‘Tough’ OL Peyton Joseph Could See Larger Role on Oklahoma’s Offensive Line

NORMAN — Oklahoma needs all the help that it can get on the offensive line.

The unit, which came into 2026 with fairly high expectations, has performed abysmally in the first month of the season. Center Jake Maikkula is the only starter with a Pro Football Focus (PFF) offensive grade higher than 60, and OU quarterback John Mateer has been pressured 44 times in four games.

Offensive lineman Peyton Joseph transferred to Oklahoma before the season but hasn’t gotten much playing time thus far.

According to OU coach Brent Venables, that could change soon.

“A guy like Peyton Joseph getting more opportunity — he’s athletic, he’s tough, he can play inside and outside,” Venables said.

Joseph began his college career at Georgia Tech, where he spent only one season and appeared on only four offensive snaps.

The 6-foot-4, 331-pound offensive tackle backed up Michael Fasusi in OU’s opener against UTEP, and he saw his first action as a Sooner when Fasusi suffered an injury early in that contest.

Joseph played 27 snaps against the Miners, but after that game, the Sooners shuffled their offensive line rotation, and the transfer tackle didn’t see the field in OU’s games against Michigan and New Mexico.

Joseph, though, got back into the mix against Georgia in a game where the offensive line performed particularly poorly. OU rotated between Noah Best and Heath Ozaeta — who finished the day with 44.4 and 44.1 PFF offensive grades, respectively — at right guard early in the game before eventually calling on Joseph to show what he could do at the position.

While playing out of position, Joseph finished the game with a 56.7 PFF offensive grade on 14 snaps.

Will Joseph’s late appearance against the Bulldogs lead to a more notable role? It’s hard to say.

But Venables made it clear that the offensive line hasn’t performed well enough and that the Sooners need more players to step up.

“We’re trying to continue to develop that depth,” Venables said. “We don’t have a ton there as far as bodies. There are some guys that have some versatility that can play a few different spots to develop that depth.”

Fasusi’s absence has been notable, as the former 5-star offensive tackle hasn’t played since the season opener.

But that doesn’t excuse the poor play from the rest of the line. Young linemen Eddy Pierre-Louis, Ryan Fodje and Best have all struggled so far in 2026.

OU’s offensive problems span far beyond the offensive line. But Venables is aware that it will be hard to win in SEC play if the blocking doesn’t improve.

“Still working,” Venables said. “We’ve got a long way to go from where we wanna be.”

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