Oklahoma's Offensive Line Delivered Mixed Results in 2025

The Sooners on SI postseason report card series starts on Sunday with OU's offensive line.

Oklahoma offensive lineman Febechi Nwaiwu protects quarterback John Mateer against Alabama. | Carson Field, Sooners On SI

With Oklahoma’s 2025 season fully in the rearview, Sooners on SI is handing out position-by-position grades for every area of the team, starting today with Bill Bedenbaugh’s offensive line. 

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Oklahoma’s offensive line saw a number of different combinations again in 2025, but by the end of the year, o-line coach Bill Bedenbaugh settled on six guys for his five spots up front. 

Veteran Febechi Nwaiwu made the most of his final season of college football, starting every game up front for the second straight year. 

Nwaiwu played 11 games at right guard before sliding to center for the final two games of the year when Stanford transfer Jake Maikkula had to exit the lineup. 

At left tackle, true freshman Michael Fasusi overcame early injuries to make the position his own. 

Redshirt freshman Eddy Pierre-Louis eventually emerged as the guard alongside Fasusi by Red November, and Western Carolina transfer Derek Simmons was steady at right tackle, with true freshman Ryan Fodje seeing time when Simmons missed games due to injury. 

Oklahoma offensive linemen Ryan Fodje, Febechi Nwaiwu, Jake Maikkula, Eddy Pierre-Louis and Michael Fasusi in the huddle against Alabama. | Carson Field, Sooners On SI

Fodje also flashed versatility, returning to where he started the season, guard, to finish the year when Nwaiwu slid from right guard to center. 

Overall, the results were mixed. 

Oklahoma held up much better in pass protection in 2025, though freshman mistakes proved costly at times. 

But the Sooners still struggled to get the movement needed up front to consistently run the football, which formed a bad combo with a running back room that took half a season to get going. 

A year ago, OU allowed an astonishing 50 sacks in 13 games, which was tied with Cal for the most allowed in the FBS. 

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In 2025, the Sooners allowed 29 total sacks, and Oklahoma’s 2.23 sacks per game ranked 93rd nationally. 

But the raw numbers don’t tell the entire story. 

Quarterback John Mateer averaged 4.38 seconds in the pocket per sack as tracked by Pro Football Focus, which was the fourth-longest time in the pocket per sack amongst Power 4 quarterbacks. 

Basically, Mateer did his offensive line no favors by holding onto the ball before eventually eating sacks. 

Mateer was pressured 26 times total in 12 games per PFF, which ranked 26th amongst Power 4 quarterbacks. 

The offensive line had its share of protection errors. Still, Oklahoma generally gave its quarterback enough time to either make something happen or get rid of the football before getting flung down to the turf by opposing defenses. 

OU’s rushing attack, however, never truly got going. 

The Sooners averaged 118.5 rushing yards per game, which ranked 112th in the FBS. 

Things got better briefly once OU settled on a running back rotation consisting of true freshman Tory Blaylock and sophomore Xavier Robinson, but those backs were streaky at best when healthy and struggled to produce once they got banged up. 

There is plenty of work for Bedenbaugh and his young group, especially on the ground this offseason, but with Fasusi, Fodje, Pierre-Louis and Maikkula all eligible to return, 2025 was a step back in the right direction — so long as another major leap follows in 2026.