every day, every night,” he said. “I'm dreaming about it. I just have to go and make a play. Like you said, the SEC is the No. 1 division, so we're ready to go on the offensive.”
Of course, performing well in spring scrimmages is better than the alternative, but it would be a big step forward when the Tennessee Volunteers come to Norman on Sept. 21 or when the Sooners visit Auburn on Sept. 28.
Halton has experience on the defensive front at OU, having played 74 defensive snaps as a freshman in 2022 and earning a 54.0 overall defensive rating, 56.6 run defense and 57.9 pass rush rating, according to Pro Football Focus.
Last year, Halton's PFF defensive grade soared to 76.2 in 91 plays, along with a run defense grade of 74.2 and a pass rush grade of 71.8. His highest single-game grades were 75.6 against Tulsa and 74.7 against Arkansas State, but he also posted a 71.7 in the regular-season finale against TCU. He's earned double-digit playing time in six of his nine games in 2023.
Even with Terry returning, Williams joining from TCU via the transfer portal and Stone and Jackson having impressive high school resumes, more will be expected from Halton this year as he continues to learn the nuances of the game under defensive line coach Todd Bates.
“We're really excited,” Halton said. “It all started in January. We were preparing for the season to come. Finally the season is here and the guys are excited and ready to play. Bang their heads off.”
Halton was a four-star prospect out of St. Augustine High School in San Diego and was ranked No. 264 in the ESPN 300. Athletic and explosive, the 6-foot-3 Halton was projected to play defensive end coming out of high school, but also played tight end in high school (14 catches for 195 yards and five touchdowns as a senior) and was a finalist for the San Diego County Silver Pigskin Trophy.
Halton had originally committed to attend the University of Oregon, but after Mario Cristobal left Eugene to transfer to the University of Miami, Halton withdrew from the program. He chose Oregon over Miami, the University of Oregon, and the University of Southern California.
Now in his second year, Halton is poised to make a lasting impact on Venables' third line defense, and he's been eager and committed all offseason to getting more snaps and playing more.
“I just know what I need to improve on,” he said. “Playbook, coming off the ball, technique issues. Every day I'm improving on the things I need to improve on.”
Like?
“It's just a matter of technique,” he said. “If you made a mistake yesterday in practice, you just get better. It's just one percent, and you just fix your mistake.”
Halton measures his progress through the concept of percentages, but can he confidently provide an assessment of how much he has improved this year compared to last in terms of percentages?
“That's a very humbling question,” Halton said. “I'm about 40 percent better than last year, and I'm about 40 percent better now, so that's 80 percent total. I'm ready to go, so I'll be 100 percent when the season starts.”
Halton also said he learned the defense and Bates' techniques like it was a second language.
“I have a much better understanding than last year,” he said. “I've looked at the mistakes and technical issues I had last year and I've gotten better.”
In the SEC, teams with better defensive line play are far more likely to win games. It's a tenet of SEC football, and a defense that can't compete up front — that can't disrupt the opposing offense from the inside — has little chance of success.
Of course, the biggest test will be game day, but everyone agrees this offseason, and certainly this preseason, that OU's defensive line rotation is the most SEC-ready in a generation.
“It's a lot of fun,” Coach Halton said. “We've got a lot of work to do. We've got a long season ahead of us, but our guys are quick-witted and they know how much work it takes to figure out the playbook. They just have to be prepared and they're doing a great job.”
“For me personally, I'm just learning every day. The younger guys have taken the lead and done a great job on the field.”
