Oklahoma Spring Review: Andrew Raym Can Definitely Fill Creed Humphrey's Shoes

Every Wednesday this spring, SI Sooners examines one key player’s performance from Oklahoma’s Red/White Game. Today: Center Andrew Raym.

Stepping into Creed Humphrey’s shoes won’t be an easy task. But if Oklahoma’s spring game is any indication, Andrew Raym’s got this.

Raym, a 6-foot-3, 304-pound sophomore from Broken Arrow, OK, drew the start in the Red/White Game and played with the No. 1 offense from the beginning to the end.

The Breakdown

Raym did shift to right guard for the final two series, trading places with Chris Murray. But whereas Raym looked confident and self-assured and even dominant at times, Murray occasionally struggled. Raym’s performance — pass blocking, run blocking, deciphering the defense, communicating, the whole package — would seem to indicate that he’s got a firm grip on the job.

Basically, OU’s No. 1 offense lined up against the No. 2 defense, and vice versa. So Raym was mostly pitted against the Sooners’ second rotation of defensive linemen — Jordan Kelley, LaRon Stokes, Josh Ellison, Kori Roberson and Isaiah Coe on the inside, Clayton Smith, Ethan Downs, Reggie Grimes and Marcus Stripling on the outside.

Defensive coordinator Alex Grinch said he kept his schemes “vanilla” for the most part, so Raym and his fellow offensive linemen weren’t overly tested cerebrally. But anything Raym encountered, he handled.

Raym got seven series in the limited scrimmage, a total of 31 plays. He played enough — and played well enough — that his final two series (nine plays) at guard allowed coaches to get a good look at what Murray can do at the center spot.

Raym seemed comfortable in one-on-one combat or in open space, and looked poised and confident in chaotic situations as well.

Raym did have a couple of early glitches: he was beaten by a Kelley spin move (Spencer Rattler got the throw off) and by a pull-and-go move by Kori Roberson (Rattler was sacked by Reggie Grimes from the outside), but got much better as the scrimmage progressed.

First Half

On the opening series, Raym took on Kelley one-on-one and stuffed him, then rode Kelley away from the action on the next play. He then caught Downs on a twist rush and blocked him at first, but Downs kept his feet and got pressure on Rattler. Raym followed that with an efficient block of Roberson, blocking down to his left and clearing Roberson out of the hole as Eric Gray hit a 6-yard gain off his block. Defensive line coach Calvin Thibodeaux said Coe might be the Sooners’ most powerful d-linemen, but on the next play, in a one-on-one pass block, Raym easily stuffed Coe. And on the final play of the series, both Stokes and Kelley lined up in wide 3-techniques (outside shoulder of the guard) and slanted in on Raym, who absorbed contact from both as Rattler made a pressured deep throw.

After Coe’s grab-and-go to start the second series, Raym started to settle in. Smith came inside on a slant, but Raym found him and easily picked up the block. On Kennedy Brooks’ first live handoff since the Peach Bowl, Raym slid outside to the right and picked up Smith as Brooks cut up behind him and slipped to the ground. The drive ended on Rattler’s incomplete throw to Jadon Haselwood, but before the snap, Raym pointed out Caleb Kelly as the middle linebacker, then set the pocket high as both tackles again lined up wide, and took on a twist from Stripling, who came in behind Stokes and got stuffed as Rattler got the throw off.

The third series was a one-play disaster for the offense — Mario Williams fumbled the reverse and Ellison recovered — but Raym showed excellent quickness as he pulled to the left. The play collapsed behind him, but Raym was all alone in space looking for someone to block. Had Williams hung onto the football, the blocking was set up well for a big play.

On the final series of the first half, Raym saw both tackles again lined up in a 3-technique — there’s essentially no one in front of Raym but the middle linebacker — and he immediately recognized pressure coming from the left side. He set up to take on Smith, but Grimes blindsided him from the right. Still, Raym kept his feet amid the chaos and looked for someone else to block as the play broke down and Rattler stepped up to throw to Jeremiah Hall. Seeing the same formation on the very next play, Raym snapped his head back and forth — left-right-left — as he set up in pass pro. He took on Stripling from the left side and shut him down as Rattler got a clean release. The next play broke down a little too close to Rattler, but as both ends again slanted in on Raym, he once more adapted to the chaos and helped left tackle Wanya Morris finish off Stripling as Rattler stepped up and threw.

Second Half

Raym got only one series at center in the second half, but it led to a field goal. On the opening play — Rattler’s 50-yard bomb to Williams — Raym pulled out and slid to the left, catching just enough of middle linebacker Bryan Mead’s rush to allow Rattler an extra count to finish off the play-action fake, step up and fire deep. On the next play, both tackles lined up in a 1-technique (off the guards’ inside shoulder), which makes for tight quarters for the center. But Raym took on Kelley’s slant, then stayed engaged with left guard Quentin Hayes on a double-team block on Ellison as Rattler kept it out wide. Before the next snap, Raym pointed out Mead as the middle linebacker, and with Kelley in a 1-technique and Ellison in a 3, Raym set up the top of the pocket and caught Smith on a slant as Rattler threw outside to Williams. Rattler’s next three throws were batted down, but he had a mostly clean pocket on all three thanks to Raym, who picked up Downs coming on a late twist from the left, then caught Downs on a slant from the right, and finally set up and took on Mead coming on a late rush up the middle.

Raym shifted to right guard on the final two series and played both efficiently and aggressively. On the two running plays Mikey Henderson got thrown for a loss (the second one for a safety), Raym released upfield to block Caleb Kelly, then took on Hicks one-on-one and blocked him out of the play as Henderson is swarmed.

On the final series, Raym showed more elite-level one-on-one blocking as well as athleticism and ability to adapt on the fly. He blocked linebacker Jamal Morris out of the play as Henderson gains 5 yards off his block, then on the next play got tripped to the ground but quickly bounced back up and continued blocking. Raym showed more quickness pulling to the left to block Smith, but didn’t finish the block strong and allowed Smith to bounce off him and help with the tackle. Raym then combo-blocked Coe before releasing downfield to block Morris on the backside of a Henderson run. On Todd Hudson’s final two runs of the day, Raym blocked defensive tackle Reed Lindsey out of the play twice. One was a 2-yard loss as Smith got away from right tackle Brey Walker and made the stop, and one was a 37-yard gain as Raym cleared a big hole by sealing off Lindsey to the inside while Murray combo-blocked Shane Whitter, allowing Hudson to break right behind Raym’s block and into open territory.

The Wrap-up

Raym is going to be a key player up front for the Sooners this season, whether it’s starting at center or either filling in or pushing Hayes and Tyrese Robinson for time at guard.

The guess here is he’ll step in and anchor the middle of the line for three years, just like Humphrey did.