Oklahoma Football: Sooner Defensive Line Must Step Up in 2012

Over the last 12 seasons under head coach Bob Stoops, the fans in Norman have had the pleasure of watching an incredible lineage of defensive lineman terrorize opponents year after year.

The short list: Frank Alexander, Ronnell Lewis, Jeremy Beal, Gerald McCoy, Austin English, Dusty Dvoracek, Dan Cody and Tommie Harris.

Do yourself a favor and read that list again—a little slower this time. Let it roll around on your tongue like an expensive wine.

All of those awards. All of those sacks. All of those "I think he just killed that guy" moments. It is a list that rivals any other program over the same time period.

So, following the departure of Alexander (Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year) and Lewis (first-round lock), how does the 2012 defensive line look?

To be honest—not so hot.

Defensive tackle looks to be a three-man rotation of seniors that are difficult to distinguish from each other. They are a solid group, but lack the kind of difference-maker Sooner Nation is used to having at the position clogging up holes and absorbing double-teams.

That role was supposed to be filled by Jamarkus McFarland, the prized recruit in the 2009 class (No. 36 overall by Rivals.com). McFarland was tabbed as the heir-apparent to all-world tackle Gerald McCoy, but his career has been hardly yawn-worthy. In 34 career appearances (10 starts), he has accumulated only 4.5 sacks and performed well below is expectations.

He is joined at tackle by Casey Walker and Stacey McGee, who have similar experience and stats as McFarland, but came to Norman in 2008 amid much lower expectations. As a unit, they did a good job last season, but will need to elevate their games to new heights if the Sooners wish to compete for championships.

Defensive end will be one of the biggest question marks leading up to next season. Alexander and Lewis are gone, leaving us with guys that have been buried on the depth chart their entire careers.

Representing one of the biggest busts in the Stoops era not named Rhett Bomar, senior end R.J. Washington has one last chance to make a name for himself in Norman.

At No. 13 overall in the 2008 recruiting class, Washington was expected to make an impact right away. Instead, he has yet to record a start while spending more time on the trainer's table than in the opponent's backfield.

Luckily, R.J. doesn't have to look too far for inspiration. Frank Alexander came into last season with similar expectations and took a monstrous leap, elevating himself from "so-so rotation guy" to "terrorizing sack machine." Let's hope R.J. was taking notes.

Fellow pass-rusher David King came on strong towards the end of last season and will need to maintain that momentum heading into next year.

Keep an eye out for JUCO transfer Chaz Nelson to join the rotation at defensive end. He is a speed rusher who piled up 96 tackles (15 for loss) and ten sacks last season at Garden City Community College, earning him First Team JUCO All-American honors.

Coach Stoops is used to having big-time production from his defensive lines and will need guys like Washington and McFarland to live up to their full potential in order to stay competitive in the offense-heavy Big 12.

                                                           OU CAREER STATS

	Class	Pos. Rank	Stars	Starts	Games	Tackles	TFL	Sacks
RJ Washington	2008	1	5	0	26	23	5.5	5.5
Jamarkus McFarland	2009	6	4	10	34	51	11.0	4.5
Stacey McGee	2008	8	4	19	28	49	7.0	1.5
David King	2008	16	4	8	30	24	5.0	3.0
Casey Walker	2008	56	3	12	22	24	3.5	1.0