Freshman OL Noah Best is Already Turning Heads at Oklahoma

Noah Best signed with the Sooners in December, and he has already made a strong impression on Brent Venables.

Noah Best and Bill Bedenbaugh | Noah Best via Twitter/X

NORMAN — Oklahoma will head into the 2026 fall with a foundation built on the offensive line.

The Sooners retained several key offensive linemen — like Michael Fasusi, Ryan Fodje, Eddy Pierre-Louis, Jake Maikkula and Heath Ozaeta — from their 2026 squad during the offseason. They also added former Arkansas lineman E’Marion Harris from the transfer portal, and he’ll presumably start at one of OU’s tackle spots.

With so many veterans on the line, OU coach Brent Venables believes the unit is in good shape — and he also believes that the backup linemen can be impactful if they are called upon..

After Oklahoma’s spring game on April 18, Venables underscored the unit’s depth.

“Now you start feeling like, OK, we might have seven guys, maybe eight if somebody comes on,” Venables said. “It’s better than maybe what we thought.”

True freshman Noah Best is one of the linemen who could be an important depth piece.

Best is a 6-4, 316-pound lineman who hails from Midlothian, TX. He was a consensus 3-star player in the Class of 2026, and he also held offers from Texas Tech, Missouri and Kansas State.

At Wednesday’s Sooner Caravan in Oklahoma City, Venables highlighted Best as one of the freshmen who stood out the most during spring ball, according to Sooner Scoop’s George Stoia.

Prior to spring ball, Best said that he settled into winter workouts quickly, thanks to his older teammates.

“It's been amazing like learning from the guys and them helping me understand it,” Best said. “It's made it a lot easier for me, especially like all the new plays, everything I'm learning, techniques… they've just been amazing to me and I'm blessed to be in the situation that I'm in.”

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Best also believes that offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh — who has been on OU’s staff since 2013 — has been critical to his development and quick adjustment.

“His attention to details is crazy,” Best said. “I'm still getting used to the meetings with him, but they've been intense.”

Best is one of only two linemen that signed with Oklahoma from the Class of 2026, along with Deacon Schmitt. The Sooners added four linemen — Harris, Peyton Joseph, Caleb Nitta and Fred Hinton — to the roster from the transfer portal.

Best projects to play as an interior lineman for the Sooners. It’s possible that he takes a notable role as a true freshman, but it’s also possible that he’s only used in blowouts or on special teams.

Regardless of what his Year 1 role is, Best feels confident that the reps collected against OU’s stingy defense throughout the offseason will allow him to be impactful whenever he’s called upon.

“I'm just excited to go against the defense really,” Best said. “This is a really good defense, and it's going to be a good defense to learn from because every week in the SEC, it's a good defense.”