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COLUMN: Bill Bedenbaugh Got Back on Track With Oklahoma's Most Recent Commitment

Oklahoma's outstanding offensive line coach closed July with a nice win on the recruiting trail on Tuesday.

Ryan Chapman

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This spring, Oklahoma offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh finally filled out his resume.

Former Sooner offensive tackle Anton Harrison heard his name called 27th by the Jacksonville Jaguars at the 2023 NFL Draft, becoming the first player under Bedenbaugh to get selected in the first round of the draft.

Former Bedenbaugh pupils are spread all across the NFL, making enough money to pay for Bedenbaugh’s salary over and over again, but he finally landed that elusive first round pick.

OU would enjoy more success when right tackle Wanya Morris was selected in the third round of the draft by the Kansas City Chiefs, only reinforcing Bedenbaugh’s track record of development.

Both Oklahoma offensive tackles, Anton Harrison (left) and Wanya Morris (right), were selected in the first three rounds off the 2023 NFL Draft.  / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Those returns from draft season didn’t immediately pay dividends for Bedenbaugh on the recruiting trail, however.

Isaiah Autry, an offensive tackle from Fulton, MS, who is rated a 3-star in 247Sports’ Composite Ranking, committed to OU on April 21. At the time, Autry was the fourth verbal pledge in the 2024 class, and a big one as Bedenbaugh landed the cousin of former Sooner Marcus Dupree.

But then things went quiet.

Offensive line targets in Jason Zandamela, Kaedin Massey and Marques Easley all visited Norman in June but elected to commit elsewhere.

Zandamela, a 6-foot-3, 285-pound interior presence from the Sunshine State picked USC on June 20. Kansas State beat the Sooners for in-state tackle, Massey, and Georgia won the battle for Easlely, a 4-star offensive tackle.

Oklahoma’s pursuit of Lindale, TX, product Casey Poe also fell flat.

The 6-4, 290-pound guard is rated the No. 3-overall interior offensive lineman by the 247Sports Composite Ranking, but Poe verbally committed to Alabama and the Sooners missed out on another high-priority prospect.

Bedenbaugh signed four talented offensive lineman in the 2023 recruiting class, matching the combined haul of the 2021 and 2022 cycles, but that momentum hadn’t carried into the 2024 cycle.

Thankfully, winning an old fashioned SEC recruiting battle can help wipe away any dry spell.

Oklahoma beat Texas for Chatsworth, CA, offensive lineman Eugene Brooks on Tuesday, doubling the 2024 offensive line class.

Rated a 3-star recruit by 247Sports and a 4-star prospect by Rivals, Brooks has flashed plenty of positional versatility, something Bedenbaugh loves to recruit to his offensive line room.

After a few cycles of smaller offensive line classes, Bedenbaugh is able to replenish his position group through the high school ranks as opposed to needing to head to the transfer portal every offseason just to find depth.

To fully realize that dream, it takes inking large, quality offensive line classes in multiple recruiting cycles to keep the assembly line of Bedenbaugh lineman rolling.

There’s stilly plenty of time between now and Signing Day in December to add more beef, but beating Texas in the heat of July for a commitment is always a good way to stay on track.

  

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Ryan Chapman
RYAN CHAPMAN

Ryan is deputy editor at AllSooners and covers a number of sports in and around Norman and Oklahoma City. Working both as a journalist and a sports talk radio host, Ryan has covered the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma City Thunder, the United States Men’s National Soccer Team, the Oklahoma City Energy and more. Since 2019, Ryan has simultaneously pursued a career as both a writer and a sports talk radio host, working for the Flagship for Oklahoma sports, 107.7 The Franchise, as well as AllSooners.com. Ryan serves as a contributor to The Franchise’s website, TheFranchiseOK.com, which was recognized as having the “Best Website” in 2022 by the Oklahoma Association of Broadcasters. Ryan holds an associate’s degree in Journalism from Oklahoma City Community College in Oklahoma City, OK. 

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