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Posted
18 minutes ago, chiu1040 said:

Local and national media types are drinking the kool aid.  Greg McElroy at ESPN said "I'm not sure there's been a team that's going to improve as much as I think Oklahoma has a chance to improve, I think Oklahoma is poised for a significant jump in wins. I think Oklahoma is poised to have some breakthrough candidates in multiple different positions."

OU's counterpart of Craig Way said that OU got the top QB, RB, and WR (Gibson?) in the portal.

I'm going to start an Oklahoma Football 2025 thread on the football board and post my initial thoughts on their outlook for 2025. It's odd to me that we don't regularly do that but fuck the metathread as the sole football board place to discuss our arch rival. I look forward to us storing receipts on the media clownshow fawning over them during the offseason. 

As to top WR in the portal, uhh, no. There are plenty of candidates for that and the dude with a fractured leg from UAPB who might not even play this year isn't that guy. What a fucking joke. Every year some new dipshit is proclaimed to be the next great OU WR. 

Anyway, Oklahoma Football 2025: Grab Your Ankles; Oklahoma Football 2025: Brent Venables Will Chew Through You; Oklahoma Football 2025: Less Wins Than Teeth; Oklahoma Football 2025: Staring At Your Ass Pressed Firmly Against A Mirror. I don't know, still working on an initial title, got some time.

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Posted
1 minute ago, closetojumping said:

What a fucking joke. Every year some new dipshit is proclaimed to be the next great OU WR. 

I wanted it to be Ivan Carreon, dude was a beast at Odessa HS and represents for the homies. But he looked pretty disappointing in his limited play last year, a big tall slow giraffe. He’s everything you thought Parker Livingstone was.

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Posted
3 minutes ago, Helobious said:

I wanted it to be Ivan Carreon, dude was a beast at Odessa HS and represents for the homies. But he looked pretty disappointing in his limited play last year, a big tall slow giraffe. He’s everything you thought Parker Livingstone was.

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Posted
1 hour ago, texifornia said:

From @statsman

IMG_3814.jpeg

Although the astounding level of grammatical errors, ignorance, and delusional homerism are delicious, we shouldn’t over look this unassuming gem: “if Bowen is who he looked to be his freshman season, then I’ll take our safety’s [lol] over theirs”.
 

How often has a player reversed a regression without a significant positive change in circumstance? Usually you see players make incremental improvements before a sudden positive jump. Bowen wasn’t injured last year, he just played poorly despite being next to 2nd round pick Billy Bowman. OU’s coaching and scheme hasn’t changed, nor has their S&C program. There is no reason to expect material improvement.

This is like LSU fans expecting Harold Perkins to return to freshman vs Arkansas form, except Bowen never even hit those heights.

Posted
41 minutes ago, closetojumping said:

I'm going to start an Oklahoma Football 2025 thread on the football board and post my initial thoughts on their outlook for 2025. It's odd to me that we don't regularly do that but fuck the metathread as the sole football board place to discuss our arch rival. I look forward to us storing receipts on the media clownshow fawning over them during the offseason. 

As to top WR in the portal, uhh, no. There are plenty of candidates for that and the dude with a fractured leg from UAPB who might not even play this year isn't that guy. What a fucking joke. Every year some new dipshit is proclaimed to be the next great OU WR. 

Anyway, Oklahoma Football 2025: Grab Your Ankles; Oklahoma Football 2025: Brent Venables Will Chew Through You; Oklahoma Football 2025: Less Wins Than Teeth; Oklahoma Football 2025: Staring At Your Ass Pressed Firmly Against A Mirror. I don't know, still working on an initial title, got some time.

Less wins than teeth is the pithiest and best of those choices. 

Posted (edited)
47 minutes ago, closetojumping said:

Anyway, Oklahoma Football 2025: Grab Your Ankles; Oklahoma Football 2025: Brent Venables Will Chew Through You; Oklahoma Football 2025: Less Wins Than Teeth; Oklahoma Football 2025: Staring At Your Ass Pressed Firmly Against A Mirror. I don't know, still working on an initial title, got some time.

 

5 minutes ago, Wulaw Horn said:

Less wins than teeth is the pithiest and best of those choices. 

I agree and like that one the most; however... it's "fewer", not "less" here, folks.

Edited by MuellerHorn
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Posted (edited)

As far as player and unit comps- OU is biased, we’re biased (or, at least, I am biased), but Phil Steele will have both player and unit unbiased rankings to check. 

Edited by statsman
Posted
1 hour ago, Wulaw Horn said:

Less wins than teeth is the pithiest and best of those choices. 

 

1 hour ago, MuellerHorn said:

 

I agree and like that one the most; however... it's "fewer", not "less" here, folks.

Problem is, while it sounded funny in my head, it doesn't mean much. Every team in the country will have fewer wins than teeth. 

Posted
4 minutes ago, closetojumping said:

 

Problem is, while it sounded funny in my head, it doesn't mean much. Every team in the country will have fewer wins than teeth. 

That's true, but it still sounds funny.  We will have more wins than Okies have teeth though. 

Posted
3 hours ago, texifornia said:

From @statsman

IMG_3814.jpeg

This is the good stuff.

When fans write this "wish-into-existence" content, you know that fanbase hasn't fully accepted the reality that is in front of them. 

If there was such a thing as a potential misery scale (calculated as: fan expectation - non-fan rational expectation) for the upcoming football season, I think OU has to be at the top.

I can't wait to see this play out in 2025.

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Posted
3 hours ago, Professor Chesney said:

Although the astounding level of grammatical errors, ignorance, and delusional homerism are delicious, we shouldn’t over look this unassuming gem: “if Bowen is who he looked to be his freshman season, then I’ll take our safety’s [lol] over theirs”.
 

How often has a player reversed a regression without a significant positive change in circumstance? Usually you see players make incremental improvements before a sudden positive jump. Bowen wasn’t injured last year, he just played poorly despite being next to 4th round pick Billy Bowman. OU’s coaching and scheme hasn’t changed, nor has their S&C program. There is no reason to expect material improvement.

This is like LSU fans expecting Harold Perkins to return to freshman vs Arkansas form, except Bowen never even hit those heights.

Fify

Posted

From 2000-2023, the Sooners held onto a belief that there was just something in the water in Austin that made football players soft and stupid, and that OU was just faster, smarter and toughler. Last year, they started to grudgingly admit that Texas was better (but not by as much as it looked! Texas had an easy schedule, and Littrell was retarded!)

They have taken steps to get better this year. They see that Texas’ 2023 starting lineup is now almost fully gone to the NFL. They are believing again. 
 
Texas needs to spank them again. It’s the only way. I’m pretty sure that their schedule, from the Texas game on, will wear their one deep lineup down. 
 
They host Auburn early, in their first SEC game. Jackson Arnold will probably be the Auburn QB. I suspect that their three games Venables has circles are Michigan in week 2, Auburn and Texas. If he loses to Auburn (QBed by Arnold) and Texas, Venables might not finish the season. 

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Posted
7 minutes ago, statsman said:

From 2000-2023, the Sooners held onto a belief that there was just something in the water in Austin that made football players soft and stupid, and that OU was just faster, smarter and toughler. Last year, they started to grudgingly admit that Texas was better (but not by as much as it looked! Texas had an easy schedule, and Littrell was retarded!)

They have taken steps to get better this year. They see that Texas’ 2023 starting lineup is now almost fully gone to the NFL. They are believing again. 
 
Texas needs to spank them again. It’s the only way. I’m pretty sure that their schedule, from the Texas game on, will wear their one deep lineup down. 
 
They host Auburn early, in their first SEC game. Jackson Arnold will probably be the Auburn QB. I suspect that their three games Venables has circles are Michigan in week 2, Auburn and Texas. If he loses to Auburn (QBed by Arnold) and Texas, Venables might not finish the season. 

I mean, their "steps to get better" are pretty much the same as last year - two super expensive transfers at need positions and then a bunch of random JAGs.

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Posted

Guys this isn’t hard. We are going to suck this year, it is what it is. No offense to you @closetojumping but you had our record really high not too long ago. You did put the out for you to be able to adjust it later, so that’s fair. But this team isn’t good, it’s just not. In a year from now this coaching staff will not be here so that’s all I have to look forward to. My prediction is 6-6 maybe 7-5 if it goes good. How the mighty have fallen. 

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Posted
4 hours ago, SimkinsMan said:

 

george_costanza_squinting_seinfeld-1392497198.gif

 

4 hours ago, closetojumping said:

Sometimes his eyes just roll back into his head and he seizures out whatever his lord and savior wants his fingers to type. 

Eh, I’ve was supposed to be I Love. 

Posted
16 hours ago, Pdawg88 said:

Guys this isn’t hard. We are going to suck this year, it is what it is. No offense to you @closetojumping but you had our record really high not too long ago. You did put the out for you to be able to adjust it later, so that’s fair. But this team isn’t good, it’s just not. In a year from now this coaching staff will not be here so that’s all I have to look forward to. My prediction is 6-6 maybe 7-5 if it goes good. How the mighty have fallen. 

It’s probably on this thread. I think I was thinking 8-4. Might adjust that down to 7-5 by season’s start given their futility in the portal and with injuries. 

Posted
1 hour ago, closetojumping said:

It’s probably on this thread. I think I was thinking 8-4. Might adjust that down to 7-5 by season’s start given their futility in the portal and with injuries. 

8-4 with that schedule is kool aid stuff.  They did make some good moves but it’s not a good team by OU standards.  If aggy was honest w themselves this would be a team they’re happy with.  That’s just where this program sits…

Posted
2 hours ago, closetojumping said:

It’s probably on this thread. I think I was thinking 8-4. Might adjust that down to 7-5 by season’s start given their futility in the portal and with injuries. 

If everything goes right 7-5, I’d say closer to 5-7 is more realistic. Schedule is brutal 

Posted
12 minutes ago, closetojumping said:

Here's TE. This author's ability to make this unit sound like something enviable is borderline witchcraft. Tarp or Karels at Aggie 247 would have offed themselves facing the same obstacle here. Highlights also below:

-They have 7 TEs on their roster. They were trying to find an 8th, anywhere, somewhere, nowhere. Not one of these 7 TEs would be a scholarship player at Texas. 

-One of their TEs is Jaren Kanak, former highly rated LB who was "perfect for Venables' system" and is yet another high 4 star or 5 star bust at OU. 

-Davon Mitchell, a 5 star TE prospect, was apparently force fed Chef Boyardee on a daily basis in order to gain enough weight to be an SEC in-line TE. He ballooned up to 275 where "he carried the weight really well" all spring until he announced his transfer, then sooner pundits online and on XM 84 blasted him for being an immature fatass. He's now at Louisville and has allegedly lost 15 pounds in 2 weeks or some shit. 

