'Not Just Here to Check a box': Oklahoma OT Michael Fasusi Expecting More From Himself in 2026

NORMAN — A year ago, Michael Fasusi was just working to break into the lineup as Oklahoma rotated through a cast of offensive linemen.

Fasusi earned a starting nod by the Michigan game and wound up making 10 starts at left tackle and earning Freshman All-American honors by On3.

The Nigerian-born Fasusi, who eventually bloomed into a five-star prospect at Lewisville (Texas) High, wants more from this season.

“I’m not just here to check a box,” Fasusi said. “I’m here to give my all, to give my whole heart into every single rep. … I know that me doing that spreads the energy to my guys that we’re here to be the best we can at everything that we do.”

It’s that mindset that helped earn Fasusi a place as one of Oklahoma’s captains this season.

Fasusi and the 10th-ranked Sooners open their season at 7 p.m. Sept. 4 vs. UTEP, and Fasusi expects his game to look much different than it did a year ago.

“I would say everything coming down to my mental part of the game, my physical part of the game, the spiritual part of the game,” Fasusi said of his offseason areas of focus. “Really just leaving everything to God and getting better in every single way I need to. My hands, my feet, my eyes, my communication, and really just committed to love my brothers more.

“It’s almost like the more you love your teammates, the better you play.”

After the revolving door on the line last season with only one starter carrying over from the first game to the second game, Fasusi said he has seen plenty of offseason growth with the Sooners returning five players who started five or more games last year. Oklahoma also added Arkansas transfer E’Marion Harris, who started 11 games for the Razorbacks last season.

OU offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh said the difference in the group — especially Fasusi and fellow sophomore Ryan Fodje — is readily apparent.

“They’re so far ahead of where they were,” Bedenbaugh said before preseason camp started.. “Now it’s got to go translate to the field, but where every guy is, I’m happy with.”

Fasusi said the chemistry among the group is high.

“It’s amazing man, the communication that we’ve built,” Fasusi said. “It really just comes down to the trust that we’ve all been having in Coach B. It’s something that keeps getting better. …

“We’re trusting our coach and we’re trusting ourselves.”

What’s the biggest factor in Fasusi being a better player now than he was a year ago?

“Experience,” Bedenbaugh said. “You can’t replace the experience of going through a game week, of playing on the road at Tennessee. We could go out there and play this music all we want — which helps — but until you get in that environment, how do you replicate it? You don’t.”

That experience figures to help Sept. 12 when the Sooners travel to Ann Arbor to take on 16th-ranked Michigan at the Big House.

“It’s a blessing,” Fasusi said. “To be able to have that experience, be able to see what the game is like, what the speed of the game is like,what the physicality is like and really just everything it takes to be great.

“It’s been amazing being able to have that experience, and it’s been more amazing being able to develop from that and become a better player.picking things up from where you were and just getting better at it.”

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