After a disappointing first season in the SEC, Brent Venables and Oklahoma football are gearing up for a major improvement in 2025. The Sooners have redone their backfield with the additions of star quarterback John Mateer (Washington State) and running back Jaydn Ott (California). However, Oklahoma knows that in order to compete for championships in the best conference in the country, it must be strong up front on both sides of the ball. The Sooners took a step toward doing that on Tuesday with a big transfer portal commitment from former Utah State defensive tackle Ricky Lolohea, according to On3 Sports. “BREAKING: Utah State transfer DL Ricky Lolohea has committed to Oklahoma,” On3 Sports reported on X, formerly Twitter. Lolohea originally committed to Oklahoma State as a three-star recruit in the class of 2023, but did not see any action during his first season. He then transferred to Utah State for the 2024 campaign, where he played in eight games and made 10 tackles. This offseason, Oklahoma hired former Utah State defensive coordinator and interim head coach Nate Dreiling as its new inside linebackers coach, so Lolohea will have some common ground to work from as he gets used to his third new team in as many years. Despite his relative lack of experience and production at the college level, Lolohea has clearly put enough on tape to impress Venables, who is one of the most respected defensive minds in college football for his time as the defensive coordinator of two national championship teams at Clemson. Venables is going back to calling the plays on defense for Oklahoma this season, and he now has another tool at his disposal up front. Oklahoma has a lot of work to do to get back to the top of college football, but the defense was far ahead of the offense last season. Now, Venables is rounding out the talent on that side of the ball, and Mateer and Ott should give them a massive boost on the other side. Expect the Sooners to be one of the most improved teams in college football in 2025.