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Dasan McCullough Learning Oklahoma's Defense with Help from Veteran DB

Originally posted on FanNation All Sooners
By Randall Sweet | Last updated 8/9/23

Former Indiana star Dasan McCullough's collegiate career got off to a great start.

As a true freshman, the Bloomington, IN native recorded 49 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, four sacks and three pass breakups. McCullough's impressive performance earned him freshman All-American honors last season.

The Hoosiers, however, had a disappointing year, going 4-8 in 2022.

Indiana's record, and likely a number of other factors, led McCullough to transfer to Norman and play under Brent Venables. In Venables' defense, McCullough will be in a much different role than he is used to, moving from a typical linebacker position to a hybrid linebacker-safety spot known as the Cheetah.

Perhaps the most famous and well-executed version of a Cheetah in Venables' defense is current Arizona Cardinals defender Isaiah Simmons during his time at Clemson. The former first-round draft pick flew all around the field in college, making plays in run defense and in coverage.

"He's rangy. Me and the guys joke a lot. He's a first rounder. You can't take anything away from that," fifth-year defensive back Justin Harrington said when asked about Simmons. "I feel like a lot of times with Coach V's defense, you don't see him in man a lot. That just takes the cheetah position to another level because we have the speed."

Listed at 6-foot-4 and 238 pounds during his college days, Simmons is a similar size to McCullough, who is currently listed at 6-foot-5 and 227 pounds.

In this role, McCullough will be playing in coverage much more than he has in the past. Coming out of high school, McCullough was a 4-star edge rusher, further proving his versatility but not granting the Bloomington South (IN) product as many coverage reps to learn from.

McCullough's athleticism and intelligence did allow the versatile playmaker to get some snaps as a safety in high school, but much of his production up to this point has come inside the box.

Following the Sooners' fourth session of fall camp on Monday, McCullough spoke to the media, saying he is starting to get the hang of his new assignments.

"I feel very confident in playing it. I feel like if we had a game today, I could play it and make it work," McCullough said when asked about the Cheetah position. "That’s words from Coach Venables and Coach (Ted) Roof, without those guys’ help this whole summer, it wouldn’t be possible. This spring, I started off really slow and learning that process. Being here at camp, day four, way more confident here in day four than in spring ball."

McCullough added that his move to Cheetah is no surprise, saying that he and Venables discussed his versatility prior to the talented linebacker's decision to transfer to OU. Given the former 4-star recruit's multi-faceted ability, he could be a huge piece of the Oklahoma defense in 2023.

"It doesn’t feel like anything to me except what I’m supposed to be doing," McCullough said. "When I came here with Coach V, this is what we talked about me doing. This is what I signed up for. I’m ready for it."

Another aspect of McCullough's transition that has taken some time to get used to is the complexity of Venables' defense. At Big 12 Media Day in July, veteran linebacker Danny Stutsman mentioned that one of the challenges for the Sooners' new players is learning the defensive schemes, checks and calls.

McCullough said that while Venables' defense is much more challenging to get a grasp of, his coaches and teammates have helped ease him through the process.

"The amount of checks and plays you have to remember is a crazy amount. I’m not going to lie," McCullough said. "But you can tell why it works so much. Because it’s so hard to cover and for an offense to pick up on. That’s why I love his defense so much, for real. ... (Coach Venables) simplifies things for me. Especially when it comes to different positions, he’ll make sure I don’t have to remember a thousand checks at the position. He helps me out a lot."

McCullough also said that Harrington, who is entering his fourth season as a Sooner after transferring from the junior college ranks, has also played a huge role in the true sophomore's adjustment.

McCullough had high praise for Harrington, complimenting the veteran's athleticism, size and coverage acumen. Coming from more of a traditional defensive back role, Harrington has more experience playing in coverage schemes than McCullough and has seemingly taught the younger Cheetah plenty of what he has learned through his five-year college football career.

"Justin (Harrington) is a freak. He came out to camp ready to go," McCullough said. "This dude is 6-foot-3 and 215 and can cover like a corner, really. He’s an impressive dude, and a dude I take a lot of notes from myself coverage-wise. Me and him are going to make a great combination. ... Justin Harrington, for sure has (mentored me). Especially with him being a cheetah with the footwork and really getting to know the why -- why we do everything, why we line up like this and things of that nature. He’s been the biggest older guy to help me out."

If Harrington and McCullough are the two primary players rotating in at the Cheetah position in 2023, the Sooners will get the best of both worlds between the two players differing skill sets. Harrington is older and has more experience in coverage, whereas McCullough is much less experienced but does have a history of playing in the box successfully.

With Harrington taking McCullough under his wing, it should help the 6-foot-5 athlete develop his coverage skills and become an even better Cheetah going forward. With Harrington's final season in Norman likely upcoming, McCullough will seemingly take over the bulk of the positional responsibilities in 2024, making it even more crucial for the Indiana native to soak in everything that he can from Harrington and his coaches this season.

Harrington said that he has already noticed McCullough's confidence growing, saying that the lessons the sophomore learned in spring ball are already paying off in fall camp.

"(McCullough is) more confident," Harrington said after practice on Monday. "I feel like I kind of took him under my wing. He's just a different player. He's moving a little bit faster. He's already a freak athlete. ... The good thing about him is he played his freshman year, so he kind of knows the speed of college football. One thing I told him was that when you lose a rep, we have so many reps out here. If it's the first practice or the fourth practice, we have so many reps out here. Just have a windshield mindset and put it behind you. You're going to live to play another play. Just try not to make the mistake again. And, as you can see, you'll grow and grow and grow. And, shoot, you see him on the field. He's moving and flying around. He's a big guy. That's all I tell him."

With Harrington and McCullough competing for playing time at the Cheetah position, it is a true testament to the leadership abilities of Harrington for the veteran defender to help McCullough maintain his confidence and learn Venables' defense, even when it may result in the Indiana transfer taking snaps away from Harrington later in the season.

The former Bakersfield College (CA) defensive back seems more focused on the team's improvement, rather than his own playing time. Still, Harrington is a very large and athletic defensive back who could certainly make a big impact on OU's defense this season.

After finishing 119th in the nation in passing yards allowed last year, Harrington, McCullough and a host of other coverage players will need to step up for the Sooners' to improve their defensive standing in 2023.

As a redshirt junior last season, Harrington tallied 23 tackles, two pass breakups and one interception. In his three years at Oklahoma, the Raleigh, NC, native has played in 17 total games but has yet to log a start.