Oklahoma Starting 11: Center Andrew Raym

SI Sooners Examines OU's Best and Brightest Players on the 2022 Roster Heading Into Spring Practice. Today: No. 9, Andrew Raym.

How important is this spring for Oklahoma Andrew Raym?

Believe it or not, Raym is now a junior at OU, and this is technically his third spring.

Raym came to Oklahoma as the consensus No. 1 player in the state out of Broken Arrow and the No. 1 high school guard in the country the No. 41 overall prospect in the nation as rated by 247 Sports.

Yet, three years into his college career, Raym still hasn’t quite locked down the starting center spot despite the fact that he’s one of the most athletic linemen on the team.

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Oklahoma Starting 11

• No. 11: Brayden Willis
• No. 10: Jeffery Johnson
• No. 9: Andrew Raym

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Raym seems to have the edge over super senior Robert Congel, but it was Congel who started the first three games last year and, at times, Congel who anchored a more productive offense in 2021.

Last fall, offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh called Raym “extremely inexperienced. He just has not seen the things that previous guys have. But everybody’s got to understand, (the previous guy was) Creed Humphrey, which is the bar.”

To watch Raym work at center is to watch what looks like a future pro. His technique is efficient, he doesn’t waste motion, he understands leverage and contact points and momentum, although he’s still improving in the one area he needed to when he got to OU: physical strength.

Andrew Raym :: BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN-Imagn Content Services, LLC

The addition of Jerry Schmidt to helm the strength and conditioning staff should be helping that part.

The rest, Bedenbaugh said in October, was on him — and on Raym.

“I’ve got to get him up to speed,” Bedenbaugh said.

In reality, Raym’s initial development was halted — much like the rest of the class of 2020 — by the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting cancellation of spring practice. The Sooners got just one practice in before the shutdown, and players were sent home to work out on their own.

Andrew Raym :: Ryan Chapman / SI Sooners

That stunted Raym’s growth. Now, two full years later, Raym is a completely different player. He’s bigger, stronger, faster, smarter and more mature. Most observers would be shocked if he doesn’t win the starting center spot this spring.

Raym’s sophomore season was something of a mixed bag. In seven regular-season games with Raym at center, OU averaged 33.9 points per game, 407.9 yards per game and 6.75 yards per play.

But in four FBS games with Congel at center, the Sooners averaged 37.0 points per game, 454.8 yards per game and 6.45 yards per play.

It’s hard to gauge which center was more effective, however. A midseason quarterback change and a head coach/offensive coordinator who wasn’t all-in skew the numbers in different directions.

Robert Congel and Andrew Raym / OU Athletics

Raym looks like a future star — it’s been said he’ll transition to the next level easily, almost like Humphrey — but he still needs to put together a full season snapping the football. The groundwork is already there, but this spring will allow him to build on it.

To his credit, Raym acknowledged last fall just how far he still needs to go.

“I’m definitely not where I want to be,” Raym said in October. “There needs to be improvement in every part of my game. I think a lot of it is just getting comfortable in that, understanding what’s going on more and not racing with my feet or my mind running around. The strength is going to come. I need to improve in all parts of the game.”