There Are a Lot of Okies Along the Cowboys’ Defensive Line

There isn’t a position group more densely populated with Oklahomans than the Cowboys’ defensive line.

Thirty percent of players listed at defensive end, defensive tackle or outside linebacker went to high school within this oddly shaped state’s borders. That comes out to six Okies: Jaleel Johnson (Putnam City North), DeSean Brown (Choctaw), Iman Oates (Tulsa-Edison), Aden Kelley (Thomas-Fay-Custer), De’Marion Thomas (Tulsa-Union) and Taje McCoy (Putnam City).

Four of those Oklahomans returned from last season’s squad, but the OSU staff went out and added Thomas and McCoy this offseason via the transfer portal.

“As a younger kid, I dreamed about playing for OK-State,” Thomas said. “Now I can finally make that dream come true. Now I can leave my mark and legacy here. That’s something I would like to do.”

At 6-foot-2, 337 pounds, Thomas is the heaviest player on the Cowboys’ roster. He’s a true junior after spending the past two seasons at Vanderbilt. He started in all 13 of the Commodores’ games last season, finishing the year with 34 tackles (a good amount for a guy on the interior). He played in 10 games as a true freshman in 2023.

The No. 776 player in the 2023 recruiting class (per 247Sports Composite), Thomas didn’t have an OSU offer coming out of high school, but chose Vandy over reported offers from Arkansas, Baylor, Texas Tech and others.

McCoy was also a part of that 2023 class. He was the No. 599 player in that same ranking. He did announce an OSU offer but signed with Colorado. He played in 17 games under Deion Sanders in two seasons. He made 24 tackles in 2024, including four sacks.

There is a world this year where a four-man pass rush flies toward an opposing quarterback this season that features Oates and Thomas up to middle and some combination of Johnson, Brown and McCoy applying pressure from the outside.

The Past

Historically — especially recent history — in-state defensive linemen have played well as Cowboys.

The most shining example in recent years is Collin Oliver. Oliver was tracking down Leslie O’Neal’s career sack record last season before an injury ended his year. Oliver finished his OSU career with 23.5 sacks and 42 tackles for loss before the Packers took him in this year’s NFL Draft.

Trace Ford was another Edmond Santa Fe Wolf to have success in Stillwater. Despite battling injuries throughout his OSU tenure, Ford had 8.5 sacks in three seasons with the Pokes before spending the last two years of his college career in Norman.

From Edmond to Oolagah, Brock Martin had a fantastic five seasons in orange and black, finishing with 16 career sacks and 41 tackles for loss.

Brendon Evers (Bixby) also had a celebrated career as a Cowboy, playing in 53 games and making 46 tackles in the interior. That included a three-sack 2021 season to help the Cowboys to the Fiesta Bowl.

Before them, Jordan Brailford (Booker T. Washington) had 15 sacks from 2014 to 2018 before being taken in the NFL Draft.

The Future

It doesn’t look as if the Cowboys will be moving away from keeping the state’s top defensive lineman home any time soon.

As part of the seven Oklahomans the Cowboys have committed in their 2026 class, two are expected to play on the defensive line: Tajh Overton (Owasso) and Landen Anderson (Edmond Santa Fe).

An interior D-lineman, Overton is the state’s top prospect, according to 247Sports, which has him listed as the No. 177 player in all of the class. He committed to the Cowboys in June after taking official visits to OSU, OU and Ole Miss.

An edge rusher, Anderson made 83 tackles for the Wolves last season, according to MaxPreps, which included a sack and 11 tackles for loss. He’s the No. 531 player in the 247Sports Composite ranking and was once committed to Kansas before finding a home closer to home.