WATCH: Oklahoma's 2025 Captains Preview the Season Opener

NORMAN — Watch as Oklahoma’s 2025 captains spoke to local media members on Monday night ahead of OU’s season opener.

The No. 18-ranked Sooners will take on the Illinois State Redbirds on Saturday at 5 p.m. at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.

Quarterback John Mateer, center Troy Everett, defensive tackles Damonic Williams and Gracen Halton, defensive end R Mason Thomas, linebacker Kip Lewis and saftey Robert Spears-Jennings were named as the Sooners’ permanent captains for the season over the weekend.

The Sooners also released their first official depth chart of the season on Monday afternoon.

Watch Interviews From Oklahoma’s 2025 Captains

Mateer spoke about his emotions when he found out he was voted as a captain by his teammates, as well as assessing the readiness of the offense for the season opener.

Everett talked about his battle throughout fall camp with Stanford transfer Jake Maikkula, as well as the growth of guard Febechi Nwaiwu over the offseason.

Halton talked about his experience watching fall camp as he was sidelined with an injury. That time spent watching allowed Halton to see the growth from OU’s younger pieces on defense, but he feels “100 percent” heading into this week’s contest.

Lewis talked about his goals as a captain, as well as the process for Oklahoma’s linebackers to gel after losing a key member of the defense in Danny Stutsman.

Thomas looked back on his relationship with defensive ends coach Miguel Chavis and how that’s grown over the years. He also spoke about his excitement to see Danny Okoye and Taylor Wein earn larger roles on the defense, as well as how comfortable transfer Marvin Jones Jr. is feeling heading into the season opener.

Williams talked about his growth since transferring to OU from TCU, as well as how much depth he feels the defensive line has in 2025. He also laid out his goals for the Oklahoma defense in Saturday’s game against the Redbirds.

Spears-Jennings talked about how he’s seen the secondary grow as a whole, as well as the strides that Peyton Bowen has made at the other safety spot. He also talked about what it’s like to battle John Mateer every day at practice and what he’s seen from Arbuckle’s offense through spring practice and fall camp.

You can also watch all of Oklahoma’s player interviews on YouTube.