SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE FOOTBALL MEDIA DAYS

July 20, 2026

Taylor Wein

Oklahoma Sooners

Press Conference

Q. Everybody knows what the team goals are. What's your individual goals for this year?

TAYLOR WEIN: My individual goals are just to get better, overall as a leader and as a teammate, get better and develop. And then just be more versatile in my game. Understanding my weaknesses and attacking those. So that's my goal this offseason.

Q. Has this offseason felt any different for you? Last year you were a little bit of an unknown battling for rotation spot. This year you're expected to have a big-time leadership role and be one of the guys on that defense?

TAYLOR WEIN: Yeah, as far as noise, it's definitely a little louder. But as far as football and habits and just staying consistent, that hasn't changed. That's just through a body of work, and that hasn't changed since I got here.

So, yeah, as far as football, nothing's changed. Just put my head down and go to work, get better.

Q. What should the Oklahoma fans look forward to with this defense, this addition?

TAYLOR WEIN: Dudes flying around. We get 11 hats on the ball, you're doing a good job. And just consistency. There's a lot of areas of improvement that is needed to be this offseason, and we fell short in some categories last year.

And one of those things was turnovers. We didn't have our first turnover, I think, until week five. And that's not the standard that we have at Oklahoma. And we had a really elite defense last year. And that's something we struggled with.

Then finishing games. In the fourth quarter, our three losses, we struggled to finish games, and we've got to do a better job. We can't allow points in the fourth quarter.

So those are just some weaknesses that we need to get better at. And you just learn from those, you get scarred up and learn, and you attack.

Q. When you're standing in the tunnel, waiting to go out on the field in front of all of those fans, what's the one thing that gives you goosebumps?

TAYLOR WEIN: I look over and I see my family. They sit in the same row. When I see them fired up and bouncing around and get to wave at my pops it's pretty exciting. That's one thing I cherish a lot.

Q. Last year, R Mason Thomas was asked who is the breakout guy he mentioned you, who is the breakout guy?

TAYLOR WEIN: Déjà vu.

Q. He was right, by the way.

TAYLOR WEIN: Yeah, I think you look up and down. Adepoju Adebawore has played consistent ball. I live with him and I know his goals and his mindset has changed and he's ready attacking it better. And so we expect a lot out of P.J. and he expects even more out of himself. We're excited to see him put it together. We know he's going to do a great job for us.

Q. You guys host Texas A&M this year, first time since the Big 12 days. What do you know about them looking at them from afar, and how excited are you for that game this year?

TAYLOR WEIN: They played very, very complementary football, all three phases. They show up ready to go, and so especially a big organization and program like that, you have to come correct and you've got to be ready to play. They're going to come out swinging. So we have to show up and be ready to go. We know they do a good job offensively and their quarterback is really talented, and so we've got to show up and be ready to perform.

Q. Your outfit, who styled you and what's the most fun for you playing football?

TAYLOR WEIN: My outfit is my personality. I style myself. My mom helps me out here and there. Of course, I fall back on her opinion. That's important.

The most fun part for me is really being able to bring my family along. They're getting to experience these cool atmospheres and stadiums. And I know they're super, super proud what I have going on. Being able to bring them along, I'm the youngest of eight kids. And so this is something that my older siblings are very excited about.

So that's the coolest part for me is being able to bring the whole wine crew and live this moment with them. They do have their own section.

Q. Entering this year, stepping up into more of a leadership role, how have you found yourself in spring football and summer and getting ready for that and fall camp?

TAYLOR WEIN: As far as leadership.

Q. It's something that I feel like I've naturally kind of gotten acclimated to and I feel I've embraced it. It's really helped me as a player overall. Obviously there's always room for improvement and I just know I've got to continue to get better.

But the biggest thing for me is just leaving this place better than how I got here. Guys before me did a very good job of that. Guys like R Mason Thomas and Ethan downs and guys that really poured into the system and they made us better as a D end group. That's my goal pour into the young guys and just so when it's their time they're on the stage they're ready to go?

Q. What have you seen from the offensive line this offseason, young guys like Michael and Ryan and P.L. really getting their first run through the SEC last year? How has that development looked so far?

TAYLOR WEIN: They've done a great job. That room has transformed, and they've just gotten more and more mature. And they were young last year. They did some really great great things. They put a lot of great things on tape. These dudes are flying off the ball every day in practice.

That's what motivates me and inspires me and seeing these young guys really step up and take on these huge roles and embrace it and get way better. They've completely matured and attacked their weaknesses and gotten stronger.

Seeing them fly off the ball is very encouraging, and we know what we're getting out of them and we're excited.

Q. There's been a lot of young depth added to the defensive end this season. What gives you confidence you can replicate the success of last year?

TAYLOR WEIN: It's a body of work. That started in January. That's where our confidence comes from. When this bullets are flying and the moments are brightest we fall back to our standards, we fall back to our foundation. And so that's just what we fall back on. And so we know we're very confident because we've put in the work.

And so, yeah, those young bucks are going to be ready to go and we'll be sure of it.

Q. Going back to the offensive line question, what's it like in practice going up against Eddy?

TAYLOR WEIN: It's very, very fun. It's head to head, just competition every single day. And he makes us better as a D line and we make them better. And so when you have iron sharpening iron you're going to be very, very good in the trenches. And we know we're getting out of Eddy and it's a dude that's motivated, self-motivated, high standard and loves his teammates and loves the University of Oklahoma.

Q. You kind of talked about building on the success. Obviously last year making it to the college football playoff with that hard-to-kill mentality. How are you bringing it over to '26 with a new roster and a lot of new guys and faces?

TAYLOR WEIN: Each team is different in its own. And it's not much bringing it over. That's just the standard that we built into our program now. And, like I said, we're very high standard. That's what we fall back on.

So we just have to continue to elevate that and we know that we've got to bring our best game. To me that's what hard to kill means, that you bring it every single week.

So that's just got to put it all together and show up ready to go on Saturdays -- Friday for the first game.

Q. What kind of quarterback is John Mateer?

TAYLOR WEIN: A very excellent quarterback. He plays very, very consistent. I know that he's very, very self-motivated, just like a lot of the guys on the team. And he does a good job just attacking his weaknesses. I've seen John completely elevate his game and completely transform as a player and his mentality.

And it's only elevated the whole offense, and it's brought a huge pulse to the offense and we're excited. We know John has a very good mindset and he's competitive.

And it's actually really funny going against him at practice every day, he's the number one dude talking smack. We're going back and forth and whatnot. It's a really good thing. So, we're excited.

Q. Why is it the offensive line men are the most interesting guys to talk to on a football team?

TAYLOR WEIN: I think it's their personality. Specifically our guys they're Coach Beenbo (phonetic) guys. They have huge personalities. They're blue-collar guys. They justifier off the ball. And, yeah, they show up every day ready to work.

I would argue they're the closest position group on the team, and that's what makes them super, super connected and super super talented. We're excited to see what they do.