-Their probable starter and 2nd string guy are from Pittsburg State, D2 school, and Kennesaw State. 

-Arbuckle, whose TEs had less than 25 targets last year at Wazzou, is claiming that the TEs at OU are going to be a force. 

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The tight end position has left something to be desired for Oklahoma's offense the last couple of seasons, as the position has largely underwhelmed in the two years since Brayden Willis' solid 2022 campaign during Brent Venables' inaugural season along with then-offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby.

The position was mostly a non-factor in the offense in 2023, and then last season provided a mixed bag with Seth Littrell—and then Joe Jon Finley—calling plays. On the one hand, Bauer Sharp finished the season as Oklahoma's leading receiver (42 catches for 324 yards and a pair of touchdowns); on the other hand, those were lackluster totals for a No. 1 receiver (a symptom of a calamitous offensive season overall), and the tight end group struggled in other aspects of the game, whether from a blocking standpoint or other miscues that contributed to a disappointing inaugural SEC season for the Sooners.

While Finley is back as Oklahoma's tight ends coach (but no longer calling plays, as he did on an interim basis the second half of the year), his position group has undergone wholesale changes in the offseason as the Sooners worked to reshape the room ahead of Ben Arbuckle's debut season as offensive coordinator. Gone are Sharp (transferred to LSU) and Jake Roberts (graduated), the top two players from last year's tight end rotation, as well as former four-star prospect Davon Mitchell (now at Louisville). In are a trio of transfer additions — Will Huggins, Carson Kent and John Locke Jr. — as well as two other newcomers in freshman Trynae Washington and converted linebacker Jaren Kanak. They join two returning pieces in Kaden Helms and Kade McIntyre, as Oklahoma hopes to find an answer in a new-look tight end group for 2025.

Projected depth chart

-- Will Huggins, redshirt senior (2024 stats: 22 receptions, 395 yards, one touchdown)

-- Carson Kent, redshirt junior (2024 stats: 18 receptions, 217 yards, three touchdowns)

-- Jaren Kanak, senior (2024 stats: 17 tackles, one blocked kick returned for touchdown while playing linebacker) OR

-- Kaden Helms, redshirt junior (2024 stats: two receptions, 19 yards, one touchdown)

-- John Locke Jr., redshirt junior (2024 stats: one reception, 2 yards) OR

-- Kade McIntyre, redshirt sophomore (2024 stats: 55 total snaps, no receptions) OR

-- Trynae Washington, freshman (2024 stats: N/A)

Post-spring departures: Davon Mitchell (Louisville)

Due to arrive in the fall: N/A

(Photo: SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images, USA TODAY Sports)

 

Outlook: Despite the personnel overhaul at the position, Oklahoma's tight end group heads into the 2025 season as the biggest question mark on the roster — a notion underscored by the team's (unfulfilled) attempt to add another piece after the completion of spring practices during the April transfer portal window.

After missing out on its top transfer target during that window, Oklahoma heads into the summer with largely the same group it entered the spring with — with the exception of Mitchell, who left the program late in spring practices before transferring to Louisville. It's a vastly unproven group, but one that features a couple of intriguing pieces who could pan out into viable options in the Sooners' new-look offense.

Chief among those is Pitt State transfer Will Huggins, a 6-foot-6, 262-pound transfer from Pitt State who started his career at Kansas. Huggins is a massive target who was solid as a pass-catcher last season for the Division-II Gorillas, and his size makes him a natural fit as an additional blocker when the role calls for it. But Huggins, despite his prior experience at Kansas, lacks production at this level; his lone reception in four seasons with the Jayhawks was a 20-yard touchdown as a true freshman — against the Sooners, no less.

That lack of proven production at this level of college football applies to the rest of the room, as well. McIntyre has one reception in limited opportunities the last two years. Locke caught one pass at Louisiana Tech last season. Washington, obviously, is a freshman who just completed his first spring with the Sooners.

Then there's Kent, who began his career at Kennesaw State, which was an FCS program during his first two seasons before joining Conference USA last fall. The 6-foot-4, 244-pounder was a second-team All-Conference USA player last season after catching 18 passes for 217 yards and a trio of touchdowns. That pass-catching ability has seemingly translated well to Oklahoma, where he garnered some strong reviews from teammates for his receiving prowess during spring practices (center Troy Everett remarked after the Crimson Combine that Kent is "out there catching everything. Ball gets thrown up to him, he's coming down with it nine out of 10 times.").

Huggins and Kent emerged from spring as the projected top two options at tight end, but opportunities are likely still up for grabs heading into the fall, especially for guys like Kanak and Helms, both of whom got first- and second-team reps at times during the spring, including in the Crimson Combine. Kanak is an interesting case, considering he spent the last three years at linebacker before making the position switch this offseason. He has some qualities to like at the position — athleticism, football IQ, work ethic and physicality — but is still new to the position and is working tirelessly to learn the ins and outs of playing tight end in the SEC. Helms, meanwhile, has been hampered by injuries during his first three seasons, which has limited him to just 102 offensive snaps in his career. When healthy, Helms has upside as an athletic, 6-foot-5 pass-catching option, but staying healthy has proven difficult.

It's unlikely tight end will be a strength for Oklahoma's offense in 2025, but after Arbuckle identified the position as the most improved over the duration of spring practices, there's some cautious optimism that someone can emerge as a reliable option in an unproven group and make sure the the position at least won't be a weakness this fall.

What they said: "The tight end group, I would say, of any position group, they are the position group that has shown the most improvement over spring ball, right? From where they were on Day 1 to where they are now — I mean, I'm pretty sure in the last four practices, we've thrown like nine touchdowns to the tight ends. And not just wide-open touchdowns. I'm talking aggressive, contested catches. I'm talking they're on the line of scrimmage, and we're running the football, and they're getting so much better with their hand placement, moving people. And they're all unreal kids. That's one of my favorite position meetings to go sit in, because Coach Finley is an unbelievable coach, and those are unbelievable kids in that room, and they're so fun to be around, and they've shown the most improvement."

— offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle

  Reveal hidden contents

The tight end position has left something to be desired for Oklahoma's offense the last couple of seasons, as the position has largely underwhelmed in the two years since Brayden Willis' solid 2022 campaign during Brent Venables' inaugural season along with then-offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby.

The position was mostly a non-factor in the offense in 2023, and then last season provided a mixed bag with Seth Littrell—and then Joe Jon Finley—calling plays. On the one hand, Bauer Sharp finished the season as Oklahoma's leading receiver (42 catches for 324 yards and a pair of touchdowns); on the other hand, those were lackluster totals for a No. 1 receiver (a symptom of a calamitous offensive season overall), and the tight end group struggled in other aspects of the game, whether from a blocking standpoint or other miscues that contributed to a disappointing inaugural SEC season for the Sooners.

While Finley is back as Oklahoma's tight ends coach (but no longer calling plays, as he did on an interim basis the second half of the year), his position group has undergone wholesale changes in the offseason as the Sooners worked to reshape the room ahead of Ben Arbuckle's debut season as offensive coordinator. Gone are Sharp (transferred to LSU) and Jake Roberts (graduated), the top two players from last year's tight end rotation, as well as former four-star prospect Davon Mitchell (now at Louisville). In are a trio of transfer additions — Will Huggins, Carson Kent and John Locke Jr. — as well as two other newcomers in freshman Trynae Washington and converted linebacker Jaren Kanak. They join two returning pieces in Kaden Helms and Kade McIntyre, as Oklahoma hopes to find an answer in a new-look tight end group for 2025.

 

 

Projected depth chart

-- Will Huggins, redshirt senior (2024 stats: 22 receptions, 395 yards, one touchdown)

-- Carson Kent, redshirt junior (2024 stats: 18 receptions, 217 yards, three touchdowns)

-- Jaren Kanak, senior (2024 stats: 17 tackles, one blocked kick returned for touchdown while playing linebacker) OR

-- Kaden Helms, redshirt junior (2024 stats: two receptions, 19 yards, one touchdown)

-- John Locke Jr., redshirt junior (2024 stats: one reception, 2 yards) OR

-- Kade McIntyre, redshirt sophomore (2024 stats: 55 total snaps, no receptions) OR

-- Trynae Washington, freshman (2024 stats: N/A)

Post-spring departures: Davon Mitchell (Louisville)

Due to arrive in the fall: N/A

 

13091417.jpg?fit=bounds&crop=620:320,offset-y0.50&width=620&height=320 (Photo: SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images, USA TODAY Sports)

 

 

Outlook: Despite the personnel overhaul at the position, Oklahoma's tight end group heads into the 2025 season as the biggest question mark on the roster — a notion underscored by the team's (unfulfilled) attempt to add another piece after the completion of spring practices during the April transfer portal window.

After missing out on its top transfer target during that window, Oklahoma heads into the summer with largely the same group it entered the spring with — with the exception of Mitchell, who left the program late in spring practices before transferring to Louisville. It's a vastly unproven group, but one that features a couple of intriguing pieces who could pan out into viable options in the Sooners' new-look offense.

Chief among those is Pitt State transfer Will Huggins, a 6-foot-6, 262-pound transfer from Pitt State who started his career at Kansas. Huggins is a massive target who was solid as a pass-catcher last season for the Division-II Gorillas, and his size makes him a natural fit as an additional blocker when the role calls for it. But Huggins, despite his prior experience at Kansas, lacks production at this level; his lone reception in four seasons with the Jayhawks was a 20-yard touchdown as a true freshman — against the Sooners, no less.

That lack of proven production at this level of college football applies to the rest of the room, as well. McIntyre has one reception in limited opportunities the last two years. Locke caught one pass at Louisiana Tech last season. Washington, obviously, is a freshman who just completed his first spring with the Sooners.

Then there's Kent, who began his career at Kennesaw State, which was an FCS program during his first two seasons before joining Conference USA last fall. The 6-foot-4, 244-pounder was a second-team All-Conference USA player last season after catching 18 passes for 217 yards and a trio of touchdowns. That pass-catching ability has seemingly translated well to Oklahoma, where he garnered some strong reviews from teammates for his receiving prowess during spring practices (center Troy Everett remarked after the Crimson Combine that Kent is "out there catching everything. Ball gets thrown up to him, he's coming down with it nine out of 10 times.").

