Oklahoma DE Marvin Jones Jr. 'Blessed' to Have a Key Role in 2025

NORMAN — Even after the Sooners held Michigan to only 13 points and one touchdown, defensive end Marvin Jones Jr. has humbly reflected on the win.

“I think we played all right,” Jones said. “We have a lot of stuff to clean up. So many plays were left out there. Hopefully get it corrected next week.”

Jones transferred to Oklahoma after spending the 2024 season at Florida State. Before that, Jones played two seasons at Georgia to begin his college career, winning a national championship with the Bulldogs in 2022.

Jones stood out for Oklahoma in its 24-13 win over No. 15 Michigan.

He finished the game with two solo tackles, one of which went for a loss. The transfer defensive end logged a Pro Football Focus defensive grade of 64, much higher than the 43.7 grade he received against Illinois State in Week 1.

Jones’ only notable blunder came in the first half, when he was called for a facemask. The Sooners pinned the Wolverines deep into their own territory, and the Sooners had Michigan running back Justice Haynes swarmed in the backfield — but Jones got a piece of his facemask, giving the Wolverines 15 yards and a first down.

“The game's not gonna happen without penalties,” Jones said. “Obviously I've got to work on my tackling. But it is what it is.”

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Jones, though, wasn’t a one-man show against the Wolverines. The entire defense had a stellar day.

Michigan finished the game with only 288 total yards of offense, and 75 of those yards came on a rushing touchdown from Haynes to begin the second half. Aside from that play, Haynes — who went for 159 yards and three touchdowns in Week 1 — ran for only 50 yards on 18 carries.

True freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood, the No. 1 player from the Class of 2025, went 9-of-24 for only 142 passing yards.

While Jones knows there are plenty of areas that he and his teammates can clean up, he is proud of his contributions in the primetime win.

“Being able to play, it's a blessing to be out there with my teammates,” Jones said. “It’s so exciting to go out there and make plays and win games.”

Jones admitted that a win like the one over Michigan gives his team momentum. But the defensive end said it’s crucial that the Sooners avoid being complacent.

Oklahoma battles Temple on Saturday in Philadelphia. The Owls are 2-0 after outscoring UMass and Howard 97-17 in their first two contests. Temple quarterback Evan Simon has thrown nine touchdowns and zero interceptions on a 77.1% completion percentage so far.

And after the Temple game, the Sooners will battle eight teams — all SEC foes — currently ranked in the AP Top 25 in their final nine regular-season games.

The defense has been great so far. But it’s onto the next for Jones.

“We have a great team ahead of us in Philadelphia,” Jones said. “We’re trying to move on. We have a long season to go. Can't really get too caught up in wins and stuff like that."

Saturday’s game between the Sooners and Owls will begin at 11 a.m.