Oklahoma Offensive Line Lands on Midseason Honor Roll
Anton Harrison blocks for Eric Gray.
BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN-Imagn Content Services, LLC
NORMAN — Oklahoma’s offensive line was at the center of the Sooners’ slow offensive start to the 2021 season, but the group is coming off its best performance of the season last week against TCU.
So the timing of Tuesday’s big news couldn’t be better.
The Sooners’ front five is among 19 selected to the Joe Moore Award Midseason Honor Roll.
The honor was announced by the Joe Moore Award committee, which judges solely on six criteria: toughness, effort, teamwork, consistency, technique and finishing.
The committee makes its evaluations after weekly review of actual game film, including clips provided by college offensive line coaches.
“This has been a challenging year to evaluate O-line play due to some unexpected inconsistency,” said former Notre Dame All-American Aaron Taylor, who played for Joe Moore in college and now is a CBS college football analyst. “But as always, the cream rises to the top and that certainly has been the case with the units on this year’s honor roll.
“As in years past, the bar will rise rapidly from here, and there could also be a surprise unit or two that emerges late in the year like Iowa did in 2016.”
Sooners offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh has had just one change in the starting five this season (Andrew Raym for Robert Congel at center), but has had personnel movement at numerous positions due to injuries and inconsistency. In Saturday’s victory over the Horned Frogs, former left tackle starter Erik Swenson — who has also played guard this year — closed at right tackle. Head coach Lincoln Riley said it was his first time there all season.
Despite the slow start (back-to-back games of 23 and 16 points — lowest in the Riley era — OU is averaging 6.94 yards per play, which is well below the OU average under Riley but this season still ranks 11th in the nation.
The Sooners’ 42.7 points per game rank seventh, and their 479.1 yards per game rank 14th.
Others on the midseason honor roll: Air Force, Alabama, Appalachian State, Arkansas, Baylor, BYU, Coastal Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon, Oregon State, San Diego State, Tennessee, and UCLA.
Oklahoma won the Joe Moore Award in 2018.
