How does Oklahoma replace Ronnie Perkins? Alex Grinch will have plenty of options

Good thing Oklahoma has plenty of experience playing without Ronnie Perkins.

After Perkins declared for the NFL Draft on Saturday, the Sooners need to find a way to replace their most impactful defensive lineman in 2021.

It’ll be a challenge — because Perkins made such a difference.

At the same time, it shouldn’t be hard — because they played five games without him in 2020, and they did just fine.

More than once this season did defensive coordinator Alex Grinch say Isaiah Thomas was the Sooners’ best defender, and with good reason. He was effective on the edge before Perkins returned from suspension, and he was effective on the interior when Perkins came back. Thomas ended the season with a team-best 12.5 tackles for loss and was second with 8.0 quarterback sacks.

Perkins’ departure is just one element of the OU defensive line next year that allows Thomas to get more snaps back at end. The other is the return of Jalen Redmond to defensive tackle.

Redmond, who overcame serious blood clots earlier in his career, opted out of 2020 but returned to the team for bowl practices and told Lincoln Riley he intends to play in 2021. Redmond is a proven commodity. In 2019, he was emerging as OU’s best young defensive lineman.

If Redmond is able to play next fall, his return is a massive boost for the Sooner d-line. The 6-foot-3, 266-pound Redmond finished his sophomore season with 11 tackles for loss and a team-high 6.5 quarterback sacks.

With Redmond back, Oklahoma’s interior play should be as good next year as it’s been in a decade. Junior college transfers Perrion Winfrey at noseguard and Josh Ellison at tackle were disruptive most of last year and got better with Perkins in the lineup. LaRon Stokes could opt-in for another senior year and, when healthy, can dominate his individual matchups. Two others who emerged in 2020 — Jordan Kelley and Kori Roberson — also figure to have a bigger role next season.

The Sooners’ young talent at defensive end should be encouraging. Marcus Stripling was good in 10 games this season with 3.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks. Reggie Grimes played in eight games as a true freshmen and flashed plenty of potential with five tackles and one sack. And getting Marcus Hicks back from injury should help.

And although none of them are close to Perkins’ energy or productivity yet, reinforcements are on the way in the freshmen class in defensive lineman Kelvin Gilliam, defensive end Ethan Downs and defensive end Nathan Rawlins-Kibonge. The Sooners will also add junior college transfer Isaiah Coe, who played defensive tackle at Iowa Western. Watching their high school highlights makes one think they’ll be capable of making impact plays in 2021.