S P O RT S THE CONSISTENCY AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE OKLAHOMA OFFENSIVE LINE In 2020, the Oklahoma Sooners started the same offensive line in 10 of its 11 games, and the same five players started every game. Despite the consistency in the starting lineup, inconsistency plagued the Sooner’s performance along the o-line. Structure, development and production will all be important angles to the Sooners’ improvement. From a structure perspective, key questions remain. Who will start? Will it be a season of experimenting or was a majority of that hammered out during the spring? “The one thing we’ve really made the point of during the spring with the o-line, and really all positions, we don’t have a starting group,” Sooner head coach Lincoln Riley said. “We don’t have an ‘A’ group. We’ve rotated guys all over the place, trying to really do what we tell these guys we’re going to do, which is just take a step back and look at everybody. No preconceived notions, not based on what you’ve done before, let’s just see who is performing in the moment right now.” With two starters graduated to the NFL, Oklahoma must find a way to replace Creed Humphrey at center and Adrian Ealy who started at right tackle. During the spring, sophomore Andrew Raym appeared to have a leg up on both Chris Murray and Ian McIver to start at center. Both Raym and UCLA transfer Murray are versatile and can swing to guard if necessary. Erik Swenson, who started most of the season at left tackle, could end up starting at right tackle with Tennessee transfer Wanya Morris starting opposite Swenson. “We have worked with a lot of different combinations,” Riley said, “I think some of those young guys have really grown and done some good things and are certainly going to be pushing for playing time.” The Sooners have seen improvement and a physical transformation from both returning starters at guard in Tyrese Robinson and Marquise Hayes. Hayes is down from 349 pounds to 335. Robinson is down from 335 to 326. Meanwhile, Murray is down from 297 to 279. Returning sophomore Anton Harrison is down from 334 to 317, and Raym is down from 320 to 304. Development will also be a story line within the offensive line throughout the season. Will guys establish themselves at positions or will there be constant movement?
Photo by: Mark Doescher
The Sooners have seen the commitment so far in the weight room and meeting room. “Mentality and consistency, I see a totally different mentality from individuals and as a group,” Bill Bedenbaugh, offensive line coach, said. “Playing the position at this level and with the standards that we have is tough. Hell, we won the Joe Moore Award in 2018 and I don’t know that there was a game where I was satisfied. That’s the nature of this position.”
32 | August 2021
