Oklahoma OT Michael Fasusi to Miss Today's Game at Temple

In this story:
Oklahoma got just a little bit of bad news before Saturday’s game at Temple.
Michael Fasusi, who started at left tackle against Michigan last week, is not dressed out today and has a protective boot on his left foot.
Fasusi sustained an ankle injury late last week against the Wolverines when a pile of players rolled up behind him and turned his ankle.
Third-year sophomore Logan Howland is expected to replace Fasusi in the starting lineup against the Owls.
The 6-foot-6, 322-pound Howland hails from Westfield, NJ — just 80 miles to the northeast from Lincoln Financial Field — and should have a large contingent of family and friends making the drive to watch him play.
Howland played in all 13 games last season, including six starts — five straight to end the season.
Fasusi missed the Sooners’ opening game against Illinois State after he experienced a heat-related fainting episode during the final week of preseason training camp.
Against Michigan’s talented defensive front last week, Fasusi started and played 66 offensive snaps, according to Pro Football Focus. He graded well, per PFF’s rating system, with a 76.8 run blocking grade, a 61.0 pass blocking grade and a 74.6 overall offensive grade.
Fasusi, a 5-star prospect at Lewisville, TX, came to the United States from Nigeria.
Howland played 502 offensive snaps last season for the Sooners and graded out 67.9 overall, 62.9 at run blocking and 70.2 on pass blocking, per PFF.
So far this season, Howland has played 81 snaps and boasts an outstanding pass blocking grade of 82.4, with a run blocking grade of 67.3 and an overall grade of 69.6.
Howland didn't start the opener against the Redbirds as that honor went to senior Jacob Sexton. But Sexton was injured early in that game, and Howland played the rest of the way at left tackle.
Fasusi is the highest-rated high school prospect ever signed by Oklahoma offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh. According to 247Sports, Fasusi was the No. 1-ranked offensive tackle in the country, the No. 4 player in the state of Texas, and the No. 8 overall prospect in the nation. Per Rivals, Fasusi ranked No. 1 nationally among offensive tackles, No. 5 in the Lone Star State, and No. 8 overall nationwide.
No. 13-ranked OU kicks off this morning against the Owls (11 a.m., ESPN2), with the SEC opener against Auburn looming next week in Norman.

John is an award-winning journalist whose work spans five decades in Oklahoma, with multiple state, regional and national awards as a sportswriter at various newspapers. During his newspaper career, John covered the Dallas Cowboys, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Arkansas Razorbacks and much more. In 2016, John changed careers, migrating into radio and launching a YouTube channel, and has built a successful independent media company, DanCam Media. From there, John has written under the banners of Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Fan Nation and a handful of local and national magazines while hosting daily sports talk radio shows in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and statewide. John has also spoken on Capitol Hill in Oklahoma City in a successful effort to put more certified athletic trainers in Oklahoma public high schools. Among the dozens of awards he has won, John most cherishes his national "Beat Writer of the Year" from the Associated Press Sports Editors, Oklahoma's "Best Sports Column" from the Society of Professional Journalists, and Two "Excellence in Sports Medicine Reporting" Awards from the National Athletic Trainers Association. John holds a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from East Central University in Ada, OK. Born and raised in North Pole, Alaska, John played football and wrote for the school paper at Ada High School in Ada, OK. He enjoys books, movies and travel, and lives in Broken Arrow, OK, with his wife and two kids.
Follow johnehoover