OU Football: Oklahoma LB Danny Stutsman Using Spring to Embrace Leadership Role

After three seasons with the Sooners, the senior linebacker has developed into a leader on OU's veteran-laden defense.

Entering his fourth season at Oklahoma, star linebacker Danny Stutsman is one of multiple veteran leaders on the Sooners' defense.

After starting his career as a fun-loving freshman who appeared in 10 games during his first year on campus, the Orlando-area product has developed into one of the best linebackers in the country, starting 25 games over the past two seasons.

Following an impressive junior campaign, Stutsman elected to return to school rather than declare for the NFL Draft, where he would have had the chance to be picked in the first three rounds.

"I mean, it's a brotherhood, you know, there's a lot of experience on that defensive side of the ball," Stutsman said on Tuesday after practice. "Want to finish out the right way. Want to continue my legacy, getting better and better and leave Oklahoma on the right note."

WATCH: Oklahoma LB Danny Stutsman Interview

In addition to seniors like Ethan Downs, Billy Bowman and Da'Jon Terry, Stutsman is one of the leaders in his position group, helping mentor the talented young linebackers on the Sooners' roster.

With a handful of young defenders set to play a significant role in OU's defense as the team heads into the SEC, Stutsman said that he is proud of the strides Zac Alley's group has made over the offseason.

"Obviously now it's time to be more of a leader for the younger guys. ... Now that I've established myself, really want to help those other guys get better every single day," Stutsman said. "I'm actually very impressed how the defense has done, you know, we've actually really found ourselves. Watching the young guys go out there and the standard doesn't fall off when those guys are in there and it's great to see those younger guys really step up and just perform."

In his position group, Stutsman highlighted true freshman linebacker James Nesta, an early enrollee who also plays baseball for Skip Johnson at Oklahoma. A 4-star recruit out of Charlotte, NC, Nesta has good speed and is able to deliver a striking blow when making contact with ball carriers, similar to Stutsman.

After participating in the All-American Bowl back in January, Nesta arrived in Norman to begin his career as a dual-sport athlete for the Sooners.

"From me to everyone else, man. It's been great to have a young guy like Nesta," Stutsman said. "Everyone's been able to help him out. Every single person knows a lot about football, and we're really trying to get him all caught up."

In addition to Stutsman, young linebackers like Kip Lewis and Kobie McKinzie will likely be heavily involved in Oklahoma's rotation this season. After proving themselves in limited roles as redshirt freshmen during the 2023 campaign, OU should have plenty of depth in the position group.

Where the Sooners may be more thin, however, is on the defensive front. While Terry has played his fair share of college football, Alley and company will be relying on a young group of defensive tackles to play heavy snaps after Jacob Lacey was forced to medically retire over the offseason.

Still, Stutsman seems confident that Todd Bates' group will be able to get the job done, and says that Oklahoma's defensive tackles have had a good showing during spring practice.

"It's been challenging, but we brought in the right guys," Stutsman said. "Having a Jayden Jackson, David Stone, Markus Strong, Ashton Sanders, I could go on and on, Gracen Halton. Those young guys are really stepping up and they're really getting it down. It's great to see improvement from when those guys stepped on campus to where they are today."

With Stutsman and a host of other veterans leading the charge for Alley and Brent Venables in 2024, Oklahoma should have one of the better defensive units that the program has seen in years. If the senior linebacker is able to perform at the same level he did last season while being a leader on and off the field for the younger players on that side of the ball, OU should have a fierce group as it heads into the SEC.