Oklahoma's head coach believes in his offensive line in 2026
· Yahoo Sports
Oklahoma Sooners fifth-year head coach Brent Venables has not been shy this offseason about how much he wants his team to improve when it comes to running the football. Ever since the 2025 season came to a close, Venables has made it a point of emphasis to make sure OU runs the ball better in 2026.
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In order to run the ball well, you first need an offensive line that is physical, and is able to move people around, opening up holes for your running backs. While Venables has built an imposing, nasty group in the trenches on the defensive side of the ball, the offensive line still has some catching up to do when it comes to physicality and being able to take over the game on their side.
While the o-line bottomed out in 2024, the Sooners were better up front last season, though not good enough to satisfy Venables, especially when it came to run blocking. Oklahoma averaged just 3.5 yards per carry in 2025, which was one of the big factors that kept the OU offense from being good enough to take the Sooners farther than the first round of the College Football Playoff.
This winter, Oklahoma's head coach has preached physicality demanded a "kick-ass" mindset from his offense when it comes to running the ball. Unsurprisingly, he wants his team to be able to put hands on people and move them in the running game. That's isn't what the Sooners have been doing for the past few years, and really, for longer than you'd realize.
However, Venables has liked what he's seen from his offensive line this winter. Speaking to the media earlier in spring practice, he expressed his confidence in where that unit can end up.
"I really like the where we're at on the offensive line," Venables said. "Just with the returners coming back, you would expect, but never take for granted, that we're better than what we were. Obviously, three of them were freshman a year ago and so their confidence and their physicality and their fundamentals are better than what they were. So, you know, we should be a little more consistent there."
Oklahoma returns five players who got significant playing time on the o-line last season. Michael Fasusi, Eddy Pierre-Louis, Jake Maikkula, Heath Ozaeta, and Ryan Fodje will all be key to the effort up front this season for the Sooners. Fasusi and Fodje burst onto the scene as true freshmen last year, while Pierre-Louis was a redshirt freshman. Maikkula was a transfer from Stanford who ended up becoming the starting center, and Ozaeta is the only o-lineman who played a significant role in '24 that is still around just two seasons later.
However, the Sooners also made some important additions in the transfer portal to offset some keys losses up front. Arkansas transfer E'Marion Harris has a great chance to start right away, and is an experienced SEC right tackle. Western Kentucky's Caleb Nitta is a versatile chess piece on the interior who will play a lot, and Georgia Tech's Peyton Joseph will provide important depth at tackle.
The offensive line should also get a boost from a totally rebuilt tight ends room, led by new coach Jason Witten. Florida's Hayden Hansen, Colorado State's Rocky Beers, and Tennessee's Jack Van Dorselaer were all brought to Norman with the goal of making that position formidable again.
Additionally, with both of OU's best two running backs from a season ago (Xavier Robinson and Tory Blaylock) returning to the fold, the offensive line should have young, developing runners to pave the way for. So far, Venables has been encouraged by the big guys up front, but he knows better than anyone that building a dominant group in the trenches isn't an overnight fix. He'll need his o-line to take another big step forward between now and September, if the Sooners are to achieve his goal of running the football more effectively.
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This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: Brent Venables believes in the Sooners offensive line this year