Huggins and Kent emerged from spring as the projected top two options at tight end, but opportunities are likely still up for grabs heading into the fall, especially for guys like Kanak and Helms, both of whom got first- and second-team reps at times during the spring, including in the Crimson Combine. Kanak is an interesting case, considering he spent the last three years at linebacker before making the position switch this offseason. He has some qualities to like at the position — athleticism, football IQ, work ethic and physicality — but is still new to the position and is working tirelessly to learn the ins and outs of playing tight end in the SEC. Helms, meanwhile, has been hampered by injuries during his first three seasons, which has limited him to just 102 offensive snaps in his career. When healthy, Helms has upside as an athletic, 6-foot-5 pass-catching option, but staying healthy has proven difficult.

It's unlikely tight end will be a strength for Oklahoma's offense in 2025, but after Arbuckle identified the position as the most improved over the duration of spring practices, there's some cautious optimism that someone can emerge as a reliable option in an unproven group and make sure the the position at least won't be a weakness this fall.

What they said: "The tight end group, I would say, of any position group, they are the position group that has shown the most improvement over spring ball, right? From where they were on Day 1 to where they are now — I mean, I'm pretty sure in the last four practices, we've thrown like nine touchdowns to the tight ends. And not just wide-open touchdowns. I'm talking aggressive, contested catches. I'm talking they're on the line of scrimmage, and we're running the football, and they're getting so much better with their hand placement, moving people. And they're all unreal kids. That's one of my favorite position meetings to go sit in, because Coach Finley is an unbelievable coach, and those are unbelievable kids in that room, and they're so fun to be around, and they've shown the most improvement."

 offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle

 

That is something, considering that the SoonerScoop posters regularly ask their moderators why Joe Jon Finley hasn’t been fired yet (which annoys the moderators to no end. “We don’t know why he still has a job! Quit asking!”). Occasionally, someone will whisper that last year’s starter, Bauer Sharp, who they bitched about constantly, might have a nice finish to his career at LSU, where he portaled. 
 
 

Posted
34 minutes ago, closetojumping said:

Pitt State transfer Will Huggins, a 6-foot-6, 262-pound transfer from Pitt State

 

35 minutes ago, closetojumping said:

after catching 18 passes for 217 yards and a trio of touchdowns. That pass-catching ability

 

Posted
1 hour ago, closetojumping said:

Here's the LB write-up and highlights:

-There's a developing theory that they're actually going to be better this season at LB without their multi-year All American LB who was just a 4th round pick. Now, I thought Stutsman was a joke, but I don't believe for a second that McKenzie was sitting behind him just because the coaches are meanies who don't play the best players. 

-Did anyone even notice that Kip Lewis started last year? He had the quietest starting LB season that I can remember since Tyrone Jones. 

-They're really thin at LB. If they have an injury problem, which would never happen with Jerry Schmidt running things, they're in deep doodoo. 

  Reveal hidden contents

Oklahoma's linebacker corps is turning the page this offseason, replacing both its backbone (All-American Danny Stutsman) and its position coach (Zac Alley). Enter, inside linebackers coach Nate Dreiling and outside linebackers coach Wes Goodwin, who came over from Arkansas State and Clemson, respectively, and 2025 is set to be the start of a new chapter for the Sooners at linebacker.

Part of that new chapter includes the passing of the torch from Stutsman, who was a foundational piece of Oklahoma's defense in each of Brent Venables' first three seasons as head coach, to the duo of Kobie McKinzie and Kip Lewis, a pair of 2022 signees now primed to be the leaders of OU's linebacker corps. Those two are set to take over as the starting tandem at Mike and Will, respectively, while the Sooners have some options at the Cheetah spot, with either Kendel Dolby — fresh off last season's broken leg — or Oklahoma State transfer Kendal Daniels as the top candidates.

Projected depth chart

MIKE LINEBACKER

-- Kobie McKinzie, redshirt junior (2024 stats: 30 tackles, three for loss, 1.5 sacks, nine total pressures, one pass breakups)

-- Sammy Omosigho, junior (2024 stats: 39 tackles, five for loss, six total pressures, one pass breakup, one forced fumble)

-- Taylor Heim, redshirt sophomore (2024 stats: N/A)

WILL LINEBACKER

-- Kip Lewis, junior (2024 stats: 65 tackles, four for loss, six total pressures, two interceptions, two touchdowns, one pass breakup)

-- Kendal Daniels, redshirt senior (2024 stats: 64 tackles, 10.5 for loss, 5.5 sacks, 23 total pressures, seven pass breakups)

-- James Nesta, redshirt freshman (2024 stats: two tackles)

CHEETAH

-- Kendel Dolby, redshirt senior (2024 stats: 10 tackles, one for loss, one sack, three total pressures, one pass breakups) OR

-- Kendal Daniels, redshirt senior (2024 stats: 64 tackles, 10.5 for loss, 5.5 sacks, 23 total pressures, seven pass breakups)

-- Reggie Powers III, sophomore (2024 stats: four tackles, one total pressure)

Post-spring departures: N/A

Due to arrive in the fall: Marcus James, three-star 2025 signee.

(Photo: NATHAN J. FISH/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images, USA TODAY Sports)

Outlook: Replacing a consensus All-American is never an enviable task, especially when it's a player and leader the caliber of Stutsman. Oklahoma can take solace in the fact that, despite Stutsman's departure to the NFL, the defense isn't starting fresh at linebacker, as Lewis (470 snaps, 12 starts last season) and McKinzie (337 snaps, two starts) were OU's second- and third-most utilized linebackers. Lewis returns as the starter at Will, while McKinzie is set to take over for Stutsman at the Mike position, giving the Sooners a formidable starting tandem on the inside.

The depth behind those two was the big question for Oklahoma after last season, and while the Sooners only added one linebacker during the transfer cycle (Daniels during the winter window), his versatility — with the ability to play inside or in the slot at Cheetah — along with Sammy Omosigho's move from primarily playing Cheetah to focusing more on the Mike role, gives OU a viable and talented four-man rotation for the two inside linebacker spots. The spring development of third-year sophomore Taylor Heim, who has also shifted his focus to inside linebacker, provides Oklahoma with a potential fifth man when needed as well.

As for the Cheetah spot, the Sooners should be in great shape there as Goodwin — now reunited with Venables after succeeding him as Clemson's defensive coordinator the last three seasons — takes over control of that position.

Dolby returned this spring after a gruesome broken leg he sustained in the SEC opener against Tennessee, and while Oklahoma was cautious with him during spring practices, he's expected to be fully cleared for the fall. That's good news considering how the 5-foot-10, 193-pounder made that role his own prior to the injury. Dolby provides Oklahoma with a more traditional slot corner at Cheetah who is both strong in coverage and effective as a pass-rusher from the slot.

If the Sooners want to go bigger at Cheetah, there's Daniels, the Oklahoma State transfer who began his career at safety before moving to linebacker but has the size of an edge rusher at 6-foot-5 and 239 pounds. Daniels brings an abundance of experience (240 career tackles, with 24 for loss, 7.5 sacks, five interceptions, 13 pass breakups and 43 total pressures) and versatility to the Sooners' defense and figures to play both inside and in the slot this fall.

Sophomore Reggie Powers III should also be in the mix at Cheetah, giving Oklahoma a third different body type and skillset in that role, with the 5-foot-11, 213-pounder serving as the more traditional hybrid safety/linebacker type. Powers, who made just two appearances on defense last season, had a solid spring while impressing with his consistency and dependability—traits that should earn him more opportunity in the rotation come fall.

What they said: "I've been at the University of Oregon, been at big places before. The difference is typically, if you have five-star players, then you have five-star problems. They don't have that here. They have the players, but they don't have the issues. But the linebacker group is — and you guys see them do drills, you guys see them make tackles — they're even better off the field. They're so fun to be around. They're always smiling. But they know that there's a lot of competition in that room, but they're always helping the next person. Does that make sense? So, to me, it shows so much growth as a man when, 'Yeah, hey, do I want to start? Heck yea, I do, but guess what? I got to get my partner better too.' That's the one biggest takeaway I have from this spring, was how much they wanted that room to grow, and I think it did."

— inside linebackers coach Nate Dreiling

  Reveal hidden contents

Oklahoma's linebacker corps is turning the page this offseason, replacing both its backbone (All-American Danny Stutsman) and its position coach (Zac Alley). Enter, inside linebackers coach Nate Dreiling and outside linebackers coach Wes Goodwin, who came over from Arkansas State and Clemson, respectively, and 2025 is set to be the start of a new chapter for the Sooners at linebacker.

Part of that new chapter includes the passing of the torch from Stutsman, who was a foundational piece of Oklahoma's defense in each of Brent Venables' first three seasons as head coach, to the duo of Kobie McKinzie and Kip Lewis, a pair of 2022 signees now primed to be the leaders of OU's linebacker corps. Those two are set to take over as the starting tandem at Mike and Will, respectively, while the Sooners have some options at the Cheetah spot, with either Kendel Dolby — fresh off last season's broken leg — or Oklahoma State transfer Kendal Daniels as the top candidates.

 

 

Projected depth chart

MIKE LINEBACKER

-- Kobie McKinzie, redshirt junior (2024 stats: 30 tackles, three for loss, 1.5 sacks, nine total pressures, one pass breakups)

-- Sammy Omosigho, junior (2024 stats: 39 tackles, five for loss, six total pressures, one pass breakup, one forced fumble)

-- Taylor Heim, redshirt sophomore (2024 stats: N/A)

WILL LINEBACKER

-- Kip Lewis, junior (2024 stats: 65 tackles, four for loss, six total pressures, two interceptions, two touchdowns, one pass breakup)

-- Kendal Daniels, redshirt senior (2024 stats: 64 tackles, 10.5 for loss, 5.5 sacks, 23 total pressures, seven pass breakups)

-- James Nesta, redshirt freshman (2024 stats: two tackles)

CHEETAH

-- Kendel Dolby, redshirt senior (2024 stats: 10 tackles, one for loss, one sack, three total pressures, one pass breakups) OR

-- Kendal Daniels, redshirt senior (2024 stats: 64 tackles, 10.5 for loss, 5.5 sacks, 23 total pressures, seven pass breakups)

-- Reggie Powers III, sophomore (2024 stats: four tackles, one total pressure)

Post-spring departures: N/A

Due to arrive in the fall: Marcus James, three-star 2025 signee.

 

13090475.jpg?fit=bounds&crop=620:320,offset-y0.50&width=620&height=320 (Photo: NATHAN J. FISH/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images, USA TODAY Sports)

 

Outlook: Replacing a consensus All-American is never an enviable task, especially when it's a player and leader the caliber of Stutsman. Oklahoma can take solace in the fact that, despite Stutsman's departure to the NFL, the defense isn't starting fresh at linebacker, as Lewis (470 snaps, 12 starts last season) and McKinzie (337 snaps, two starts) were OU's second- and third-most utilized linebackers. Lewis returns as the starter at Will, while McKinzie is set to take over for Stutsman at the Mike position, giving the Sooners a formidable starting tandem on the inside.

