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Report: E.J. Ndoma-Ogar opts out at Oklahoma

Former 4-star recruit is no longer listed on the Sooners roster

John E. Hoover

Report: E.J. Ndoma-Ogar opts out at Oklahoma
Report: E.J. Ndoma-Ogar opts out at Oklahoma /
Oklahoma offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh
Oklahoma offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh / Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Oklahoma offensive lineman E.J. Ndoma-Ogar has opted out of the 2020 college football season, according to a 247 Sports report.

Ndoma-Ogar played in four games in 2019 and is a redshirt freshman in 2020, but will not play this season, per OUInsider’s R.J. Young, who cited an unnamed source.

Ndoma-Ogar is at least the third OU player to opt out this fall, joining running back Kennedy Brooks and defensive lineman Jalen Redmond.

The 6-foot-3, 341-pound Ndoma-Ogar — the No. 9 offensive guard in the country, according to ESPN, and the No. 25 player in Texas, per 247 Sports — held offers from Alabama, Georgia, Michigan and Texas, among others.

Ndoma-Ogar was not listed on the official OU roster before the Kansas State game last weekend, but was on the pregame roster ahead of the Missouri State game on Sept. 12. Head coach Lincoln Riley has said the team will not discuss players who have chosen to opt out, leaving it up to them to make any announcements if they choose.

Ndoma-Ogar played last year against South Dakota, UCLA, Texas Tech and Kansas and had been widely projected as a player who could be in for a move up the depth chart in the near future as offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh searches for the best combinations and overall depth.

Ndoma-Ogar can also play center, though he didn’t figure to play much at that position this season as junior center Creed Humphrey has emerged as one of the Sooners’ top players and was voted a captain this year.

Ndoma-Ogar also watched true freshmen Anton Harrison (at tackle) and Andrew Raym (at guard) step ahead of him this year at positions he might have otherwise gotten a look.

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John E. Hoover
JOHN E. HOOVER

John is an award-winning journalist whose work spans five decades in Oklahoma, with multiple state, regional and national awards as a sportswriter at various newspapers. During his newspaper career, John covered the Dallas Cowboys, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Arkansas Razorbacks and much more. In 2016, John changed careers, migrating into radio and launching a YouTube channel, and has built a successful independent media company, DanCam Media. From there, John has written under the banners of Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Fan Nation and a handful of local and national magazines while hosting daily sports talk radio shows in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and statewide. John has also spoken on Capitol Hill in Oklahoma City in a successful effort to put more certified athletic trainers in Oklahoma public high schools. Among the dozens of awards he has won, John most cherishes his national "Beat Writer of the Year" from the Associated Press Sports Editors, Oklahoma's "Best Sports Column" from the Society of Professional Journalists, and Two "Excellence in Sports Medicine Reporting" Awards from the National Athletic Trainers Association. John holds a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from East Central University in Ada, OK. Born and raised in North Pole, Alaska, John played football and wrote for the school paper at Ada High School in Ada, OK. He enjoys books, movies and travel, and lives in Broken Arrow, OK, with his wife and two kids.

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