Transfer LB Cole Sullivan Ready to Prove he can 'Run the Show' for Oklahoma's Defense

NORMAN — Transfer linebacker Cole Sullivan hasn’t acted like a newcomer during his first few months at Oklahoma.

But that really wasn’t an option for him.

The Sooners saw two of their key linebackers from the 2025 squad — Kobie McKinzie and Sammy Omosigho — transfer out of the program during the offseason. They are also waiting to see whether or not they will get Owen Heinecke for another year, pending the result of his injunction against the NCAA.

In Sullivan’s words, linebackers “run the show” in Brent Venables’ defense. And because the Sooners are thin at the position, the former Michigan standout knew that he needed to be an immediate leader.

“Here, coach Venables emphasizes that, stresses that to us: It’s more important for us to command the defense,” Sullivan said.

Sullivan quickly became a leader while at Michigan.

He finished his sophomore season with 44 tackles, five tackles for loss, three interceptions, two sacks, a pass breakup, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery after notching only four tackles as a true freshman in 2024.

With two years of college football experience now under his belt, Sullivan has made an effort to prove that he can be a leader on OU’s defense during his first season in Norman.

“None of these guys are gonna listen to you if you don't know what the heck you're doing out here,” Sullivan said. “Just trying to do that every day and keep proving myself and just building up to that leader day by day.”

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Though Sullivan has yet to play a game in an OU uniform, he is one of two players with significant experience on the Sooners’ linebacker corps, along with Kip Lewis. (That number, of course, would go up to three if Heinecke wins his injunction).

At Michigan, Sullivan served as the Wolverines’ “green-dot” guy for multiple games. Helmets with green dots are equipped with radio communication between a player and coach.

It’s possible — perhaps likely — that Sullivan will once again have the green dot for the Sooners in 2026. And the linebacker is confident that he is up for that challenge.

“It's something else that you just have to take control of with the defense,” Sullivan said. “You have to be the guy that communicates to everybody. Maybe it is a challenge, but it's something you want to be as a linebacker, something you want to be, hopefully as a leader on the team."

With a couple of key departures at linebacker, Oklahoma needs Sullivan to be both a leader and a producer.

And with the Sooners’ spring game just over a week away on April 18, Venables is pleased with how Sullivan has consistently developed.

“Cole's done a really good job of being really consistent about putting in the extra time to learn the new language and how it applies to him, what we're trying to accomplish with different schemes, what you can and can't do with both the run and the pass,” Venables said. “A lot of growing opportunities for him, but you can see some of his experience has shown up.”