The depth behind those two was the big question for Oklahoma after last season, and while the Sooners only added one linebacker during the transfer cycle (Daniels during the winter window), his versatility — with the ability to play inside or in the slot at Cheetah — along with Sammy Omosigho's move from primarily playing Cheetah to focusing more on the Mike role, gives OU a viable and talented four-man rotation for the two inside linebacker spots. The spring development of third-year sophomore Taylor Heim, who has also shifted his focus to inside linebacker, provides Oklahoma with a potential fifth man when needed as well.

As for the Cheetah spot, the Sooners should be in great shape there as Goodwin — now reunited with Venables after succeeding him as Clemson's defensive coordinator the last three seasons — takes over control of that position.

Dolby returned this spring after a gruesome broken leg he sustained in the SEC opener against Tennessee, and while Oklahoma was cautious with him during spring practices, he's expected to be fully cleared for the fall. That's good news considering how the 5-foot-10, 193-pounder made that role his own prior to the injury. Dolby provides Oklahoma with a more traditional slot corner at Cheetah who is both strong in coverage and effective as a pass-rusher from the slot.

If the Sooners want to go bigger at Cheetah, there's Daniels, the Oklahoma State transfer who began his career at safety before moving to linebacker but has the size of an edge rusher at 6-foot-5 and 239 pounds. Daniels brings an abundance of experience (240 career tackles, with 24 for loss, 7.5 sacks, five interceptions, 13 pass breakups and 43 total pressures) and versatility to the Sooners' defense and figures to play both inside and in the slot this fall.

Sophomore Reggie Powers III should also be in the mix at Cheetah, giving Oklahoma a third different body type and skillset in that role, with the 5-foot-11, 213-pounder serving as the more traditional hybrid safety/linebacker type. Powers, who made just two appearances on defense last season, had a solid spring while impressing with his consistency and dependability—traits that should earn him more opportunity in the rotation come fall.

What they said: "I've been at the University of Oregon, been at big places before. The difference is typically, if you have five-star players, then you have five-star problems. They don't have that here. They have the players, but they don't have the issues. But the linebacker group is — and you guys see them do drills, you guys see them make tackles — they're even better off the field. They're so fun to be around. They're always smiling. But they know that there's a lot of competition in that room, but they're always helping the next person. Does that make sense? So, to me, it shows so much growth as a man when, 'Yeah, hey, do I want to start? Heck yea, I do, but guess what? I got to get my partner better too.' That's the one biggest takeaway I have from this spring, was how much they wanted that room to grow, and I think it did."

 inside linebackers coach Nate Dreiling

 

 

Don't see how they're going to be improved going from 1 "cracker with that juice" to 0

Posted

Those reports sound so much like late-era Mack it's uncanny. All the coaches are talking about what great kids they are, how much fun they are to be around, how much fun everyone is having. Mack couldn't have said it any better. Hope they have the same results on the field that we did with all of our fun-loving kids. 

Posted
18 hours ago, closetojumping said:

Here's TE. This author's ability to make this unit sound like something enviable is borderline witchcraft. Tarp or Karels at Aggie 247 would have offed themselves facing the same obstacle here. Highlights also below:

-They have 7 TEs on their roster. They were trying to find an 8th, anywhere, somewhere, nowhere. Not one of these 7 TEs would be a scholarship player at Texas. 

-One of their TEs is Jaren Kanak, former highly rated LB who was "perfect for Venables' system" and is yet another high 4 star or 5 star bust at OU. 

-Davon Mitchell, a 5 star TE prospect, was apparently force fed Chef Boyardee on a daily basis in order to gain enough weight to be an SEC in-line TE. He ballooned up to 275 where "he carried the weight really well" all spring until he announced his transfer, then sooner pundits online and on XM 84 blasted him for being an immature fatass. He's now at Louisville and has allegedly lost 15 pounds in 2 weeks or some shit. 

-Their probable starter and 2nd string guy are from Pittsburg State, D2 school, and Kennesaw State. 

-Arbuckle, whose TEs had less than 25 targets last year at Wazzou, is claiming that the TEs at OU are going to be a force. 

  Reveal hidden contents

The tight end position has left something to be desired for Oklahoma's offense the last couple of seasons, as the position has largely underwhelmed in the two years since Brayden Willis' solid 2022 campaign during Brent Venables' inaugural season along with then-offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby.

The position was mostly a non-factor in the offense in 2023, and then last season provided a mixed bag with Seth Littrell—and then Joe Jon Finley—calling plays. On the one hand, Bauer Sharp finished the season as Oklahoma's leading receiver (42 catches for 324 yards and a pair of touchdowns); on the other hand, those were lackluster totals for a No. 1 receiver (a symptom of a calamitous offensive season overall), and the tight end group struggled in other aspects of the game, whether from a blocking standpoint or other miscues that contributed to a disappointing inaugural SEC season for the Sooners.

While Finley is back as Oklahoma's tight ends coach (but no longer calling plays, as he did on an interim basis the second half of the year), his position group has undergone wholesale changes in the offseason as the Sooners worked to reshape the room ahead of Ben Arbuckle's debut season as offensive coordinator. Gone are Sharp (transferred to LSU) and Jake Roberts (graduated), the top two players from last year's tight end rotation, as well as former four-star prospect Davon Mitchell (now at Louisville). In are a trio of transfer additions — Will Huggins, Carson Kent and John Locke Jr. — as well as two other newcomers in freshman Trynae Washington and converted linebacker Jaren Kanak. They join two returning pieces in Kaden Helms and Kade McIntyre, as Oklahoma hopes to find an answer in a new-look tight end group for 2025.

Projected depth chart

-- Will Huggins, redshirt senior (2024 stats: 22 receptions, 395 yards, one touchdown)

-- Carson Kent, redshirt junior (2024 stats: 18 receptions, 217 yards, three touchdowns)

-- Jaren Kanak, senior (2024 stats: 17 tackles, one blocked kick returned for touchdown while playing linebacker) OR

-- Kaden Helms, redshirt junior (2024 stats: two receptions, 19 yards, one touchdown)

-- John Locke Jr., redshirt junior (2024 stats: one reception, 2 yards) OR

-- Kade McIntyre, redshirt sophomore (2024 stats: 55 total snaps, no receptions) OR

-- Trynae Washington, freshman (2024 stats: N/A)

Post-spring departures: Davon Mitchell (Louisville)

Due to arrive in the fall: N/A

(Photo: SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images, USA TODAY Sports)

 

Outlook: Despite the personnel overhaul at the position, Oklahoma's tight end group heads into the 2025 season as the biggest question mark on the roster — a notion underscored by the team's (unfulfilled) attempt to add another piece after the completion of spring practices during the April transfer portal window.

After missing out on its top transfer target during that window, Oklahoma heads into the summer with largely the same group it entered the spring with — with the exception of Mitchell, who left the program late in spring practices before transferring to Louisville. It's a vastly unproven group, but one that features a couple of intriguing pieces who could pan out into viable options in the Sooners' new-look offense.

Chief among those is Pitt State transfer Will Huggins, a 6-foot-6, 262-pound transfer from Pitt State who started his career at Kansas. Huggins is a massive target who was solid as a pass-catcher last season for the Division-II Gorillas, and his size makes him a natural fit as an additional blocker when the role calls for it. But Huggins, despite his prior experience at Kansas, lacks production at this level; his lone reception in four seasons with the Jayhawks was a 20-yard touchdown as a true freshman — against the Sooners, no less.

That lack of proven production at this level of college football applies to the rest of the room, as well. McIntyre has one reception in limited opportunities the last two years. Locke caught one pass at Louisiana Tech last season. Washington, obviously, is a freshman who just completed his first spring with the Sooners.

Then there's Kent, who began his career at Kennesaw State, which was an FCS program during his first two seasons before joining Conference USA last fall. The 6-foot-4, 244-pounder was a second-team All-Conference USA player last season after catching 18 passes for 217 yards and a trio of touchdowns. That pass-catching ability has seemingly translated well to Oklahoma, where he garnered some strong reviews from teammates for his receiving prowess during spring practices (center Troy Everett remarked after the Crimson Combine that Kent is "out there catching everything. Ball gets thrown up to him, he's coming down with it nine out of 10 times.").

Huggins and Kent emerged from spring as the projected top two options at tight end, but opportunities are likely still up for grabs heading into the fall, especially for guys like Kanak and Helms, both of whom got first- and second-team reps at times during the spring, including in the Crimson Combine. Kanak is an interesting case, considering he spent the last three years at linebacker before making the position switch this offseason. He has some qualities to like at the position — athleticism, football IQ, work ethic and physicality — but is still new to the position and is working tirelessly to learn the ins and outs of playing tight end in the SEC. Helms, meanwhile, has been hampered by injuries during his first three seasons, which has limited him to just 102 offensive snaps in his career. When healthy, Helms has upside as an athletic, 6-foot-5 pass-catching option, but staying healthy has proven difficult.

It's unlikely tight end will be a strength for Oklahoma's offense in 2025, but after Arbuckle identified the position as the most improved over the duration of spring practices, there's some cautious optimism that someone can emerge as a reliable option in an unproven group and make sure the the position at least won't be a weakness this fall.

What they said: "The tight end group, I would say, of any position group, they are the position group that has shown the most improvement over spring ball, right? From where they were on Day 1 to where they are now — I mean, I'm pretty sure in the last four practices, we've thrown like nine touchdowns to the tight ends. And not just wide-open touchdowns. I'm talking aggressive, contested catches. I'm talking they're on the line of scrimmage, and we're running the football, and they're getting so much better with their hand placement, moving people. And they're all unreal kids. That's one of my favorite position meetings to go sit in, because Coach Finley is an unbelievable coach, and those are unbelievable kids in that room, and they're so fun to be around, and they've shown the most improvement."

— offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle

  Reveal hidden contents

The tight end position has left something to be desired for Oklahoma's offense the last couple of seasons, as the position has largely underwhelmed in the two years since Brayden Willis' solid 2022 campaign during Brent Venables' inaugural season along with then-offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby.

The position was mostly a non-factor in the offense in 2023, and then last season provided a mixed bag with Seth Littrell—and then Joe Jon Finley—calling plays. On the one hand, Bauer Sharp finished the season as Oklahoma's leading receiver (42 catches for 324 yards and a pair of touchdowns); on the other hand, those were lackluster totals for a No. 1 receiver (a symptom of a calamitous offensive season overall), and the tight end group struggled in other aspects of the game, whether from a blocking standpoint or other miscues that contributed to a disappointing inaugural SEC season for the Sooners.

