2020 OU Position Preview: Offensive Line
Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports
Every Friday going into Big 12 Media Days on July 20-21, SI Sooners will break down one Oklahoma position group. Today: offensive line.
Oklahoma’s offensive line spent most of the 2019 season growing into its reputation.
Losing four long-time starters to the NFL Draft will do that.
But the Sooners’ front five did grow, did show improvement and did find its identity as the season progressed. For having four new starters up front, the Sooner o-line probably exceeded expectations, clearing the way for an offense that led the nation all season and ended No. 3 in the national rankings.
And now, all five starters are back, plus some promising youngsters, and Lincoln Riley foresees changes – and better results – in 2020.
One reason Riley is hopeful: he firmly believes he has the best offensive line coach in the nation in Bill Bedenbaugh. Bedenbaugh has turned OU into OLU – Offensive Line University – based on how many Sooners he churns out into the NFL ranks. In just the previous two NFL Drafts, five Oklahoma offensive linemen (Orlando Brown in 2018, Cody Ford, Bobby Evans, Dru Samia and Ben Powers in 2019) have been selected, three of those became starters, three went to the playoffs and one made the Pro Bowl.
And one reason Riley wants improvement: pass blocking was an issue last season, significant enough that one-year quarterback Jalen Hurts sometimes didn’t trust his protection and bailed out early on his read progression.
Riley’s offense is predicated on the quarterback knowing where to go with the football. That means he can’t be thinking about running too soon. And that means he needs more consistent protection.
“We’re looking at a lot of different combinations right now. I’ll put it that way,” Riley said going into the spring. “Where guys have played in the past may not necessarily be where they play in the future. That was a group that we feel like needs to play a lot better for us. Very simply, we all have to do a better job.”
To that end, Riley’s most important recruiting coup happened in January when center Creed Humphrey announced he would postpone an early departure for the NFL and instead return for his junior season. Having Humphrey back for his third season as a starter is of paramount importance for the continued growth of this unit.
“Yeah, certainly having our leader there is important for the development of this group,” Riley said. “Not only just some continuity and all that but just kind of the mentality of the group as that builds. You need that guy there. I think it will be important for Creed as a player too. The expectations are for him to play his very best ball and it takes a lot to do that. He’s got to get playing the very best he can and leading these guys and that group’s hungry right now and we need them to be.”
There’s also the progression of young players like Stacey Wilkins, who played well in four appearances last season (South Dakota, UCLA, Texas Tech and Kansas) and retained his redshirt status. Brey Walker also got good reports, playing in 13 games with starts against Tech and KU. If players like Wilkins, Walker and projected center E.J. Ndoma-Ogar (he also played four games last season) continue to impress, they’ll be in the mix for a starting role.
The 6-foot-6, 319-pound Wilkins, Riley said, “has a chance. He had a pretty good redshirt year. He played pretty decent in the games that he came in. He really developed some strength which was probably the most important thing for him. He’s a gifted athlete. He has elite length. He can really bend and really move. For us, it was adding a few pounds and hardening his body and then adding both some upper- and lower-body strength, which he’s done that. I certainly feel like he’s ready to compete.
Because of Riley’s “different combinations” comment and with no spring practice to gauge, it’s impossible to predict any coming changes. It’s also unclear what UCLA transfer Chris Murray’s status will be. The NCAA wants to pass a blanket one-time transfer eligibility waiver, but also recommends waiting until after the pandemic. With that, here is the projected depth chart for 2020:
The wild card, of course, is Murray, who at UCLA started 21 games at right guard and three at center. If his eligibility appeal is approved, he could vie for playing time at either guard position, although those spots eventually became a strength of the o-line unit later in 2019 with Robinson and Hayes.
Swenson is the top priority here: he has the most starting experience at left tackle, but he needs to be light years better than he was last year. If he’s not, Riley and Bedenbaugh won’t give him the same rope with Spencer Rattler at QB as they did with Jalen Hurts. But going to Wilkins means going to an inexperienced player at a vital spot on up front. If Murray gets his waiver, maybe Hayes or Robinson can slide out to left tackle.
Another wild card is Ndoma-Ogar. He’s a natural center, but he won’t play much behind Humphrey. He could also play guard, but Hayes and Robinson may be entrenched and Walker and Raym look like future starters. The guess here is McIver continues to back up Humphrey (he drew rave reviews in spot duty last year) and Ndoma-Ogar fills in if any opportunities arise at guard and could even take backup snaps from Felix at tackle.
“The way our group played last year, 99 percent of the teams in the country would have been very happy with it,” Riley said. “But our expectations around here on the offensive line area little bit different than most.
“I wouldn’t say disappointed. I would just say we just have a high standard here. You don’t still produce like we did offensively by being bad on the offensive line. We weren’t bad by any stretch. But we need to be better and we expect to be better.”
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