Why Oklahoma teammates call PJ Adebawore a ‘freak of nature’

DALLAS — In December’s Alamo Bowl, Oklahoma’s defensive end PJ Adebawore was 1.93 meters tall and weighed 109 kilos.

Not bad for a straight-A freshman.

However, Sooner Nation recently went into overdrive when the team’s summer roster was announced and Adebawore was officially listed as 251 pounds.

But last week at SEC Media Days, OU coach Brent Venables gave fans an even more interesting piece of information.

“I put PJ on the scale yesterday (Monday),” Venables said. “I didn’t have my phone with me, but I wanted to take a picture. I wish I had, so I could have sent it to Coach (Miguel) Chaviswho is still on vacation. He was just over 260.

“That just tells you what kind of gains you can make in the summer if you have guys who are committed.”

Armed with a better understanding of Venables’ defense and nearly two years of training from Chavis, a 260-pound Adebawore could become a nightmare for the opposing offense.

“Did you see that guy?” said the senior linebacker Danny Stutsman“It’s hard not to be amazed by him.”

Stutsman said that since arriving from North Kansas City in January 2023, Adbawore has been on an impressive upward trend.

The former Under Armour All-American and consensus 5-star prospect had minimal impact as a rookie in 2023, recording just six total tackles, 3.0 tackles for loss and 1.5 quarterback sacks. But he played in all 13 games and gained invaluable experience.

“You see some of these pass rush moves that he does in practice, you watch the film and you can’t teach that, the way he moves, how fluid he is with his movements,” Stutsman said last week. “It’s amazing. It’s awesome to watch. On third down, to have packages and get him in there and see what he can do, it’s going to be huge for us.”

Adebawore, whose given name is Adepoju, is widely regarded as one of the top 25 national players in the world and has an older brother (Tomi) who already plays in the NFL and a younger brother (Adeyeye) who may be on his way.

Meanwhile, the middle brother appears poised to become a college football superstar. That’s telling for a defense that has improved in two seasons under Venables but has struggled mightily to get to the quarterback. Adebawore could change that.

Adebawore has a 62.1 grade point average for the 2023 season, according to Pro Football Focus, including a grade of 60 or higher in eight games. He has played 184 total defensive snaps, according to PFF, having 13 total QB pressures, nine hurries and two hits.

His pass rush grade of 67.5 was 21st among Big 12 Conference edge rushers (first on the Sooners’ list, ahead of teammates Trace Ford and Ethan Downs). Only 14 players have scored better than 70.0.

And as the process of reaching the elite continues, he is endearing himself to his teammates on another level.

“His personality is unique,” Stutsman said. “He’s a guy who — we went skeet shooting the other day, and then PJ and I and some other guys went to a PBR (Pro Bull Riders), and this guy is terrified of guns and bulls.

“It’s funny to watch because when that guy is on the field, he’s an absolute monster. He’s a terror. But to watch him outside of football, ‘OK, this guy is a human being, he’s going to be scared of a bull.’ But he’s a generational athlete. He’s a freak of nature.”