While Finley is back as Oklahoma's tight ends coach (but no longer calling plays, as he did on an interim basis the second half of the year), his position group has undergone wholesale changes in the offseason as the Sooners worked to reshape the room ahead of Ben Arbuckle's debut season as offensive coordinator. Gone are Sharp (transferred to LSU) and Jake Roberts (graduated), the top two players from last year's tight end rotation, as well as former four-star prospect Davon Mitchell (now at Louisville). In are a trio of transfer additions — Will Huggins, Carson Kent and John Locke Jr. — as well as two other newcomers in freshman Trynae Washington and converted linebacker Jaren Kanak. They join two returning pieces in Kaden Helms and Kade McIntyre, as Oklahoma hopes to find an answer in a new-look tight end group for 2025.

 

 

Projected depth chart

-- Will Huggins, redshirt senior (2024 stats: 22 receptions, 395 yards, one touchdown)

-- Carson Kent, redshirt junior (2024 stats: 18 receptions, 217 yards, three touchdowns)

-- Jaren Kanak, senior (2024 stats: 17 tackles, one blocked kick returned for touchdown while playing linebacker) OR

-- Kaden Helms, redshirt junior (2024 stats: two receptions, 19 yards, one touchdown)

-- John Locke Jr., redshirt junior (2024 stats: one reception, 2 yards) OR

-- Kade McIntyre, redshirt sophomore (2024 stats: 55 total snaps, no receptions) OR

-- Trynae Washington, freshman (2024 stats: N/A)

Post-spring departures: Davon Mitchell (Louisville)

Due to arrive in the fall: N/A

 

13091417.jpg?fit=bounds&crop=620:320,offset-y0.50&width=620&height=320 (Photo: SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images, USA TODAY Sports)

 

 

Outlook: Despite the personnel overhaul at the position, Oklahoma's tight end group heads into the 2025 season as the biggest question mark on the roster — a notion underscored by the team's (unfulfilled) attempt to add another piece after the completion of spring practices during the April transfer portal window.

After missing out on its top transfer target during that window, Oklahoma heads into the summer with largely the same group it entered the spring with — with the exception of Mitchell, who left the program late in spring practices before transferring to Louisville. It's a vastly unproven group, but one that features a couple of intriguing pieces who could pan out into viable options in the Sooners' new-look offense.

Chief among those is Pitt State transfer Will Huggins, a 6-foot-6, 262-pound transfer from Pitt State who started his career at Kansas. Huggins is a massive target who was solid as a pass-catcher last season for the Division-II Gorillas, and his size makes him a natural fit as an additional blocker when the role calls for it. But Huggins, despite his prior experience at Kansas, lacks production at this level; his lone reception in four seasons with the Jayhawks was a 20-yard touchdown as a true freshman — against the Sooners, no less.

That lack of proven production at this level of college football applies to the rest of the room, as well. McIntyre has one reception in limited opportunities the last two years. Locke caught one pass at Louisiana Tech last season. Washington, obviously, is a freshman who just completed his first spring with the Sooners.

Then there's Kent, who began his career at Kennesaw State, which was an FCS program during his first two seasons before joining Conference USA last fall. The 6-foot-4, 244-pounder was a second-team All-Conference USA player last season after catching 18 passes for 217 yards and a trio of touchdowns. That pass-catching ability has seemingly translated well to Oklahoma, where he garnered some strong reviews from teammates for his receiving prowess during spring practices (center Troy Everett remarked after the Crimson Combine that Kent is "out there catching everything. Ball gets thrown up to him, he's coming down with it nine out of 10 times.").

Huggins and Kent emerged from spring as the projected top two options at tight end, but opportunities are likely still up for grabs heading into the fall, especially for guys like Kanak and Helms, both of whom got first- and second-team reps at times during the spring, including in the Crimson Combine. Kanak is an interesting case, considering he spent the last three years at linebacker before making the position switch this offseason. He has some qualities to like at the position — athleticism, football IQ, work ethic and physicality — but is still new to the position and is working tirelessly to learn the ins and outs of playing tight end in the SEC. Helms, meanwhile, has been hampered by injuries during his first three seasons, which has limited him to just 102 offensive snaps in his career. When healthy, Helms has upside as an athletic, 6-foot-5 pass-catching option, but staying healthy has proven difficult.

It's unlikely tight end will be a strength for Oklahoma's offense in 2025, but after Arbuckle identified the position as the most improved over the duration of spring practices, there's some cautious optimism that someone can emerge as a reliable option in an unproven group and make sure the the position at least won't be a weakness this fall.

What they said: "The tight end group, I would say, of any position group, they are the position group that has shown the most improvement over spring ball, right? From where they were on Day 1 to where they are now — I mean, I'm pretty sure in the last four practices, we've thrown like nine touchdowns to the tight ends. And not just wide-open touchdowns. I'm talking aggressive, contested catches. I'm talking they're on the line of scrimmage, and we're running the football, and they're getting so much better with their hand placement, moving people. And they're all unreal kids. That's one of my favorite position meetings to go sit in, because Coach Finley is an unbelievable coach, and those are unbelievable kids in that room, and they're so fun to be around, and they've shown the most improvement."

 offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle

 

guy i talk to said Mitchell weight was an issue but not the reason why he got ran out.. he had an incident with a co-ed off the field.  That was the last straw.

Posted

Here's the OL outlook. The idea is that the OL will be better this coming season because, well, it's almost impossible for them to be worse. They were last in the FBS in sacks allowed at 50. Highlights also below and I'm pulling the Arbuckle quote out of the spoiler because it is one of the dumbest set of sentences strung together that has ever been uttered. 

-They return their most penalized player and someone who led to multiple turnover in Fibechi Nwaiwu at RG. This is apparently a good thing.

-The mediocrity at Center is back and he's the other returning starter. 

-They replace LT, LG and RT. The LT and LG both missed the spring due to shoulder surgeries. You can always expect full and immediate recoveries to labrum repairs for players on the OL. 

-Here's the Arbuckle quote. This OL is super intentional and they love football, guys. They're out there everyday:

"The offensive line, those kids, they've battled every single day. They've shown up to work every single day. They're intentional with their work and they take a lot of pride in their work. That's one thing I love about big guys. They take a lot of pride in what they do, because they don't get a lot of love from anyone. They could be the greatest offensive lineman in the history of football and people still get after them. It's just the nature of the position, but those guys feed off of it. They want to be good. They're intentional. They love the quarterbacks. They love being there for the quarterbacks. They love creating run lanes for the running backs. They love everything about the process and that stems from coach (Bill) Bedenbaugh. He's intentional in his meetings, he's direct in his meetings and that's a reflection of what the offensive line is. They're intentional and they're direct because Coach Bedenbaugh is the man, he's as sharp as they get, and we have a lot of really intelligent guys on that offensive line because of Coach Bedenbaugh."

— offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle

 

Spoiler

For everything that went wrong for Oklahoma offensively in 2024, the root of its struggles rested with an inconsistent and oftentimes ineffective offensive line. The Sooners had eight different five-man starting lineups across 13 games last season, as Bill Bedenbaugh's group navigated injuries at four of the five positions across the line. The result was a largely inefficient unit that gave up 50 sacks on the season, tied for the most among FBS teams, and ranked 119th nationally in pass-blocking efficiency, according to Pro Football Focus (83.8).

There were some bright spots for the offensive line — Troy Everett's return from a spring injury, the development of then-redshirt freshmen Heath Ozaeta and Logan Howland on the left side — but it was an overwhelmingly disappointing season from start to finish for the Sooners, who learned a difficult lesson about trying to quickly rebuild up front via the portal. It wasn't just the pass protection that created issues, but it was in the run game, as well, as Oklahoma was 76thnationally in yards per game and 95th in yards per carry (3.87).

The good news for Oklahoma is that it was less reliant on the portal this offseason and brought in a strong freshman class — headlined by five-star prospect Michael Fasusi and four-star recruit Ryan Fodje — to establish better competitive depth alongside a respectable core of returning pieces, including Everett, Howland, Ozaeta, Febechi Nwaiwu, Jacob Sexton, Eddy Pierre-Louis and Jake Taylor.

Projected depth chart

LEFT TACKLE

-- Logan Howland, redshirt sophomore (2024 stats: six starts, 502 snaps, two sacks allowed, 19 total pressures allowed, 96.0 pass-blocking efficiency)

-- Jacob Sexton, senior (2024 stats: eight starts, 510 snaps, four sacks allowed, 18 total pressures allowed, 96.1 pass-blocking efficiency) OR

-- Michael Fasusi, freshman (2024 stats: N/A)

LEFT GUARD

-- Heath Ozaeta, redshirt sophomore (2024 stats: eight starts, 630 snaps, four sacks allowed, 15 total pressures allowed, 97.1 pass-blocking efficiency)

-- Eddy Pierre-Louis, sophomore (2024 stats: no starts, 65 total snaps, no sacks or pressures allowed, 100.0 pass-blocking efficiency)

-- Daniel Akinkunmi, redshirt freshman (2024 stats: no starts, eight snaps, no sacks or pressures allowed, 100.0 pass-blocking efficiency)

-- Sean Hutton, freshman (2024 stats: N/A)

CENTER

-- Troy Everett, redshirt senior (2024 stats: seven starts, 523 snaps, four sacks allowed, seven total pressures allowed, 98.1 pass-blocking efficiency)

-- Jake Maikkula, senior (2024 stats: 11 starts, 764 snaps, three sacks allowed, 19 total pressures allowed, 97.4 pass-blocking efficiency)

-- Owen Hollenbeck, freshman (2024 stats: N/A)

RIGHT GUARD

-- Febechi Nwaiwu, redshirt senior (2024 stats: 13 starts, 864 snaps, four sacks allowed, 16 total pressures allowed, 97.9 pass-blocking efficiency)

-- Eddy Pierre-Louis, sophomore (2024 stats: no starts, 65 total snaps, no sacks or pressures allowed, 100.0 pass-blocking efficiency)

-- Ryan Fodje, freshman (2024 stats: N/A)

-- Gunnar Allen, redshirt junior (2024 stats: N/A)

RIGHT TACKLE

-- Derek Simmons, redshirt senior (2024 stats: nine starts, 612 snaps, no sacks allowed, 11 total pressures allowed, 98.6 pass-blocking efficiency)

-- Jake Taylor, redshirt junior (2024 stats: four starts, 169 snaps, two sacks allowed, 10 total pressures allowed, 93.3 pass-blocking efficiency)

-- Luke Baklenko, junior (2024 stats: nine starts, 646 snaps, four sacks allowed, 21 total pressures allowed, 96.5 pass-blocking efficiency)

Post-spring departures: Josh Aisosa (West Virginia)

Due to arrive in the fall: Jake Maikkula (Stanford transfer)

(Photo: SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images, USA TODAY Sports)

 

Outlook: Oklahoma would be hard-pressed to play as poorly up front as it did last season, given the line's struggles in pass protection and run blocking — and its overall inability to establish a consistent five-man lineup until late in the season. Still, the Sooners' offensive line heads into 2025 as a bit of a question for the program, though with a more optimistic outlook than a year ago.

