Oklahoma Sooners defensive tackle among Pro Football Focus' top 10
For as much talk as there has been about the Oklahoma Sooners upward trajectory since December, much of the confidence hinges on one thing not changing.
The Sooners may have finished last year 6-7, but the OU defense was one of the best in the country. Those optimistic projections for what the 2025 season may yield are reliant on the defense maintaining, or, at worst, only slightly falling off last year's pace. One of the key players to doing that is defensive lineman Gracen Halton.
Halton was named the 10th-best defensive tackle in FBS by Pro Football Focus this week. He finished with 30 tackles, including six for loss, and five sacks as a junior last year. According to Pro Football Focus, Halton was second on the team in total pressures behind R Mason Thomas with 29. Small for size, Halton brings a different approach to anchoring the Sooners' front line.
"While Halton may not have ideal size at 6-foot-2, 291 pounds, he compensates with elite quickness for the position," the PFF article states. "That explosiveness has helped him earn an 84.2 pass-rush grade on true pass-rush snaps over the past two seasons—the highest mark of anyone on this list. His 13.6% pressure rate since 2023 leads all returning FBS defensive tackles, while his 12.5% pass-rush win rate is the best among returning Power Four interior defenders."
Halton joins fellow senior Demonic Williams and Jayden Jackson to give Oklahoma one of the best three-man rotations at defensive tackle in the country. They're so good; in fact, Ourlads.com's projected depth chart doesn't even list Halton as a starter despite his PFF No. 10 ranking.
Oklahoma ranked 29th in scoring defense and 19th in total defense last year and are hoping for another jump in 2025.
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