Jake Maikkula's Injury Puts Oklahoma's Emphasis on Versatility on the OL Into Spotlight

NORMAN — Oklahoma general manager Jim Nagy has emphasized several times since being hired in February 2025 that versatility on the offensive line is more important than ever.

“Position versatility is key,” Nagy said in December when talking about the signings of Noah Best and Deacon Schmitt. “... We can’t have any one-position players moving forward, that gets you in a lot of trouble with your roster.”

With the recent injury of center Jake Maikkula, the work the 10th-ranked Sooners have done making their line more adaptable has a chance to pay off.

That is made even more important by the daunting early season schedule that includes games at No. 16 Michigan and No. 3 Georgia in September.

Oklahoma has been hit hard by offensive line injuries in recent seasons.

Over the last three seasons, the Sooners have started 20 different combinations on the offensive line.

The last time OU started fewer than six combinations up front during a season was 2021, Lincoln Riley’s final season at the helm.

They’ve started three different players at center in each of the last two seasons.

Last season, Troy Everett started the opener before being lost for the season due to an injury, opening up a spot for Maikkula to slide in. When Maikkula was injured late in the season, Febechi Nwaiwu moved over from guard to play center for the first time since high school.

Nwaiwu performed well there over the last two games.

A lot is asked of the center in all offenses, but Bill Bedenbaugh in particular puts a lot on his center’s backs.

“Tackles have probably the toughest job being out there on an island, on an edge, but you know the most important one, I think, is center, besides the quarterback on the whole offense because he gets guys getting going on in the right direction and if he misses calls, obviously there’s an issue. … That position is critical to our success.”

Maikkula was mainly a guard at Stanford, though he had some experience at center there before sliding over there full time with the Sooners.

The Sooners have multiple options.

Oklahoma brought in Caleb Nitta, who started nine games at center last season at Western Kentucky, in the offseason to add experienced depth up the middle.

“What he’s done this summer, I’ve been really impressed with,” Bedenbaugh said of Nitta before preseason camp began.

Best has impressed as a freshman at the spot and has a chance to earn playing time there as well.

Then there’s Ryan Fodje, who started games at both tackle and guard last season but who was taking reps at center late in the season to be ready in case Nwaiwu suffered an injury.

“I just feel like whatever I’ve got to do, I’ve got to do it,” Fodje said before Maikkula’s injury. “I know it’s hard. I know football’s hard. Life is hard. Everything is hard in life. But I’ve just got to do what I’ve got to do to make the team successful. That’s all I’ve got to do. If they need me at center, I’ll go right now and start snapping the ball. … I know how to make the calls. I can do what they need me to do.”

Brent Venables has also emphasized recruiting offensive linemen who can play multiple positions.

“Really important for us to be efficient from a roster standpoint,” Venables said.

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