Oklahoma Defensive Lineman Joins Long List of Sooner Returners for 2025

In three seasons with the Sooners, Gracen Halton has played in 34 games, and he joins a long list of OU defenders who will return in 2025.

BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

NORMAN — Oklahoma received more good news in regards to roster retention on Thursday.

Defensive lineman Gracen Halton, an incoming senior, announced on X (formerly Twitter) that he will return to Norman for the 2025 season.

Gracen Halton via X/Twitter

Halton has been a key contributor for the Sooners since 2022, his true freshman season.

In his first season at OU, Halton played in 10 games, recording 10 tackles and one tackle for loss. Halton’s role expanded in 2023, as he logged 11 tackles and 3.5 tackles for loss in 11 games.

Oklahoma Finally Receives Good News on Defensive End R Mason Thomas

And in 2024, Halton played his best football as a college defensive lineman. 

Playing all 13 games and starting two of them, Halton finished his junior campaign with 30 tackles, 17 solo tackles, five sacks and two forced fumbles. One of his fumbles was recovered by R Mason Thomas for a touchdown in the Sooners’ loss to LSU on Nov. 30.

A native of San Diego, Halton came to OU as a highly-touted prospect. The consensus 4-star recruit was rated as the No. 19 defensive end in the Class of 2022 by Rivals, and he chose the Sooners over offers from Oregon, USC and Miami (FL).

Halton’s return announcement comes after several other key Sooner defenders announced their intentions to return to Norman for 2025.

Linebacker Kip Lewis, defensive end R Mason Thomas, safety Robert Spears-Jennings, linebacker/cornerback Kendel Dolby and defensive tackle Damonic Williams have all announced that they’ll come back in 2025, too.

That group, plus a few others expected to return — linebacker Kobie McKinzie, linebacker Sammy Omosigho, safety Peyton Bowen, cornerback Eli Bowen, defensive tackle Jayden Jackson, cornerback Jacobe Johnson, linebacker Jaren Kanak and defensive tackles David Stone and P.J. Adebawore — give Brent Venables and his new defensive coordinator a firm foundation to build upon for the upcoming season.

The Sooners have also made defensive splashes in the transfer portal lately, picking up Florida State defensive end Marvin Jones Jr. and Oklahoma State linebacker/defensive back Kendal Daniels. Jones is a former 5-star prospect that also previously played at Georgia, while Daniels was the No. 1 player from Oklahoma in the Class of 2022.

2024-25 Oklahoma Transfer Portal Tracker

The affirmed returns are major for Oklahoma, which has seen several defensive departures during the 2024-25 offseason.

The Sooners will lose major contributors in linebacker Danny Stutsman, safety Billy Bowman Jr., cornerback Woodi Washington and defensive end Ethan Downs to graduation. Defensive end Caiden Woullard declared for the NFL Draft earlier in January.

OU also will lose nine players — defensive backs Kani Walker, Jayden Rowe, Makari Vickers, Mykel Patterson-McDonald and Erik McCarty, linebackers Phil Picciotti, Dasan McCullough and Lewis Carter and defensive lineman Ashton Sanders — to the transfer portal.