Oklahoma Sooners Football Recruiting: 3-star LB Danny Stutsman has signed with OU

The Oklahoma Sooners have secured the signature of Danny Stutsman — a top 30 linebacker in the 2021 recruiting cycle. The three-star LB from Winter Garden, Florida was one of the first recruits of this cycle to have committed to Lincoln Riley’s program despite not having visited the campus because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Brian Odom and Alex Grinch getting this signature is only a sign of what’s to come from the future of the Sooners defense. The Oklahoma D that many fans remember from the early 2000’s is coming back (in a way) with big, long and athletic defenders, and Stutsman fits that to the tee. Standing at 6’3, 215 pounds, he’s been recruited to be a WILL linebacker despite being labeled as an outside linebacker. Having that presence over the middle of a defense is important, especially when directing traffic in the Big 12.

How he fits in

Stutsman can be viewed as a body type that’s similar to Oklahoma’s own David Ugwoegbu— he’s such a big, long athlete with speed. He has the physical ability that fits what Grinch wants to do in a defensive front seven — almost positionless football. I imagine he could be in two coaching rooms between Odom and Cain, lining up as a WILL in some sets and on the EDGE in others.

Stutsman held over twenty offers from several solid P5 institutions such as Texas A&M, Oklahoma State, West Virginia, Virginia Tech, South Carolina, and others. In his senior year, Stutsman recorded 110 tackles, including 19 TFL. He lined up at receiver, scoring 12 touchdowns on his way to what was nearly a thousand yards receiving.