Oklahoma C Branson Hickman Lands on Rimington Watch List

The transfer from SMU arrived just after spring practice and has been a boon to the Sooners' rebuilt offensive line.

Oklahoma center Branson Hickman (51) / John E. Hoover / Sooners On SI

Oklahoma center Branson Hickman hasn't needed a whole lot of time to get acclimated to his new environment.

A week into training camp, he’s already landed on two preseason award watch lists and he’s developing a good rapport wit his new quarterback.

On Monday, Hickman drew praise from Jackson Arnold. On Friday, he was accorded a spot on the Rimington Trophy watch list as the best center in college football. 

Since announcing his transfer to OU the day after the Red/White Game, Hickman has been looking forward to Aug. 30, when the Sooners kickoff 2024 against Temple.

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READ MORE WATCH LISTS

WR Nic Anderson on Biletnikoff
RB Gavin Sawchuk on Walker
P Luke Elzinga on Guy
LB Danny Stutsman on Camp
RB Gavin Sawchuk on Wuerffel
C Branson Hickman on Outland
LB Danny Stutsman on Nagurski
S Billy Bowman on Nagurski
DS Ben Anderson on Mannelly
S Billy Bowman on Thorpe
QB Jackson Arnold on Maxwell

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“Oh, it’s going to be awesome,” he said last week. “I’ve been thinking about that a lot recently actually. Playing in a stadium like this with all these fans cheering for me instead of against me is going to be a pretty cool feeling.”

Hickman is one of 40 centers who landed a preseason nomination for the trophy named after Nebraska All-America Dave Rimington.

Of those 40, 10 play in the SEC.

Hickman, who played at OU last year for the Mustangs, was impacted by his first career start on Owen Field.

"I wanted to come to a school that was big and play in a big environment in the SEC, and OU’s close to home, so I couldn’t be more excited,” he said.

“I remember it was red and white everywhere. It was pretty cool. We came out of the tunnel, and I was like, ‘Wow, this is big-time, real college football right here.’ I just knew that was something I wanted to be a part of one day.”

The 6-foot-2, 301-pound senior from McKinney, TX, was brought in after spring practice to compete with redshirt freshman Joshua Bates, but his early returns would indicate that he’s a good bet to win the job.

Hickman, who started 33 games at SMU over the last three years, was named third-team All-American Athletic Conference in 2022 and received second-team All-AAC recognition in 2023., when he was also on the preseason Rimington Trophy watch list.

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WATCH: Branson Hickman post-practice interview

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Hickman was previously among 75 players on the Outland Trophy watch list, which goes to the top interior linemen in the country. 

According to Pro Football Focus, Hickman showed drastic improvement as a blocker in his four years in Dallas, jumping from 52.7 as a freshman to 60.6 as a sophomore to 77.2 as a junior to 79.7 as a senior. Last year he graded at 74.8 or better in half of the Mustangs’ games.

Hickman said another big reason why he chose Oklahoma was the Sooners' legendary offensive line coach, Bill Bedenbaugh, and his history with developing players into the NFL.

“Yeah, Coach B’s one of the main reasons why I came here," he said. "Obviously, he has a proven track record. He puts guys in the NFL, and he also has guys succeed in college. It’s like, why would you not want to play for Coach B?”

Hickman said he’s looking forward to playing with Arnold, with whom he had a familiarity long before he transferred.

“Obviously, growing up in the Dallas area, I knew who Jackson was coming out of high school,” Hickman said. “I knew he was a great player and a great person. I mean, I hung out with him on my official visit, and he’s one of the reasons why I came here too, honestly. You want to play with a good quarterback to have a chance to win. So, it’s been great.”

They still have two weeks of camp ahead, followed by a week of game prep for Temple. But so far, Arnold has been similarly impressed with his new center.

"It's going good,” Arnold said. “Starting to put like chemistry with him. He came in the summer, and it's kind of hard to build a connection with the offensive lineman in the summer. You've got your OTAs, but you're not putting pads on, you're not actually going to war with those guys. So right now, just building that chemistry with them, and just making sure I'm getting snaps under center and in the shotgun.”