Brent Venables Expects Two Oklahoma Offensive Linemen to Return for Michigan Game

When Oklahoma hosts Michigan this week at Owen Field, the Sooners could be a little closer to full strength.

On his Sunday coach’s show, “Sooner Football With Brent Venables,” OU’s fourth-year head coach said he’s expecting the return of a couple of key pieces at a position group that was largely concerning in a 35-3 Week 1 victory over Illinois State.

Venables told host Toby Rowland that left tackle Michael Fasusi and right tackle Derek Simmons are expected to be back in the lineup this week when the Sooners and Wolverines collide.

“We had some guys that we held out (Saturday against the Redbirds,” Venables said. “Mike Fasusi was unable to play, wasn’t cleared. Just had little (fainting) episode; just got overheated in fall camp there at the end. He’ll be back this week as long as everything checks out, along with Derek Simmons, he’ll be back. And hopefully Jacob Sexton will be able to power through what he’s going through as well to get back.”

Sexton started at left tackle, where Fasusi had been slated for first-team action, but only played six plays before he went out with an apparent knee injury.

Fasusi fainted after a practice leading into game week and was taken to a local hospital for observation but checked out OK, a source said. A true freshman from Lewisville, TX, Fasusi was a 5-star recruit and ranks as the highest-rated offensive line prospect ever signed by OU o-line coach Bill Bedenbaugh. Fasusi was listed as a co-starter along with Sexton and Stanford transfer Luke Baklenko.

Simmons has a history of concussions from his playing days at Abilene Christian and Western Carolina, and he sustained another one in the early stages of preseason camp and missed most of August. Simmons was a multi-year starter at Western Carolina and, like Fasusi on the left side, was projected as a co-starter at right tackle when the Illinois State depth chart came out last Monday.

The Sooners struggled mightily across the offensive line in 2024, and they delivered mixed results in Saturday's opener.

Illinois State had just one quarterback sack as quarterback John Mateer exploded for 392 yards and four total touchdowns, but the OU running game labored for just 103 total yards and a mere 3.2 yards per carry.

Ranked No. 18 in last week’s AP Top 25, OU plays the No. 14-ranked Wolverines for just the second time ever on Saturday at 6:30 p.m.

The game features two of the winningest programs in the history of college football, although their only previous meeting was the 1975-76 Orange Bowl, which the Sooners won 14-6.

Going into the 2025 season, Oklahoma ranks No. 6 all-time with 950 wins, while Michigan ranks No. 1 with 1,012 victories. Ohio State (978), Alabama (974), Notre Dame (962) and Texas (951) round out the top five.

The Wolverines beat New Mexico 34-17 on Saturday in Ann Arbor in the debut of freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood, the No. 1 recruit in the 2025 recruiting class.

The Wolverines were just 8-5 last season under coach Sherrone Moore — a former OU offensive lineman who played for Bob Stoops in 2006-07 and won two Big 12 championships — but upset rival Ohio State, who went on to win the national championship. Michigan won the 2023 national title in Jim Harbaugh’s final season at his alma mater.

OU will return the game in Ann Arbor next season, when the Sooners visit The Big House on Sept. 12, 2026. Michigan Stadium is the largest stadium in the U.S., with a seating capacity of 107,601.