Adrian Ealy Taking on Mentor Role for Talented Young Offensive Linemen

Like a big brother, "like Orlando Brown, Cody Ford, Bobby Evans, Ben Powers all did for me," Ealy is guiding freshmen Anton Harrison, Andrew Raym and others

The biggest news from Wednesday’s reveal of Oklahoma’s Week 1 depth chart was the ascension of true freshman Anton Harrison to the top rung at left tackle.

Guard Andrew Raym had been talked about a lot by players and coaches in the preseason as a potential contributor in his first season. Harrison had, too, but less so.

Raym is listed as the backup to returning starter Marquis Hayes at left guard, while Harrison climbed over returning starter Erik Swenson and projected starter Stacey Wilkins.

Naturally, starting right tackle Adrian Ealy will help any way he can.

Adrian Ealy / OU Athletics

“They’re young. They’re just getting to college. Sometimes there’s a lot of pressure,” Ealy said this week. “I’ve been there before. So any way I can help to make their ride more smoother, I’m gonna be there as a big brother and and help them along the way.

“Because when I was a kid, when I was young, coming in in college, people like Orlando Brown, Cody Ford, Bobby Evans, Ben Powers — they all did it for me. So they showed me the way to do it for them.”

Harrison stands 6-foot-5 and 334 pounds. He hails from Washington, D.C. Raym is 6-3, 320 out of Broken Arrow.

“It’s real fun,” Ealy said, “because I know at one point, I was in their shoes. I see myself in them.”

Physically, they both look the part. But offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh has been impressed with their mental readiness, too.

“Yeah, they’ve all been doing a great job,” said center Creed Humphrey. “During that quarantine period where we weren’t up here, we got to do a lot of film with them, really get in the playbook and dive deep with them. They came in more mentally ahead of where they would have been if they wouldn’t have had that time, honestly. 

“They came and there really hasn’t been to much of a drop-off of them not knowing what they were doing or anything like that. They came in pretty much knowing what to do on every play. So it’s been good. All of them have done a great job. It’s really exciting to see.”

In the span of one year, the OU offensive line went from being a massive concern to probably the strength of the team. Credit Bedenbaugh for the coaching side, but the whole group has shown uncommon commitment to their craft.

“We only had one starter come back (in 2019), which was Creed,” Ealy said. “And we kind of gave him the role of being the leader on the o-line, because we always knew we had four new starters on the o-line.

“I could say this year it’s different because we know what it’s like. We’ve been in those tough games. Now we can also pick up the slack of being a leader. Not just Creed, but everybody on the o-line can be a leader. Because we’ve got that playing time now.”

Ealy started 12 games at right tackle last year and this year was named preseason All-Big 12 Conference. He sees his role in 2020 as more than just a returning starter and trusted blocker in Lincoln Riley’s offense. He embraces the role of teacher and mentor to the next generation.

“This year we’ve got a lot of young guys on the o-line,” he said, “so now that we’ve got the experience, now we can translate to the young guys and get them ready to play.”

Ealy was a consensus 4-star prospect out of Gonzales, LA, regarded as the No. 4 player out of the state of Louisiana in the 2017 class. He chose OU over Arizona, LSU, Michigan and others. After redshirting as a true freshman, he played in five games as a backup in 2018 before taking over the right side in 2019.

Youngsters or not, he said having so many talented players across the offensive line has forced everyone — himself included — to pick up their game.

“We got a lot of players that can play ball,” Ealy said. “I’m just happy to see the competition level go way even (more) up because, like I said, nobody’s job is secure. You know what I’m saying? They push me to go even harder in practice. That’s how good they are. And not just being with them, playing with them, but competing with them.”

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