How Oklahoma DE Jake Kreul Has 'Learned So Much Football' During Spring Practice

NORMAN — Three months into his time at Oklahoma, defensive end Jake Kreul is confident that he made the right decision.

Kreul was one of 25 players who signed with the Sooners as part of their 2026 recruiting class. He was a consensus top-60 prospect in the class and chose OU over Ole Miss and Texas.

One of the primary reasons Kreul chose OU over other major programs was to play in Brent Venables’ defense. Another was the fact that he’d likely get the chance to be a contributor as an underclassmen.

Now just days away from his first spring game, Kreul said his experience in Norman has been as expected.

“Kind of a dream come true,” Kreul said. “Literally living the dream.”

As a senior at IMG Academy in Florida, Kreul logged 36 tackles, 16 tackles for loss, 15 quarterback hurries, four sacks, three forced fumbles and two pass breakups. ESPN graded him as a 5-star recruit and the No. 25 overall prospect in the Class of 2025.

In March, defensive end Taylor Wein said that Kreul was “more knowledgeable” than any other freshman edge rusher he had seen come through the program. And on Monday, true freshman quarterback Bowe Bentley sang similar praises about him.

“That dude’s a freak,” Bentley said. “He’s proven himself. I think he’ll get his opportunity on the field as a freshman and he’s shocked me a lot. He’s real good.”

Wein, who led OU with 15 tackles for loss and seven sacks in 2025, will start at the left defensive end spot in 2026, while Kreul, Danny Okoye, Adepoju Adebawore and others will compete for snaps on the right side.

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Even though Kreul was a blue-chip prospect and has already earned the respect of his college teammates, he believes that he must improve to be a valuable contributor when the season begins in September.

“I'm nowhere near where I want to be,” Kreul said. “I think there's a lot more work to be done and I think the coaches challenge me to get there every single day, and that's why I love it here.”

Though Kreul isn’t satisfied with where he’s at, he’s confident that he can will there.

Every day in practice, Kreul is tasked with trying to get past OU offensive tackles Michael Fasusi and E’Marion Harris.

The true freshman believes that battling against those two has allowed him to grow as a player in a short period of time.

“That's been a lot of fun,” Kreul said. “(I’ve gotten) to kind of learn a lot from them. I think sometimes we go back and forth… just making each other better."

As mentioned, Venables’ defensive prowess lured Kreul to Norman.

Entering his fifth year as the Sooners’ head coach, Venables has helped turn OU into a defensive powerhouse. Oklahoma ranked first in the SEC in both scoring and total defense in 2025.

Kreul still has several months until he makes his official debut. But he feels confident that he’ll get to where he needs to be, thanks to the leadership from Venables and his defensive assistants.

“You learn so much football,” Kreul said. “There's so much stuff that you don't know until you know, but now I'm here with all these great coaches. Gotten to learn a lot of football recently. (It’s) kinda opened my eyes to what the game is and the kind of player I can be. It's been awesome."

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