Next Generation, Part 1: Which Five Freshmen Will Impact Oklahoma in 2023?
Part one of a series in which AllSooners examines five true freshmen who should make an impact on Oklahoma’s 2023 football season:
P.J. Adebawore
P.J. Adebawore hasn’t played football very long. But he didn’t come to Oklahoma to ride the bench or patiently sit and learn.
He wants to impact the Sooners’ defense right out of the gate in 2023, and he’s been preparing to do just that through a grueling winter, a challenging spring and so far through a grinding summer.
“It’s been intense,” Adebawore said. “It’s been a grind. It’s been tough for sure. But you just gotta attack it. That’s why I’m here. I’m here, for those type of challenges.”
The Sooners’ 5-star edge rusher came up playing basketball before dabbling in football early in his high school career. Now a college freshman, he’s dabbling no more. Adebawore dedicated himself in the winter weight room, adding more than 12 pounds of muscle by the time spring practice began.
P.J. Adebawore
John E. Hoover / AllSooners
“It’s huge,” he said. “I gotta take care of business in that factor of the game. It’s definitely big. I’ve been on my stuff as far as putting on weight.”
He weighed 238 for the Red/White Game and has added to that — a sleek, athletic fit for a man standing 6-foot-4.
“He’s longer than Monday afternoon,” said position coach Miguel Chavis.
“P.J. is a workhorse,” said transfer linebacker Dasan McCullough. “If you really want to talk about P.J., you want to talk about what he does extra off the field. I mean, this dude's excellent in class. This dude's always up here getting in extra work in the training room. I've never been up here and I haven't seen P.J. So his work ethic is going to take him really.”
That mindset and tireless work ethic will put Adebawore on the field this year, if for no other reason than to come in on third down and rush the quarterback. The Sooners had just 28 quarterback sacks last year, the program’s fourth-lowest total since 2000.
Reggie Grimes (516) and Ethan Downs (584) were both busy with their total snap count last season, especially early on, and seemed to wear down. R Mason Thomas (231), Marcus Stripling (245) and Jonah Laulu (465) provided relief with their total defensive snaps, according to Pro Football Focus, but overall the big-play productivity was down.
Enter Adebawore, who’s longer and quicker than his teammates and should be able to pick up meaningful snaps in important situations throughout the 2023 season. His big brother, Tommy, set the family curve in April when he became a third-round pick of the Indianapolis Colts in the NFL Draft. And P.J. is even more athletic than Tommy.
“P.J. can really run,” Brent Venables said.
Adebawore rose quickly in the recruiting ranks, from the No. 401-ranked player in the nation in February of 2022 to the No. 9 overall player in January 2023, according to 247 Sports. He solidified that sudden rise with a profoundly impressive week in Orlando at the Under Armour All-America Game.
P.J. Adebawore
John E. Hoover / AllSooners
“Maybe I shocked some people,” he said. “Maybe they didn’t think I was anything. But it didn’t really chance my mindset or perspective.”
He steadily improved over the course of spring practice, picking the defense up quickly and consistently outworking many of his older teammates. He then got 25-30 snaps in the spring game and wowed the crowd.
“He’s got some mental toughness and some physical toughness along with a lot of physical ability,” said defensive coordinator Ted Roof said. “He’s a guy that, for a young guy, really works, and has come in here and tries to establish himself in the right way with his work ethic and his commitment and his off-the-field stuff, and he’s done a nice job.
“The next step is for the young guys (to) get in the weight room with Coach (Jerry) Schmidt this summer and grind it out and at the same time picking up his knowledge and techniques that go along with playing at this level and certainly the University of Oklahoma — so, just continue to work and go through the process. But he’s got a bright future as well.”
How excited is he to get the season started on Sept. 2 against Arkansas State?
“Very excited. Very excited,” he said. “We’ve been working hard, and we’re gonna showcase all of our hard work.”
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