The overall depth and talent in the room is improved from last season's roster. It's just a matter of fitting the pieces together to form the best five-man unit as quickly as possible this fall. As far as that goes, entering the summer it feels like there's only one position with an established starter — center, where Everett returns for his third season and has grown into a respected voice not just in the trenches but in the entire locker room.  

The other four spots seem less certain, though there are expected favorites for the starting jobs after spring practices. The left side in particular is intriguing after Howland and Ozaeta showed promise in their development last season and really established a groove down the stretch, making a formidable tandem at left tackle and left guard. Both missed spring practices due to recovery from offseason labrum procedures, however, affording first-team reps to other players over the duration of spring. Sexton handled most of the starting reps at left tackle, where he made four starts last season (with another one at the end of his freshman campaign in 2022) and could push Howland for that spot — assuming he remains at left tackle and doesn't float around to different positions, as he has done throughout his career, working at both right tackle and left guard at various times. With Ozaeta out this spring, Pierre-Louis worked primarily with the first team at left guard. The 6-foot-3, 309-pounder has been impressive in his development behind the scenes, bringing a level of nastiness and physicality to the line, and he could potentially make a push at left guard come fall, or he could flip back to right guard — where he spent his freshman year — and compete with Nwaiwu for reps (Nwaiwu started all 13 games at right guard last year and led the offense in snaps but was inconsistent throughout the season).

Then at right tackle, Western Carolina transfer Derek Simmons emerged from spring practices as the projected starter there, bringing with him 1,160 career snaps in that role and just one sack allowed since 2021. If Simmons doesn't carry that spring momentum into the fall, Sexton could switch back to the right side and work at tackle, or Taylor — who was hampered by injury last season — or Stanford transfer Luke Baklenko could vie for reps, as they did this spring.

There's optimism that, among that group, a competitive and more reliable starting five will emerge this fall, with Venables indicating at the end of spring that this could be Oklahoma's best offensive line of his tenure as head coach. Even beyond those players, though, Oklahoma's overall depth in the trenches should be much improved this season. Fasusi, the crown jewel of Oklahoma's 2025 signing class, may not be a Day 1 starter, but the 6-foot-5, 302-pound left tackle has the makings of someone who could come in and contribute as a true freshman in the SEC. The same could be said for Fodje, the No. 113 overall recruit in the class who did well with his opportunities at right guard during the spring. The Sooners also bolstered the depth at center behind Everett, bringing in Stanford transfer Jake Maikkula during the spring portal window. Maikkula brings 16 career starts with him to Oklahoma, as well as some positional versatility, with experience at center and both guard spots.

While the Sooners should be in better shape along the offensive line this season, it's imperative that Bedenbaugh works to quickly establish a dependable five-man unit in fall camp or early in the season — preferably by Week 2 against Michigan, if not the SEC opener against Auburn in Week 4 — because as was the case a year ago, the viability of the offensive line will either raise the ceiling for Oklahoma in 2025 or lower the team's floor. We've already seen how things could look when it's the latter, so in a make-or-break season, OU needs the former.

What they said:  "The offensive line, those kids, they've battled every single day. They've shown up to work every single day. They're intentional with their work and they take a lot of pride in their work. That's one thing I love about big guys. They take a lot of pride in what they do, because they don't get a lot of love from anyone. They could be the greatest offensive lineman in the history of football and people still get after them. It's just the nature of the position, but those guys feed off of it. They want to be good. They're intentional. They love the quarterbacks. They love being there for the quarterbacks. They love creating run lanes for the running backs. They love everything about the process and that stems from coach (Bill) Bedenbaugh. He's intentional in his meetings, he's direct in his meetings and that's a reflection of what the offensive line is. They're intentional and they're direct because Coach Bedenbaugh is the man, he's as sharp as they get, and we have a lot of really intelligent guys on that offensive line because of Coach Bedenbaugh."

— offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle

Spoiler

For everything that went wrong for Oklahoma offensively in 2024, the root of its struggles rested with an inconsistent and oftentimes ineffective offensive line. The Sooners had eight different five-man starting lineups across 13 games last season, as Bill Bedenbaugh's group navigated injuries at four of the five positions across the line. The result was a largely inefficient unit that gave up 50 sacks on the season, tied for the most among FBS teams, and ranked 119th nationally in pass-blocking efficiency, according to Pro Football Focus (83.8).

There were some bright spots for the offensive line — Troy Everett's return from a spring injury, the development of then-redshirt freshmen Heath Ozaeta and Logan Howland on the left side — but it was an overwhelmingly disappointing season from start to finish for the Sooners, who learned a difficult lesson about trying to quickly rebuild up front via the portal. It wasn't just the pass protection that created issues, but it was in the run game, as well, as Oklahoma was 76thnationally in yards per game and 95th in yards per carry (3.87).

The good news for Oklahoma is that it was less reliant on the portal this offseason and brought in a strong freshman class — headlined by five-star prospect Michael Fasusi and four-star recruit Ryan Fodje — to establish better competitive depth alongside a respectable core of returning pieces, including Everett, Howland, Ozaeta, Febechi Nwaiwu, Jacob Sexton, Eddy Pierre-Louis and Jake Taylor.

 

 

Projected depth chart

LEFT TACKLE

-- Logan Howland, redshirt sophomore (2024 stats: six starts, 502 snaps, two sacks allowed, 19 total pressures allowed, 96.0 pass-blocking efficiency)

-- Jacob Sexton, senior (2024 stats: eight starts, 510 snaps, four sacks allowed, 18 total pressures allowed, 96.1 pass-blocking efficiency) OR

-- Michael Fasusi, freshman (2024 stats: N/A)

LEFT GUARD

-- Heath Ozaeta, redshirt sophomore (2024 stats: eight starts, 630 snaps, four sacks allowed, 15 total pressures allowed, 97.1 pass-blocking efficiency)

-- Eddy Pierre-Louis, sophomore (2024 stats: no starts, 65 total snaps, no sacks or pressures allowed, 100.0 pass-blocking efficiency)

-- Daniel Akinkunmi, redshirt freshman (2024 stats: no starts, eight snaps, no sacks or pressures allowed, 100.0 pass-blocking efficiency)

-- Sean Hutton, freshman (2024 stats: N/A)

CENTER

-- Troy Everett, redshirt senior (2024 stats: seven starts, 523 snaps, four sacks allowed, seven total pressures allowed, 98.1 pass-blocking efficiency)

-- Jake Maikkula, senior (2024 stats: 11 starts, 764 snaps, three sacks allowed, 19 total pressures allowed, 97.4 pass-blocking efficiency)

-- Owen Hollenbeck, freshman (2024 stats: N/A)

RIGHT GUARD

-- Febechi Nwaiwu, redshirt senior (2024 stats: 13 starts, 864 snaps, four sacks allowed, 16 total pressures allowed, 97.9 pass-blocking efficiency)

-- Eddy Pierre-Louis, sophomore (2024 stats: no starts, 65 total snaps, no sacks or pressures allowed, 100.0 pass-blocking efficiency)

-- Ryan Fodje, freshman (2024 stats: N/A)

-- Gunnar Allen, redshirt junior (2024 stats: N/A)

RIGHT TACKLE

-- Derek Simmons, redshirt senior (2024 stats: nine starts, 612 snaps, no sacks allowed, 11 total pressures allowed, 98.6 pass-blocking efficiency)

-- Jake Taylor, redshirt junior (2024 stats: four starts, 169 snaps, two sacks allowed, 10 total pressures allowed, 93.3 pass-blocking efficiency)

-- Luke Baklenko, junior (2024 stats: nine starts, 646 snaps, four sacks allowed, 21 total pressures allowed, 96.5 pass-blocking efficiency)

Post-spring departures: Josh Aisosa (West Virginia)

Due to arrive in the fall: Jake Maikkula (Stanford transfer)

 

13093380.jpg?fit=bounds&crop=620:320,offset-y0.50&width=620&height=320 (Photo: SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images, USA TODAY Sports)

 

Outlook: Oklahoma would be hard-pressed to play as poorly up front as it did last season, given the line's struggles in pass protection and run blocking — and its overall inability to establish a consistent five-man lineup until late in the season. Still, the Sooners' offensive line heads into 2025 as a bit of a question for the program, though with a more optimistic outlook than a year ago.

The overall depth and talent in the room is improved from last season's roster. It's just a matter of fitting the pieces together to form the best five-man unit as quickly as possible this fall. As far as that goes, entering the summer it feels like there's only one position with an established starter — center, where Everett returns for his third season and has grown into a respected voice not just in the trenches but in the entire locker room.  

The other four spots seem less certain, though there are expected favorites for the starting jobs after spring practices. The left side in particular is intriguing after Howland and Ozaeta showed promise in their development last season and really established a groove down the stretch, making a formidable tandem at left tackle and left guard. Both missed spring practices due to recovery from offseason labrum procedures, however, affording first-team reps to other players over the duration of spring. Sexton handled most of the starting reps at left tackle, where he made four starts last season (with another one at the end of his freshman campaign in 2022) and could push Howland for that spot — assuming he remains at left tackle and doesn't float around to different positions, as he has done throughout his career, working at both right tackle and left guard at various times. With Ozaeta out this spring, Pierre-Louis worked primarily with the first team at left guard. The 6-foot-3, 309-pounder has been impressive in his development behind the scenes, bringing a level of nastiness and physicality to the line, and he could potentially make a push at left guard come fall, or he could flip back to right guard — where he spent his freshman year — and compete with Nwaiwu for reps (Nwaiwu started all 13 games at right guard last year and led the offense in snaps but was inconsistent throughout the season).

Then at right tackle, Western Carolina transfer Derek Simmons emerged from spring practices as the projected starter there, bringing with him 1,160 career snaps in that role and just one sack allowed since 2021. If Simmons doesn't carry that spring momentum into the fall, Sexton could switch back to the right side and work at tackle, or Taylor — who was hampered by injury last season — or Stanford transfer Luke Baklenko could vie for reps, as they did this spring.

