The Oklahoma Sooners have an elite track record of producing NFL talent, and the 2025 NFL Draft is shaping up to be another feather in their cap of NFL stars.
On his Tuesday press conference, head coach Brent Venables announced that two Oklahoma Sooners received invitations to the Senior Bowl, a prestigious NFL Draft event that occurs in January.
The Senior Bowl is a national showcase for top NFL prospects who have completed their college eligibility. There are approximately 500 Senior Bowl alumni on current NFL rosters.
For Oklahoma, two of those players are defensive leaders and elite, tone-setting playmakers. Linebacker Danny Stutsman and safety Billy Bowman earned Senior Bowl invites this past week.
Both of Stutsman and Bowman are considered to be top-100 players in the 2025 NFL Draft, with Stutsman drawing consideration to be the first linebacker drafted next April.
Stutsman is a traditional MIKE linebacker. He’s the unquestioned leader of Oklahoma’s defense and shores up the middle of their defense very well. The reason why I think he is such a valuable commodity now for NFL teams is this increased desire to play with light boxes across the league. Stutsman’s size, athletic profile, and run defense makes him a terrific fit for that style of scheme, as he has the ability to cover up the seam but also the size and block-shedding ability to not sacrifice anything against the run.
I’ve often compared Billy Bowman to Arizona Cardinals standout safety Budda Baker. Bowman’s play has been stellar once again this season, but his name seems to have fallen off radars because he’s not generating the interceptions he was last season. Turn on the tape, and it’s evident teams are avoiding Billy Bowman as much as possible. Despite that, he leads the team in interceptions.
What appeals to me the most about Bowman is his skill set for the NFL is a rare one. You just don’t see safeties that have his kind of range and ball skills on the back end who can also drop into the slot and play man coverage at a high level like Bowman does. Sure, he’s undersized, but he’s not afraid to fit the run in the slightest.
I would expect a few other Oklahoma players to get invitations to the Senior and Shrine Bowl, depending on who declares. Defensive end Ethan Downs will be a popular name I expect would get an invite to either game. Offensive tackle Michael Tarquin and cornerback Woodi Washington feel like Shrine Bowl names, as do defensive ends Caiden Woullard and Trace Ford.
