by Jake Trotter, Staff Writer
jtrotter@opubco.com , The Oklahoman

"It has a chance to be a very good one," Stoops said Thursday from the OU caravan in Tulsa.

"And who knows, maybe it has a chance to be the best."

While the Sooner defense didn't have a banner year statistically last season (No. 58 nationally) and surrendered several big plays early on in Big 12 play, Stoops has plenty of reasons to be optimistic.

Defensive tackle Gerald McCoy, a future first-round NFL Draft choice, will be one of the favorites considered for preseason Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year honors.

Travis Lewis, the reigning Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year, returns at outside linebacker after breaking Brian Bosworth's school record for tackles in a season by a freshman.

And Tulsa native Dominique Franks, who also attended the caravan with Stoops, provides the Sooners with a lock-down cornerback and playmaker in the secondary.

Those three players are big reasons why Phil Steele's college football magazine ranks OU as having the best defensive line, third-best linebacking corps and 15th-best defensive backfield in the nation.

"There's a lot of experience and a lot of potential there," Stoops said. "We'll see how they work and how they prepare and how they get ready for it.

"But it has a chance to be a very good one, if they'll work hard and prepare well."

Another reason for Stoops to be confident in his defense was how it bounced back last year following a midseason swoon. After allowing 45 points to Texas, 31 to Kansas and 35 to Kansas State, the defense closed the year by holding the high-powered offenses from Texas Tech, Missouri and Florida in the national championship to season scoring lows.

"I think it's obvious when you go through a championship game and against a high profile offense like Tech and even in the championship game, the way the defense played, it's obvious we played very well," Stoops said. "In the end, it's something you've got to earn every week.

"But we did mature and get better through the year. And it was obvious in some big and important games down the stretch."

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