Kip Lewis
Kip Lewis led Oklahoma in tackles, calls the defense, and wears the captain's stripe. He's back for a final season to anchor a Sooners defense built to make noise in the SEC.
Kip Lewis led Oklahoma in tackles, calls the defense, and wears the captain's stripe. He's back for a final season to anchor a Sooners defense built to make noise in the SEC.
Lewis was the heartbeat of Oklahoma's defense in 2025 — a team-leading 76 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, four sacks and five pass breakups, the every-down signal-caller and captain who's started since the middle of 2024. He returns for a final season already on the Bronko Nagurski preseason watch list. The forward stakes ride with the program's: Oklahoma enters its second SEC year with a defense built to contend, and Lewis is the experienced voice in the middle who sets the front and makes the calls. He's not the flashiest name, but he's the kind of veteran anchor good defenses are organized around.
How he plays
Lewis is a balanced, do-everything middle linebacker — the on-field quarterback of the defense. The stat line is well-rounded rather than spiky: a team-leading tackle count, 10.5 tackles for loss as a downhill run defender, four sacks on timed pressures, and five pass breakups that show real range in coverage. As a captain and multi-year starter, his value is as much in the pre-snap communication and alignment as in the production. He's a steady, instinctive, every-down linebacker who diagnoses plays quickly and is rarely out of position — the reliable core a contending defense leans on.
The story
Lewis was the heartbeat of Oklahoma's defense in 2025 -- a team-leading 76 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, four sacks and five pass breakups, the every-down signal-caller and captain who's started since the middle of 2024. He returns for a final season already on the Bronko Nagurski preseason watch list. The forward stakes ride with the program's: Oklahoma enters its second SEC year with a defense built to contend, and Lewis is the experienced voice in the middle who sets the front and makes the calls. He's not the flashiest name, but he's the kind of veteran anchor good defenses are organized around.
Career Arc
Coaching Lineage · 2022–2025
1 coachPlayed his entire career under Brent Venables.
2025 snapshot
Season context · Team result + system
Splits & context
Supporting Cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Brent Venables
Awards
Player Standing · 17 rungs
Tier 2 · StarterR05 · Part-time starter
Part-time starter. Tackle volume for the position in part-time-starter range.
Career stats
Signature game
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 10 · 2025
W 33–27
at Tennessee
10 TOT · 4 SOLO · 0 SACKS
A wire-to-wire battle — won by 6 on the road.
How he plays
Play style
Lewis is a balanced, do-everything middle linebacker -- the on-field quarterback of the defense. The stat line is well-rounded rather than spiky: a team-leading tackle count, 10.5 tackles for loss as a downhill run defender, four sacks on timed pressures, and five pass breakups that show real range in coverage. As a captain and multi-year starter, his value is as much in the pre-snap communication and alignment as in the production. He's a steady, instinctive, every-down linebacker who diagnoses plays quickly and is rarely out of position -- the reliable core a contending defense leans on.
Our classifier reads him the same way: carries tight ends down the field in coverage.
2026 Outlook
Oklahoma
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Linebacker · Oklahoma
Returning around him
- 7 Oklahoma players drafted to NFL
- Transfer portal: -13 net (16 in / 29 out)
2026 Award watch
No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)
Oklahoma · Last season: 10-3 (AP #8) · Talent rank #14 · 2026 recruiting class #15
Perception vs tape
Lewis was the heartbeat of Oklahoma's defense in 2025 -- a team-leading 76 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, four sacks and five pass breakups, the every-down signal-caller and captain who's started since the middle of 2024. He returns for a final season already on the Bronko Nagurski preseason watch list.
Read the story →DNA match
Player DNA
Coverage 'Backer
Carries tight ends and patrols the middle of the field in coverage.
His 2025 production profile sits closest to Owen Heinecke’s 2025 season.
Matches Owen on
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a senior, his production profile tracks closest to Chris Paul Jr.'s senior season at Ole Miss (2024).
Matches Chris on
Differs from Chris on
Background
Season GP-GS UT AT Total TFL Sacks INT FF FR PBU QBH 2022 5-0 1 1 2 0.5-2 0.0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 2023 13-5 38 28 66 3.5-11 1.0-7 0-0 0 1 0 1 2024 13-12 34 31 65 4.0-5 0.0-0 2-112 0 0 1 1 2025 13-13 38 38 76 10.5-42 4.0-32 0-0 0 0 4 5 Career 44-30 111 98 209 18.5-60 5.0-39 2-112 0 1 5 7 2025 (OKLAHOMA)...