Tulane HC Jon Sumrall praises Oklahoma Sooners' defense, calls defensive line and linebacker rooms 'elite'

Oklahoma's defense stepped up to the plate in their Week 3 game against the Tulane Green Wave, holding them to just 13 points.

Tulane came in averaging nearly 500 total yards of offense but were held to nearly half of that on Saturday, totaling just 279 on the day.

The Sooners made plenty of big plays, generating sacks, fumbles, and interceptions throughout the game.

After the game, Tulane head coach Jon Sumrall offered some tremendous praise for the Sooners' defense.

"Yeah I think Oklahoma-SEC, Big 12, whatever-Oklahoma's looked like one of the best defenses I've seen. You know, our offensive line coach Dan Roushar, who was with the Saints forever and he was on the staff here last year and he's still here. This week, I was just picking his brain about this defense and what he thought. And he was like, 'It's the best one we've played since I've been at Tulane'. I think it's a very legitimate SEC outfit defensively...The interior d-line and their linebacker group I think is elite just watching them. I recruited 28 [Danny Stutsman] when I was at Kentucky and he's a dude. He plays like a grown man."

Sumrall coached linebackers at Ole Miss and Kentucky, so he is well-equipped to offer opinions on what an SEC-caliber defense looks like.

Later on, Sumrall also praised Oklahoma's defensive back room, pointing out their communication on the back end.

Again, Oklahoma's defense still has room to grow. Their depth isn't quite up to snuff, and there are still plenty of plays left on the field in both run and pass defense.

However, the positive momentum has grown year after year under Brent Venables, and that side of the ball keeps getting better and better.

Think about how insane it would have been to hear a coach say Oklahoma's defense looked SEC-ready in 2021 or even 2022. That coach would have been laughed off of the podium.

We're starting to see the results trickle in from a necessary process for the Sooners. Now they just have to prove it in the SEC. We'll find out how ready they are against the Tennessee Volunteers.