Oklahoma LB Nik Bonitto will return in 2021
Oklahoma will return one of its most crucial pieces as the Sooners hope to make a national title run in 2021.
Nik Bonitto, the Sooners’ standout rush linebacker who led the team in sacks this season, announced on Twitter that he will return next fall.
“Unfinished business,” Bonitto tweeted. “Sooner Nation we coming for number 8,” a reference to the program’s seven national titles.
Bonitto delivered 8.5 quarterback sacks to lead the Sooners despite playing only 10 games. He also led the Sooners with 11 quarterback hurries and had 11 tackles for loss, which ranks second on the team.
Bonitto, a third-year sophomore from Fort Lauderdale, was seventh on the team with 32 total tackles.
He emerged as a starter in 2019 but played more of a standard outside linebacker. Bonitto saved the Sooners’ dramatic comeback win at Baylor with an interception in coverage.
This year, however, he became a consistent pass-rush threat. According to Pro Football Focus, Bonitto led the nation in overall pass rush grade, pass rush win rate and pressure rate generated (25.7 percent), and was named by PFF as a first-team All-American.
“Bonitto was a true hybrid backer in 2019, playing almost as many coverage snaps (171) as pass-rush snaps,” PFF writes. “However, Bonitto saw more pass-rush opportunities in 2020, and the transition paid dividends. The Oklahoma edge rusher was a force in every single game this season, finishing first among qualifying FBS edge defenders in pass-rush grade win rate and pressure rate generated.”
