With Andrew Raym Out After Surgery, Oklahoma Turns Once Again to Robert Congel at Center

The Sooners' starting center tweeted Tuesday that he just had surgery, so just like last year, the snapping duties will fall to veteran Robert Congel.

NORMAN — Oklahoma center Andrew Raym posted on social media Tuesday that he had successful surgery and is “hoping for a quick recovery.”

While Raym’s football season appears finished — OU’s season finale is Saturday night at Texas Tech — his replacement, Robert Congel, seems more than ready to roll.

Congel, a senior who transferred from Arizona in 2020 after beginning his college career at Texas A&M, got his first start of the year Saturday night against Oklahoma State and had a solid game.

“It was great.” he said.

It was a lot better for Congel than his last start against the Cowboys.

“Obviously last year I started that one,” Congel said Monday night after practice, “and we didn't come out with a win, so it felt good to get in there and get it done this time.”

The Sooners held off the Cowboys 28-13 this time, partly because Congel stepped in and did his job.

It wan’t seamless, of course. Congel had a few problems delivering the shotgun snap to quarterback Dillon Gabriel.

“That's on me,” Congel said. “I’ve got to get those snaps back there a little bit quicker. We worked on it today, and I feel pretty good about it.”

It’s not as easy as it looks. Most centers fire a quick spiral back to the QB. That’s not how Congel snaps it.

“Every center snaps it differently,” he said. “I knuckleball it and Raym just grabs it like he's throwing a football. He sends it back there. Mine, they're kinda lofted back there. It's just something I've gotta work on.

“I’ve gotta throw a fastball. It wasn't getting there quick enough.”

Congel’s floating snaps occasionally threw off the start of the play. How much does it affect a quarterback to have a different guy snapping the football?

“More than you would think,” said offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby. “We had some issues the other day. Congel did a really good job. He played well. We've got to be cleaner from a snap standpoint, though.

“You just want it always the same. All the time. You want every snap to be the exact same so, from an operational standpoint, you're the exact same with your hands, your feet, your hips and everything that you're doing from a run-game and mesh standpoint. You just want it to be the same — and we'll get there.”

Congel has played mostly guard since he’s been at OU, although when Raym went down late last year, Congel moved into the middle spot for the Bedlam game and the Alamo Bowl.

Chemistry is easily one of the most important and yet most overlooked parts of an offensive line. Oklahoma’s o-line has developed great chemistry this season — and now, with Raym on the shelf again, needs to build it back quickly.

“Absolutely,” Congel said. “Any time you move a part out and move a part in, there's an adjustment. But a lot of these guys can play multiple positions, and Coach B will put us in different positions every now and then. I feel like the chemistry has been pretty good this year.

“I think we've grown a lot over the season. It's a tight-knit group. I've got a lot of love for all of those guys. We've just been gelling as the season has gone on. I think we're getting there.”