There's optimism that, among that group, a competitive and more reliable starting five will emerge this fall, with Venables indicating at the end of spring that this could be Oklahoma's best offensive line of his tenure as head coach. Even beyond those players, though, Oklahoma's overall depth in the trenches should be much improved this season. Fasusi, the crown jewel of Oklahoma's 2025 signing class, may not be a Day 1 starter, but the 6-foot-5, 302-pound left tackle has the makings of someone who could come in and contribute as a true freshman in the SEC. The same could be said for Fodje, the No. 113 overall recruit in the class who did well with his opportunities at right guard during the spring. The Sooners also bolstered the depth at center behind Everett, bringing in Stanford transfer Jake Maikkula during the spring portal window. Maikkula brings 16 career starts with him to Oklahoma, as well as some positional versatility, with experience at center and both guard spots.

While the Sooners should be in better shape along the offensive line this season, it's imperative that Bedenbaugh works to quickly establish a dependable five-man unit in fall camp or early in the season — preferably by Week 2 against Michigan, if not the SEC opener against Auburn in Week 4 — because as was the case a year ago, the viability of the offensive line will either raise the ceiling for Oklahoma in 2025 or lower the team's floor. We've already seen how things could look when it's the latter, so in a make-or-break season, OU needs the former.

What they said:  "The offensive line, those kids, they've battled every single day. They've shown up to work every single day. They're intentional with their work and they take a lot of pride in their work. That's one thing I love about big guys. They take a lot of pride in what they do, because they don't get a lot of love from anyone. They could be the greatest offensive lineman in the history of football and people still get after them. It's just the nature of the position, but those guys feed off of it. They want to be good. They're intentional. They love the quarterbacks. They love being there for the quarterbacks. They love creating run lanes for the running backs. They love everything about the process and that stems from coach (Bill) Bedenbaugh. He's intentional in his meetings, he's direct in his meetings and that's a reflection of what the offensive line is. They're intentional and they're direct because Coach Bedenbaugh is the man, he's as sharp as they get, and we have a lot of really intelligent guys on that offensive line because of Coach Bedenbaugh."

 offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle

 

  • Haha 8
  • Drool 1
Posted
1 hour ago, closetojumping said:

Here's the OL outlook. The idea is that the OL will be better this coming season because, well, it's almost impossible for them to be worse. They were last in the FBS in sacks allowed at 50. Highlights also below and I'm pulling the Arbuckle quote out of the spoiler because it is one of the dumbest set of sentences strung together that has ever been uttered. 

-They return their most penalized player and someone who led to multiple turnover in Fibechi Nwaiwu at RG. This is apparently a good thing.

-The mediocrity at Center is back and he's the other returning starter. 

-They replace LT, LG and RT. The LT and LG both missed the spring due to shoulder surgeries. You can always expect full and immediate recoveries to labrum repairs for players on the OL. 

-Here's the Arbuckle quote. This OL is super intentional and they love football, guys. They're out there everyday:

"The offensive line, those kids, they've battled every single day. They've shown up to work every single day. They're intentional with their work and they take a lot of pride in their work. That's one thing I love about big guys. They take a lot of pride in what they do, because they don't get a lot of love from anyone. They could be the greatest offensive lineman in the history of football and people still get after them. It's just the nature of the position, but those guys feed off of it. They want to be good. They're intentional. They love the quarterbacks. They love being there for the quarterbacks. They love creating run lanes for the running backs. They love everything about the process and that stems from coach (Bill) Bedenbaugh. He's intentional in his meetings, he's direct in his meetings and that's a reflection of what the offensive line is. They're intentional and they're direct because Coach Bedenbaugh is the man, he's as sharp as they get, and we have a lot of really intelligent guys on that offensive line because of Coach Bedenbaugh."

— offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle

 

  Reveal hidden contents

For everything that went wrong for Oklahoma offensively in 2024, the root of its struggles rested with an inconsistent and oftentimes ineffective offensive line. The Sooners had eight different five-man starting lineups across 13 games last season, as Bill Bedenbaugh's group navigated injuries at four of the five positions across the line. The result was a largely inefficient unit that gave up 50 sacks on the season, tied for the most among FBS teams, and ranked 119th nationally in pass-blocking efficiency, according to Pro Football Focus (83.8).

There were some bright spots for the offensive line — Troy Everett's return from a spring injury, the development of then-redshirt freshmen Heath Ozaeta and Logan Howland on the left side — but it was an overwhelmingly disappointing season from start to finish for the Sooners, who learned a difficult lesson about trying to quickly rebuild up front via the portal. It wasn't just the pass protection that created issues, but it was in the run game, as well, as Oklahoma was 76thnationally in yards per game and 95th in yards per carry (3.87).

The good news for Oklahoma is that it was less reliant on the portal this offseason and brought in a strong freshman class — headlined by five-star prospect Michael Fasusi and four-star recruit Ryan Fodje — to establish better competitive depth alongside a respectable core of returning pieces, including Everett, Howland, Ozaeta, Febechi Nwaiwu, Jacob Sexton, Eddy Pierre-Louis and Jake Taylor.

Projected depth chart

LEFT TACKLE

-- Logan Howland, redshirt sophomore (2024 stats: six starts, 502 snaps, two sacks allowed, 19 total pressures allowed, 96.0 pass-blocking efficiency)

-- Jacob Sexton, senior (2024 stats: eight starts, 510 snaps, four sacks allowed, 18 total pressures allowed, 96.1 pass-blocking efficiency) OR

-- Michael Fasusi, freshman (2024 stats: N/A)

LEFT GUARD

-- Heath Ozaeta, redshirt sophomore (2024 stats: eight starts, 630 snaps, four sacks allowed, 15 total pressures allowed, 97.1 pass-blocking efficiency)

-- Eddy Pierre-Louis, sophomore (2024 stats: no starts, 65 total snaps, no sacks or pressures allowed, 100.0 pass-blocking efficiency)

-- Daniel Akinkunmi, redshirt freshman (2024 stats: no starts, eight snaps, no sacks or pressures allowed, 100.0 pass-blocking efficiency)

-- Sean Hutton, freshman (2024 stats: N/A)

CENTER

-- Troy Everett, redshirt senior (2024 stats: seven starts, 523 snaps, four sacks allowed, seven total pressures allowed, 98.1 pass-blocking efficiency)

-- Jake Maikkula, senior (2024 stats: 11 starts, 764 snaps, three sacks allowed, 19 total pressures allowed, 97.4 pass-blocking efficiency)

-- Owen Hollenbeck, freshman (2024 stats: N/A)

RIGHT GUARD

-- Febechi Nwaiwu, redshirt senior (2024 stats: 13 starts, 864 snaps, four sacks allowed, 16 total pressures allowed, 97.9 pass-blocking efficiency)

-- Eddy Pierre-Louis, sophomore (2024 stats: no starts, 65 total snaps, no sacks or pressures allowed, 100.0 pass-blocking efficiency)

-- Ryan Fodje, freshman (2024 stats: N/A)

-- Gunnar Allen, redshirt junior (2024 stats: N/A)

RIGHT TACKLE

-- Derek Simmons, redshirt senior (2024 stats: nine starts, 612 snaps, no sacks allowed, 11 total pressures allowed, 98.6 pass-blocking efficiency)

-- Jake Taylor, redshirt junior (2024 stats: four starts, 169 snaps, two sacks allowed, 10 total pressures allowed, 93.3 pass-blocking efficiency)

-- Luke Baklenko, junior (2024 stats: nine starts, 646 snaps, four sacks allowed, 21 total pressures allowed, 96.5 pass-blocking efficiency)

Post-spring departures: Josh Aisosa (West Virginia)

Due to arrive in the fall: Jake Maikkula (Stanford transfer)

(Photo: SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images, USA TODAY Sports)

 

Outlook: Oklahoma would be hard-pressed to play as poorly up front as it did last season, given the line's struggles in pass protection and run blocking — and its overall inability to establish a consistent five-man lineup until late in the season. Still, the Sooners' offensive line heads into 2025 as a bit of a question for the program, though with a more optimistic outlook than a year ago.

The overall depth and talent in the room is improved from last season's roster. It's just a matter of fitting the pieces together to form the best five-man unit as quickly as possible this fall. As far as that goes, entering the summer it feels like there's only one position with an established starter — center, where Everett returns for his third season and has grown into a respected voice not just in the trenches but in the entire locker room.  

The other four spots seem less certain, though there are expected favorites for the starting jobs after spring practices. The left side in particular is intriguing after Howland and Ozaeta showed promise in their development last season and really established a groove down the stretch, making a formidable tandem at left tackle and left guard. Both missed spring practices due to recovery from offseason labrum procedures, however, affording first-team reps to other players over the duration of spring. Sexton handled most of the starting reps at left tackle, where he made four starts last season (with another one at the end of his freshman campaign in 2022) and could push Howland for that spot — assuming he remains at left tackle and doesn't float around to different positions, as he has done throughout his career, working at both right tackle and left guard at various times. With Ozaeta out this spring, Pierre-Louis worked primarily with the first team at left guard. The 6-foot-3, 309-pounder has been impressive in his development behind the scenes, bringing a level of nastiness and physicality to the line, and he could potentially make a push at left guard come fall, or he could flip back to right guard — where he spent his freshman year — and compete with Nwaiwu for reps (Nwaiwu started all 13 games at right guard last year and led the offense in snaps but was inconsistent throughout the season).

Then at right tackle, Western Carolina transfer Derek Simmons emerged from spring practices as the projected starter there, bringing with him 1,160 career snaps in that role and just one sack allowed since 2021. If Simmons doesn't carry that spring momentum into the fall, Sexton could switch back to the right side and work at tackle, or Taylor — who was hampered by injury last season — or Stanford transfer Luke Baklenko could vie for reps, as they did this spring.

There's optimism that, among that group, a competitive and more reliable starting five will emerge this fall, with Venables indicating at the end of spring that this could be Oklahoma's best offensive line of his tenure as head coach. Even beyond those players, though, Oklahoma's overall depth in the trenches should be much improved this season. Fasusi, the crown jewel of Oklahoma's 2025 signing class, may not be a Day 1 starter, but the 6-foot-5, 302-pound left tackle has the makings of someone who could come in and contribute as a true freshman in the SEC. The same could be said for Fodje, the No. 113 overall recruit in the class who did well with his opportunities at right guard during the spring. The Sooners also bolstered the depth at center behind Everett, bringing in Stanford transfer Jake Maikkula during the spring portal window. Maikkula brings 16 career starts with him to Oklahoma, as well as some positional versatility, with experience at center and both guard spots.

