Oklahoma’s Gracen Halton Showcases Sooners’ Defensive Development

NORMAN — Sometimes we take jobs without knowing the full scope of what we are tasked with doing. "I'll learn on the job," "I'm a fast learner," typically is the rallying cry of those who interview well.

Gracen Halton's football acumen spoke for itself. As a four-star recruit out of San Diego, CA with offers from Texas, Oregon and Miami, Halton was a baller. The defensive tackle chose to be a part of Brent Venables' initial class when he committed to the Sooners in February of 2022.

Venables saw the future with Halton's quick feet and tenacious hands — traits for a special interior defensive lineman. There was only one problem, Halton wasn't fully aware of how to play the position when he came to Norman.

"When I came here I didn’t even know how to play defensive tackle," Halton said on Monday. "Really didn’t know what a two-eye (written as 2i) was or three was, so really just overcoming a lot of obstacles and a lot of adversity."

2i is a tecnique that refers to the interior lineman lining up on the inside shoulder/eye of the guard opposing them. 3 would refer to lining up on the outside shoulder of the guard, and so on.

But Halton, the reigning SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week, didn't know technique terminology? Maybe there's hope for all of us. Or, closer to reality, Halton is a testament to God-given talent coupled with hard work, not to mention being one of the definitive players under Venables when it comes to defensive development.

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"I couldn’t do it alone," Halton said. "Coach V, coach (Todd) Bates, coach (Miguel) Chavis and all the coaching staff that’s been here. They’ve helped me throughout the way, so I’m blessed to have them on my side and I’m just blessed to be where I’m at right now."

Following his first two seasons where he played over a dozen games in a rotational role, Halton burst onto the scene in 2024. His game-clenching safety against Houston last season was an exclamation point on his journey from role specialist to impact player. He finished 2024 with 30 tackles, six tackles for loss, five sacks and two forced fumbles.

Halton's development, along with Jayden Jackson, Damonic Williams and David Stone, led to many declaring Oklahoma's defensive line as the best unit in the country.

This season, Halton's numbers are slightly lower — however, there's one more important game this Saturday — but his impact is even greater.

Oklahoma Sooners, Gracen Halton — Oklahoma defensive tackle Gracen Halton | Carson Field, Sooners on SI

"I knew this was the last go around for me and so I just had the mindset of just doing anything I can do for the team, whether that's on the field, off the field, having a great mindset being a leader," Halton said. "Having my teammates around me, having guys that’s hungry, that’s got the same mindset as me, that’s helped me out.

"It's going well, going great this year and just blessed," Halton added.

Halton's final regularly scheduled home game has brought his journey from 2022 to the forefront. Two seasons of being in and out of the lineup or dealing with injuries. Two 6-7 seasons. Now? A shot at getting Oklahoma into the College Football Playoff. Sounds like a bit of pressure, right? Not to Halton.

"No pressure.," Halton said. "I feel like this whole season we didn’t worry about the pressure, we were just worrying about going forward. Whatever is ahead of us, we take care of that then things start happening."