2022 Oklahoma Breakout Player: OT Savion Byrd
Part 6 of a series exploring Oklahoma’s potential breakout players in 2022:
Changes are coming to Oklahoma’s offensive line.
Tyrese Robinson and Marquis Hayes both departed to the NFL, leaving holes at left guard and right tackle for Bill Bedenbaugh to fill.
McKade Mettauer was brought in from California to help fill the void at guard, but the right tackle spot is up in the air.
Former Tennessee star Wanya Morris has the pedigree to take over on the right side of the line, and a mental shift this offseason brings optimism that Morris can live up to his potential.
But behind Anton Harrison and Morris, there’s a lack of proven depth at tackle.
Enter Savion Byrd.
The Sooners are going to need more than two offensive tackles to get through the year regardless of who is starting, and the redshirt freshman could be tossed into the game at any given moment.
Read More Oklahoma Breakout Players:
A consensus 4-star recruit out of Duncanville High School, the 6-foot-5, 278-pound tackle played well during the spring game.
Though he only saw action in a pair of games last season, the redshirt freshman now has an entire offseason of conditioning with strength coach Jerry Schmidt, and he is primed to at the very least provide quality depth along the offensive line.
If he can continue to focus his efforts into studying under Bedenbaugh, the Oklahoma offensive line coach has faith Byrd will be able to deliver on the field.
“Savion’s done a good job,” Bedenbaugh said during spring practice. “Done a really good job. Big. Strong. Athletic. Powerful guy. He has really got his off the field issues taken care of. He’s getting better at those things. Got to continue to improve with that. But on the field, he’s a really good player. He’s got everything that you want.
“He’s a great kid and he’s a young kid. Just has to mature. You know what I mean? He’s young. But these past couple of months he’s really done a good job in the classroom and off the field. And doing the things he needs to to become a better player.”
Even if Harrison and Morris put themselves into the All-Big 12 picture with their play by the end of the season, there will be plenty of opportunities for Byrd to contribute.
The increased pace of play offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby is ushering in not only creates more carries for OU’s running backs and an increased workload for the wide receiver core, but it also creates more chances for rotation along the offensive line.
Lebby’s Oklahoma offense will run many more snaps than last year’s unit, meaning there will be more series for Byrd to be able to step in and get live game action.
And if for any reason either of OU’s front line offensive tackles miss game time, Byrd will quickly become a key piece as the Sooners look to mitigate any kind of performance drop-off.
Oklahoma’s offensive line has performed below expectations the last two years, and developing quality depth along the entirety of the line will help Bedenbaugh’s unit take steps back toward where he wants to be.
Byrd’s development will be a key piece to that, as having cover at the tackle spot will give the offense a greater margin for error this fall.
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