What does defensive tackle look like after Derrick LeBlanc's departure

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With the news of former four-star defensive tackle Derrick LeBlanc’s departure from the program, let’s take a look at where Oklahoma goes from here at defensive tackle.

LeBlanc announced on Twitter there were some “unforeseen circumstances” that resulted in him having to enter the portal.

thank you for everything sooner nation

With that being said I am looking forward to what God has next for me.

— Derrick Leblanc

(@getrightderrick) June 13, 2023

Losing a guy like LeBlanc, you can look at it in one of two ways. On one hand, you don’t want to lose defensive linemen, especially those at defensive tackle. This is a position the Sooners are weak at, and you never want to lose talented players.

On the other hand, you aren’t losing any production. Did he have potential? Absolutely but he hadn’t played a game yet.

Let’s be real. Unless something changed, he wasn’t going to be in the two-deep this year. I could argue he wasn’t top six at his position for 2023.

Injuries could change that, obviously, but it was unlikely he’d get playing time ahead of guys like Da’Jon Terry, Phillip Paea, Jonah Laulu, Isaiah Coe, Jordan Kelley, Jacob Lacey, and Gracen Halton. One could make the argument that Ashton Sanders was in a better position to compete for snaps inside given the size he arrived in Norman with.

There’s been a lot of buzz out there about Sanders and Halton this offseason, but both are still young guys that have developing to do. Halton was a four-star signee in the 2022 recruiting class after flipping from Oregon.

Now, there’s been rumors about Lacey not being able to play this year, so that would hurt. But we’ve heard guys like Ethan Downs and Rondell Bothroyd could play up and down the line.

2024 is trickier, though. Laulu, Lacey, Kelley, and Coe are all out of eligibility after this season. Now the Sooners are in the run for some elite players in the 2024 class. They can also address issues in the portal. But defensive tackle has some questions to answer in 2023 ahead of their move to the SEC in 2024.

In their first year in the SEC, the Sooners could have very little depth at one of the most important positions. 

If there’s a positive takeaway from the departure from the Sooners’ perspective, it’s that Derrick LeBlanch made the decision now as opposed to next winter. The Sooners are in the midst of recruiting so they might be able to get in on some recruits they had moved on from now that they have an extra spot available on the defensive line depth chart.

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Jaron on Twitter @JaronSpor.

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By: jaronspor
Title: What does defensive tackle look like after Derrick LeBlanc's departure
Sourced From: soonerswire.usatoday.com/2023/06/13/oklahoma-sooners-football-2023-derrick-leblanc-brent-venables/
Published Date: Tue, 13 Jun 2023 13:08:43 +0000

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