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It’s become such a regular occurrence that Oklahoma Sooners edge rusher Nik Bonitto is one of the best players on the field. At this point, he seems to fly under the radar with how good he is.
Perhaps part of that is because of the struggles the Sooners have had defensively in recent weeks.
For whatever reason, Bonitto is quietly having a fantastic season in his fourth year for the Oklahoma Sooners. According to Pro Football Focus, the redshirt junior ranks in the top five in pass-rush grade, pressure rate, and pass rush win rate.
Name a category, Nik Bonitto ranks top-5
@OU_Football pic.twitter.com/JDCoMFM3iq— PFF College (@PFF_College) October 28, 2021
With four games left in the 2021 season, he’s on pace to exceed his career-high for tackles for loss (11.5) and will likely break his career-high in sacks (9).
With Jalen Redmond out, Isaiah Thomas forced to rush inside more with Redmond out, and Perrion Winfrey providing some up and down performances, more has fallen on Bonitto to produce off the edge.
After sitting out against Western Carolina, he was kept off of the stat sheet against West Virginia. Over the last four games, he’s accumulated 4.5 tackles for loss and three sacks.
Nik Bonitto’s been on a tear, and if 2021 is anything like 2020, he’s just getting started.
At this point last season, heading into a Halloween weekend matchup with the Texas Tech Red Raiders, Nik Bonitto had only collected 3.5 tackles for loss and two sacks in the first five games. Over the final five games of 2020, Bonitto was a monster picking up seven sacks and eight tackles for loss. Oklahoma rallied from their two early-season conference losses to win the Big 12 championship and beat the Florida Gators in the Cotton Bowl.
As the Sooners begin to get healthy in the secondary, it will help Bonitto, and the rest of the defensive front be the dominant force they were expected to be heading into the 2021 season. And Oklahoma will need them with games coming up against Baylor, Iowa State, and Oklahoma State after the bye to close out the season.
Starting with Texas Tech, Oklahoma begins the most challenging part of their season. Regardless of what’s happened with the Red Raiders this week, the Sooners will be challenged on both sides of the football. Like Bonitto did last year, this is the time for the Sooners to turn it up defensively.
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By: John Williams
Title: Nik Bonitto in for a fantastic finish to the 2021 season for the Oklahoma Sooners
Sourced From: soonerswire.usatoday.com/2021/10/30/oklahoma-sooners-football-nik-bonitto-in-for-a-fantastic-finish-to-the-2021-season/
Published Date: Sat, 30 Oct 2021 12:00:19 +0000