While the Sooners should be in better shape along the offensive line this season, it's imperative that Bedenbaugh works to quickly establish a dependable five-man unit in fall camp or early in the season — preferably by Week 2 against Michigan, if not the SEC opener against Auburn in Week 4 — because as was the case a year ago, the viability of the offensive line will either raise the ceiling for Oklahoma in 2025 or lower the team's floor. We've already seen how things could look when it's the latter, so in a make-or-break season, OU needs the former.

What they said:  "The offensive line, those kids, they've battled every single day. They've shown up to work every single day. They're intentional with their work and they take a lot of pride in their work. That's one thing I love about big guys. They take a lot of pride in what they do, because they don't get a lot of love from anyone. They could be the greatest offensive lineman in the history of football and people still get after them. It's just the nature of the position, but those guys feed off of it. They want to be good. They're intentional. They love the quarterbacks. They love being there for the quarterbacks. They love creating run lanes for the running backs. They love everything about the process and that stems from coach (Bill) Bedenbaugh. He's intentional in his meetings, he's direct in his meetings and that's a reflection of what the offensive line is. They're intentional and they're direct because Coach Bedenbaugh is the man, he's as sharp as they get, and we have a lot of really intelligent guys on that offensive line because of Coach Bedenbaugh."

— offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle

  Reveal hidden contents

For everything that went wrong for Oklahoma offensively in 2024, the root of its struggles rested with an inconsistent and oftentimes ineffective offensive line. The Sooners had eight different five-man starting lineups across 13 games last season, as Bill Bedenbaugh's group navigated injuries at four of the five positions across the line. The result was a largely inefficient unit that gave up 50 sacks on the season, tied for the most among FBS teams, and ranked 119th nationally in pass-blocking efficiency, according to Pro Football Focus (83.8).

There were some bright spots for the offensive line — Troy Everett's return from a spring injury, the development of then-redshirt freshmen Heath Ozaeta and Logan Howland on the left side — but it was an overwhelmingly disappointing season from start to finish for the Sooners, who learned a difficult lesson about trying to quickly rebuild up front via the portal. It wasn't just the pass protection that created issues, but it was in the run game, as well, as Oklahoma was 76thnationally in yards per game and 95th in yards per carry (3.87).

The good news for Oklahoma is that it was less reliant on the portal this offseason and brought in a strong freshman class — headlined by five-star prospect Michael Fasusi and four-star recruit Ryan Fodje — to establish better competitive depth alongside a respectable core of returning pieces, including Everett, Howland, Ozaeta, Febechi Nwaiwu, Jacob Sexton, Eddy Pierre-Louis and Jake Taylor.

 

 

Projected depth chart

LEFT TACKLE

-- Logan Howland, redshirt sophomore (2024 stats: six starts, 502 snaps, two sacks allowed, 19 total pressures allowed, 96.0 pass-blocking efficiency)

-- Jacob Sexton, senior (2024 stats: eight starts, 510 snaps, four sacks allowed, 18 total pressures allowed, 96.1 pass-blocking efficiency) OR

-- Michael Fasusi, freshman (2024 stats: N/A)

LEFT GUARD

-- Heath Ozaeta, redshirt sophomore (2024 stats: eight starts, 630 snaps, four sacks allowed, 15 total pressures allowed, 97.1 pass-blocking efficiency)

-- Eddy Pierre-Louis, sophomore (2024 stats: no starts, 65 total snaps, no sacks or pressures allowed, 100.0 pass-blocking efficiency)

-- Daniel Akinkunmi, redshirt freshman (2024 stats: no starts, eight snaps, no sacks or pressures allowed, 100.0 pass-blocking efficiency)

-- Sean Hutton, freshman (2024 stats: N/A)

CENTER

-- Troy Everett, redshirt senior (2024 stats: seven starts, 523 snaps, four sacks allowed, seven total pressures allowed, 98.1 pass-blocking efficiency)

-- Jake Maikkula, senior (2024 stats: 11 starts, 764 snaps, three sacks allowed, 19 total pressures allowed, 97.4 pass-blocking efficiency)

-- Owen Hollenbeck, freshman (2024 stats: N/A)

RIGHT GUARD

-- Febechi Nwaiwu, redshirt senior (2024 stats: 13 starts, 864 snaps, four sacks allowed, 16 total pressures allowed, 97.9 pass-blocking efficiency)

-- Eddy Pierre-Louis, sophomore (2024 stats: no starts, 65 total snaps, no sacks or pressures allowed, 100.0 pass-blocking efficiency)

-- Ryan Fodje, freshman (2024 stats: N/A)

-- Gunnar Allen, redshirt junior (2024 stats: N/A)

RIGHT TACKLE

-- Derek Simmons, redshirt senior (2024 stats: nine starts, 612 snaps, no sacks allowed, 11 total pressures allowed, 98.6 pass-blocking efficiency)

-- Jake Taylor, redshirt junior (2024 stats: four starts, 169 snaps, two sacks allowed, 10 total pressures allowed, 93.3 pass-blocking efficiency)

-- Luke Baklenko, junior (2024 stats: nine starts, 646 snaps, four sacks allowed, 21 total pressures allowed, 96.5 pass-blocking efficiency)

Post-spring departures: Josh Aisosa (West Virginia)

Due to arrive in the fall: Jake Maikkula (Stanford transfer)

 

13093380.jpg?fit=bounds&crop=620:320,offset-y0.50&width=620&height=320 (Photo: SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images, USA TODAY Sports)

 

 

Outlook: Oklahoma would be hard-pressed to play as poorly up front as it did last season, given the line's struggles in pass protection and run blocking — and its overall inability to establish a consistent five-man lineup until late in the season. Still, the Sooners' offensive line heads into 2025 as a bit of a question for the program, though with a more optimistic outlook than a year ago.

The overall depth and talent in the room is improved from last season's roster. It's just a matter of fitting the pieces together to form the best five-man unit as quickly as possible this fall. As far as that goes, entering the summer it feels like there's only one position with an established starter — center, where Everett returns for his third season and has grown into a respected voice not just in the trenches but in the entire locker room.  

The other four spots seem less certain, though there are expected favorites for the starting jobs after spring practices. The left side in particular is intriguing after Howland and Ozaeta showed promise in their development last season and really established a groove down the stretch, making a formidable tandem at left tackle and left guard. Both missed spring practices due to recovery from offseason labrum procedures, however, affording first-team reps to other players over the duration of spring. Sexton handled most of the starting reps at left tackle, where he made four starts last season (with another one at the end of his freshman campaign in 2022) and could push Howland for that spot — assuming he remains at left tackle and doesn't float around to different positions, as he has done throughout his career, working at both right tackle and left guard at various times. With Ozaeta out this spring, Pierre-Louis worked primarily with the first team at left guard. The 6-foot-3, 309-pounder has been impressive in his development behind the scenes, bringing a level of nastiness and physicality to the line, and he could potentially make a push at left guard come fall, or he could flip back to right guard — where he spent his freshman year — and compete with Nwaiwu for reps (Nwaiwu started all 13 games at right guard last year and led the offense in snaps but was inconsistent throughout the season).

Then at right tackle, Western Carolina transfer Derek Simmons emerged from spring practices as the projected starter there, bringing with him 1,160 career snaps in that role and just one sack allowed since 2021. If Simmons doesn't carry that spring momentum into the fall, Sexton could switch back to the right side and work at tackle, or Taylor — who was hampered by injury last season — or Stanford transfer Luke Baklenko could vie for reps, as they did this spring.

There's optimism that, among that group, a competitive and more reliable starting five will emerge this fall, with Venables indicating at the end of spring that this could be Oklahoma's best offensive line of his tenure as head coach. Even beyond those players, though, Oklahoma's overall depth in the trenches should be much improved this season. Fasusi, the crown jewel of Oklahoma's 2025 signing class, may not be a Day 1 starter, but the 6-foot-5, 302-pound left tackle has the makings of someone who could come in and contribute as a true freshman in the SEC. The same could be said for Fodje, the No. 113 overall recruit in the class who did well with his opportunities at right guard during the spring. The Sooners also bolstered the depth at center behind Everett, bringing in Stanford transfer Jake Maikkula during the spring portal window. Maikkula brings 16 career starts with him to Oklahoma, as well as some positional versatility, with experience at center and both guard spots.

While the Sooners should be in better shape along the offensive line this season, it's imperative that Bedenbaugh works to quickly establish a dependable five-man unit in fall camp or early in the season — preferably by Week 2 against Michigan, if not the SEC opener against Auburn in Week 4 — because as was the case a year ago, the viability of the offensive line will either raise the ceiling for Oklahoma in 2025 or lower the team's floor. We've already seen how things could look when it's the latter, so in a make-or-break season, OU needs the former.

What they said:  "The offensive line, those kids, they've battled every single day. They've shown up to work every single day. They're intentional with their work and they take a lot of pride in their work. That's one thing I love about big guys. They take a lot of pride in what they do, because they don't get a lot of love from anyone. They could be the greatest offensive lineman in the history of football and people still get after them. It's just the nature of the position, but those guys feed off of it. They want to be good. They're intentional. They love the quarterbacks. They love being there for the quarterbacks. They love creating run lanes for the running backs. They love everything about the process and that stems from coach (Bill) Bedenbaugh. He's intentional in his meetings, he's direct in his meetings and that's a reflection of what the offensive line is. They're intentional and they're direct because Coach Bedenbaugh is the man, he's as sharp as they get, and we have a lot of really intelligent guys on that offensive line because of Coach Bedenbaugh."

 offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle

 

They're intentional about practice and playing football, unlike most OL, who are generally accidental.  They're always saying "What the hell.  How did I get here?" when they end up playing football.

image.png.489c3e777543e72bfa3b514702e901da.png

  • Haha 3
Posted

I think Venables broke a primary rule of HCing last year- “You hire your OC for his offense”. He inherited Lebby’s VeerNShoot (Briles) offense and promoted Littrell (from the Leach-Mangino Air Raid tree) to coordinate it. Disaster. 
 
Now he has Arbuckle as OC, to run a different style Air Raid (more QB running), and the hire would not be as hopeful if Arbuckle didn’t bring his Qb, Mateer. I have no idea how good of an OC Arbuckle is. He might be a Lincoln Riley starter kit, or he might be a Sterlin Gilbert. 

Posted
8 hours ago, Thiefery said:

guy i talk to said Mitchell weight was an issue but not the reason why he got ran out.. he had an incident with a co-ed off the field.  That was the last straw.

I guess he should've have punch her in the face a few times. He would've won the starting job.

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