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Summer Heat, Part 2: Brent Venables Talks Oklahoma's Late Transfers

Part two of a series exploring OU's post-spring transfers and what Sooners coach Brent Venables said about defensive lineman Da'Jon Terry.
John E. Hoover|
Summer Heat, Part 2: Brent Venables Talks Oklahoma's Late Transfers
Summer Heat, Part 2: Brent Venables Talks Oklahoma's Late Transfers

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Oklahoma Sooners

ARLINGTON, TX — Oklahoma coach Brent Venables clearly wasn’t content with the defensive roster at the end of spring ball.

So the Sooners’ head man dipped back into the transfer portal to add some talent over the summer.

In addition to offensive lineman Troy Everett from Appalachian State, OU added three newcomers on defense: linebacker Konnor Near from Division II Ferris State, defensive lineman Da’Jon Terry from Tennessee and defensive tackle Phillip Paea from Utah State.

“Competition brings out the best in everybody and we needed more competition,” Venables said. “More guys that are capable of playing at a really high level.”

Big 12 Media Days on Thursday was Venables’ first public media appearance since their arrival, so AllSooners asked Venables to elaborate on adding the mid-summer newcomers.

This is part two of a series on what Venables had to say:

DL Da'Jon Terry

Tennessee

After two years at Kansas, defensive lineman Da'Jon Terry wanted to reach higher. So he transferred to Tennessee. Now, Terry is a graduate transfer at Oklahoma and is already contributing to the Sooners' roster.

He entered the portal on May 26 after spending two years with Volunteers.

Last year in Knoxville, Terry played in 13 games and logged two sacks and 3.5 tackles for loss. Terry's two seasons at UT produced results as he played 506 total defensive snaps and posted a Pro Football Focus grade of 73.4 as a junior and 62.6 as a senior.

In his two seasons at Kansas, Terry played 33 snaps as a freshman and a career-high 261 as a sophomore, with PFF grades of 65.9 and 66.9, respectively.

He has 36 career tackles, w with 18 total quarterback pressures and four sacks.

Terry is considered an elite-caliber run stopper at 6-foot-4 and 321 pounds and should fit in well on the interior of Venables’ defensive line. 

"D.J. Terry, again, he brings size and power up the middle of the defense that you’ve got to have," Venables said. "Got great natural strength. I love his humility. Been an incredible, humble, hard-working guy. He’s fit right in because he’s low-maintenance.

"He’s a hard worker. He’s been doing two-a-days on his own since he got here. He has a sense of urgency about creating value for himself and an opportunity for himself. And you know, he’s got experience at playing the game. And he’s a heavy-handed guy that, again, I just like his attitude, his toughness and his humility. 

"He has no expectation other than he’s gonna show up every day and earn whatever it is that he’s given."

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John E. Hoover
JOHN E. HOOVER

John is an award-winning journalist whose work spans five decades in Oklahoma, with multiple state, regional and national awards as a sportswriter at various newspapers. During his newspaper career, John covered the Dallas Cowboys, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Arkansas Razorbacks and much more. In 2016, John changed careers, migrating into radio and launching a YouTube channel, and has built a successful independent media company, DanCam Media. From there, John has written under the banners of Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Fan Nation and a handful of local and national magazines while hosting daily sports talk radio shows in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and statewide. John has also spoken on Capitol Hill in Oklahoma City in a successful effort to put more certified athletic trainers in Oklahoma public high schools. Among the dozens of awards he has won, John most cherishes his national "Beat Writer of the Year" from the Associated Press Sports Editors, Oklahoma's "Best Sports Column" from the Society of Professional Journalists, and Two "Excellence in Sports Medicine Reporting" Awards from the National Athletic Trainers Association. John holds a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from East Central University in Ada, OK. Born and raised in North Pole, Alaska, John played football and wrote for the school paper at Ada High School in Ada, OK. He enjoys books, movies and travel, and lives in Broken Arrow, OK, with his wife and two kids.

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