Oklahoma DE Danny Okoye's Mental Progression has him in a Strong Position

NORMAN — Looking back at it two years later, Oklahoma defensive end Danny Okoye can be introspective about the kind of player he was when he arrived.

“I was not the most coachable freshman, I’ll say that,” Okoye said Friday, as the Sooners continued preseason camp.

Okoye’s outlook is much different now, as he’s entering his junior season.

“Minimizing myself and maximizing the team, the stadium that we’re in, the history that we hold, and everything, the tradition — it shrunk my perspective or widened my perspective a little bit,” Okoye said. “And perspective drives performance, and once my perspective shifted, my performance shifted as well, and that’s really all there is to it.”

After appearing in just two games as a freshman in 2024, Okoye shifted to a much bigger role last season.

He played in 11 games with six tackles, a pass breakup and his first two career sacks.

Okoye is expected to have a much bigger role this season, as he’s battling with Adepoju Adebawore for a starting job opposite established starter Taylor Wein.

Okoye liked defensive ends coach Miguel Chavis during his recruitment, but being coached by him was a different story.

“I just had a different background from most of the peers that I was surrounded by,” Okoye said. “So coming into this league and being exposed to what I was exposed to right off the bat, it was definitely a shock. I guess you could say a little bit of an adjustment, and my adjustment to authority was definitely something that I had to take time with and really prioritize.”

Okoye was homeschooled, playing high school football for the Tulsa NOAH program before coming to OU.

“Coach Chavis is a good teacher,” Okoye said. “He definitely worked with me, and he’s a family man and I care about family. He cares about family, and he was willing to go by my speed and work with me, and honestly, it took me a long time to actually trust people, because I don’t trust people. I don’t like people. But after I figured out his kinks and how he works and how he thinks, it became obvious that this was a dude who I would probably be better off having in my corner. And once I bought into that idea fully, it became a lot easier to take the coaching and take the instructions and stuff.”

Brent Venables said Okoye’s journey isn’t a rare one.

“There’s more guys like that than not,” Venables said. “... The mental maturity is a big part of all of the freshmen’s transition for the first time in a long time, maybe ever. They’re not at the front of the line, and nobody cares about all of the success that they had in the past. And so how they handle that humbling moment is a big thing.

“Danny was in a long line of guys, but he has. He’s grown. How he talks, how he thinks, how he competes, how he shows up every day. He’s listening for the right things. He’s listening for the correction. He does hold himself to a really high standard. He’s become a ore consistent player than at any point in time he was last year.”

Okoye could’ve left in the offseason, entering the transfer portal and surely finding a spot where a starting role was assured, but he decided to stick it out with Oklahoma.

Okoye talked to plenty of former Sooners, like Robert Spears-Jennings, Ethan Downs, Kobie McKinzie and Justin Harrington.

“They were trying to help me realize that it’s not really about doing what you think might be best, it’s about doing what will be best for you,” Okoye said. “... I’m honestly happy with where I’m at. Not really worried. What I value is here. Things that are important are being improved upon.”

The turn came during his freshman season when Chavis spoke repeatedly about being ready when your name was called and being willing to do the little things to help the team be successful even when that role might seem small.

Eventually, that message seeped in.

“Once I started realizing that some of these little tidbits and stuff that he was dropping off here and there, maybe I should start paying attention instead of just letting it go in one ear and out the other,” Okoye said. “Things started changing, and it started working, paying off for me.”

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