Oklahoma DE Taylor Wein has Been an Important ‘Voice’ for Sooners’ Defense

NORMAN — Defensive end Taylor Wein is no longer a hidden gem; he’s now a well-known star.

Standing 6-4 and weighing 265 pounds, Wein broke out for 15 tackles for loss and seven sacks — both team highs — in 2025, his redshirt sophomore season. Prior to his breakout, Wein registered only two assisted tackles in his first two seasons at OU.

Wein is now the most experienced player on the Sooners’ defensive line. And according to his teammates, he’s acted like it.

“Taylor definitely stepped up into the leader role of the defensive ends room,” edge rusher Danny Okoye said.

Last year, it was R Mason Thomas who served as OU’s primary leader on the edge.

Thomas spent all four of his collegiate seasons at Oklahoma. Over his last two years in Norman, he compiled 49 total tackles, 22 tackles for loss, 15.5 sacks, four forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries and a scoop-and-score touchdown.

Now that Thomas is gone and in the NFL, someone had to step in and become the most vocal guy in the position group — and Wein has answered the call.

“He's always been a voice ever since winter workouts started, and he's carried that on through camp,” Okoye said. “We all look to Taylor as the dude who has led in productivity in the room, and he carries himself differently now. It's cool to see him maturing as a player and as a person.”

Wein is the leader in a defensive ends room that also consists of Okoye, Adepoju Adebawore, Jake Kreul, Wyatt Gilmore and Kenny Ozowalu. The mix of veteran experience and promising youth should make the position group a strength in 2026.

The interior of OU’s defensive line is similarly strong.

Star defensive tackles David Stone and Jayden Jackson will be the starters on the inside, while Nigel Smith II, Trent Wilson, Bishop Thomas and Danny Saili will hold backup roles.

Though Wein plays on the edge, OU’s interior defensive linemen have regularly leaned on his wisdom.

“T-Wein, he's that guy for that D-end group and a very vocal leader,” Smith said. “Anything that's happening, we hear from T-Wein.”

After his exceptional 2025 season, Wein has the starting left defensive end spot locked up.

But the competition at right defensive end is an intriguing one. Okoye and Adebawore are the most likely candidates to start in Week 1, as they are entering their third and fourth year with the Sooners, respectively.

It’s very possible that Okoye and Adebawore play an almost equal amount of snaps in 2026. Or one of them could surge past the other and experience a similar breakout to Wein’s in 2025.

Either way, Adebawore is confident that he and Okoye can be their best, thanks to Wein’s leadership throughout the offseason.

“I’m always going to try to be the best version of myself, but he’s going to continue to push me,” Adebawore said. “I see him elevating now, and I want to elevate too. That competitive nature is always going to be there with us and everyone else.”

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