Three Questions on Oklahoma Training Camp: Offensive Line

The Sooners open preseason camp next week and must address the biggest issue of the offseason.

Oklahoma offensive lineman Geirean Hatchett / Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Oklahoma opens preseason training camp next week, and the Sooners have some questions to get answered during the month of August.

In this series, Sooners on SI will attempt to provide some answers ahead of camp.

First up, the offensive line, where all five starters have moved on and must be replaced.

How will all the portal additions shake out?

Bill Bedenbaugh mined the NCAA Transfer Portal like a seasoned veteran this offseason, bringing in five Division I transfers before the calendar turned to May.

That could eventually mean transfers are manning all five o-line positions.

Spencer Brown started 24 games at right tackle at Michigan State the last three years. Geirean Hatchett started four games last year at guard for CFP runner-up Washington. Michael Tarquin started 20 games at tackle at Florida and eight last year at USC. Febechi Nwaiwu started 20 games at guard for North Texas. And Branson Hickman started 33 games at center for SMU over the last three seasons.

The prevailing thought is that Hickman, a two-time All-AAC honoree, will take over at center this season and then hand things over to redshirt freshman Joshua Bates next year. Hickman went through spring at SMU and committed to OU after the Sooners’ annual spring scrimmage. Bates has all the tools but coaches would prefer a little more experience.

Nwaiwu might be the strongest of the Sooners’ o-linemen and figures to step in at one of the guard spots. He was a day one starter in spring practice and started the spring game at right guard as well.

That’s where things get interesting.

Hatchett, who has the least amount of game experience among the transfer group, missed time in the spring with injury and figures to be a little behind in the competition for 2024.

Tarquin graded at 72.5 in his final season in Gainesville, but then posted a 62.8 grade last year at USC, according to Pro Football Focus. That included two games at 40 or lower. Tarquin did start at left tackle in the Red/White Game.

And Brown posted a PFF grade of 62.1 last year in East Lansing, with eight games below 60 and two below 50. He was the No. 2 right tackle in the Sooners’ spring game.

Which returning players have a shot at starting?

Several, but they’ll have to create some separation from the portal newcomers in training camp because the game experience here is perilously thin.

With guard Troy Everett nursing an offseason knee injury, he’s not expected to be ready for action before September, Brent Venables said, although Venables added last week that he’s ahead of schedule.

Expect the two Jakes to make a strong preseason push.

Junior Jacob Sexton is a legit contender to start at left tackle, although he played left guard in the spring game. And redshirt sophomore Jake Taylor could to move inside to guard, although he also could likely hold down the right tackle spot, where he started in the spring game.

Sexton made four starts last year and struggled against Arizona (his PFF grade was 45.7 in that game), but also posted a 60 or better in five of his eight appearances. Sexton played 410 offensive snaps in 2023.

Taylor played in just four games last season, logging 47 total offensive snaps — just five in conference play.

Redshirt freshmen Logan Howland and Heath Ozaeta got lots of valuable snaps in spring practice — Howland was the No. 2 left tackle, Ozaeta was the No. 2 left guard — but might still be a year behind with all the portal additions and their own lack of game experience.

Could any freshmen break into the lineup?

It doesn’t seem likely that will happen since Bedenbaugh made such a push in the portal. 

But with the talent upgrade in this year’s recruiting class, it wouldn’t be shocking to see any of them get a prolonged shot in nonconference games and even contribute backup snaps in SEC play.

At guard, Eddy Pierre-Louis might be the most physically equipped to lend a hand immediately. At 6-3 and 335 pounds, he ran a 12.97 in the 100 meters in high school last spring. And Eugene Brooks comes in at 6-3, 336, and is already a physical presence on the interior, lining up as the No. 2 right guard in the spring game. 

At tackle, Isaiah Autry-Dent looks like a natural at 6-6 and 310 pounds and could be a future star. Daniel Akinkunmi seems to have limitless potential although, coming from England, he’s also raw and needs ample amounts of Bedenbaugh’s coaching. Josh Aisosa is physically mature at 6-3 and 323 pounds and is versatile enough to play inside or outside. He even played as the No. 2 center in the spring game, although that was prior to Hickman’s arrival.