Michael Fasusi's Commitment Ushers in a New Era of Oklahoma OL Recruiting

The Sooners landed one of the top prospects in the nation on Wednesday, marking a new era for Bill Bedenbaugh and company.

Sep 18, 2021; Norman, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma Sooners offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh / Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

LEWISVILLE, TX — With one 5-star tackle, Bill Bedenbaugh may have changed the trajectory of Oklahoma's recruiting efforts on the offensive line.

On Wednesday, Bedenbaugh and the Sooners landed a commitment from 5-star Lewisville offensive lineman Michael Fasusi.

Fasusi picked the Sooners over Texas and Texas A&M, giving Brent Venables and company a big-time win on the recruiting trail over two SEC opponents and recruiting juggernauts. Listed at 6-foot-5 and 300 pounds, Fasusi is rated the No. 11 overall player and No. 2 offensive tackle in the nation, according to Rivals.

The moment 5-star offensive lineman Michael Fasusi committed to the #Sooners pic.twitter.com/CyTyY2Qijf

— Randall Sweet (@RandallSweet5) August 21, 2024

Fasusi's status as an elite 5-star prospect makes him the highest-rated offensive line pledge to ever commit to OU and the most highly touted pledge of Bedenbaugh's career.

Prior to Fasusi's pledge, former Weatherford (OK) product Wes Sims was the highest-rated offensive line pledge to chose Oklahoma while former Westmoore (OK) standout and 5-star recruit Brey Walker was the highest ranked player to commit to Bedenbaugh.

Walker was also the only 5-star prospect Bedenbaugh had ever received a commitment from before Fasusi hooped on board in the 2025 recruiting class. The Sooners' offensive line coach has landed plenty of coveted 4-star recruits, but Bedenbaugh has had more success developing players ranked outside of the top 100.

In recent years; Nate Anderson, Savion Byrd, Cayden Green, Walker and others came to Norman as 4-star prospects, ranked in the top 100 of their high school class. None of the aforementioned players finsished their careers at OU, however, as Anderson and Byrd transferred to SMU, Green departed for Missouri and Walker portaled to Texas State.

Instead, Bedenbaugh's track record of putting talented offensive lineman in the NFL comes from developing a number of prospects who were undervalued as recruits. Bedenbaugh has produced first-round offensive lineman in each of the past two NFL Draft cycles, with former 3-star defensive line recruit Tyler Guyton being selected by the Cowboys in 2024 and former 4-star prospect Anton Harrison getting picked by the Jaguars in 2023.

Despite being a 4-star recruit, Harrison was not a top-100 prospect in his high school class and was rated the No. 17 offensive tackle in the nation, according to the 247Sports Composite.

While Creed Humphrey boasted offers from a number of elite programs and was a 4-star prospect in the 2017 class, the Shawnee (OK) product was also not ranked in the top 100 of his high school class but was still able to develop into a second-round pick and one of the top centers in the NFL.

Ben Powers, who has also enjoyed a successful NFL career, played junior college football before coming to Oklahoma as a 3-star prospect. Orlando Brown came to Oklahoma ranked outside of the top 300 players in his cycle before being selected in the third round of the NFL Draft and has made four Pro Bowl appearances during his time in the pros.

The development of the aforementioned prospects is what caught Fasusi's eye, the 5-star offensive tackle told reporters on Wednesday, marking a new era of offensive line recruiting for the Sooners.

With an elite offensive line prospect ready to learn from Bedenbaugh, the renowned offensive line coach has the opportunity to show prospects in the coming classes what he can do with one of the best prospects in the nation.

Even though players like Anderson, Bryd, Walker and Green didn't end up working out in Norman, Fasusi's pledge will allow Bedenbaugh to prove that he can still work well with players who were high-profile recruits.

If Fasusi develops into the player scouts believe he has the potential to become, Bedenbaugh could have another first-round pick under his tutelage.

In the 2025 recruiting class, Fasusi is the 23rd prospect to commit to Oklahoma and the fourth offensive lineman, joining 4-star tackle and top 100 prospect Ryan Fodje, 4-star guard Darius Afalava and 3-star center Owen Hollenbeck.

After the elite o-lineman's pledge, the Sooners hold the No. 8 recruiting class in the country, according to 247 Sports, with a solid mix of offensive lineman, defenders and exciting skill position players. Landing Fasusi also marks the second consecutive class that OU has added a 5-star prospect after David Stone committed to Oklahoma last August.