Why Oklahoma OL Daniel Akinkunmi Says Bill Bedenbaugh Has No Plans to Leave Norman

ORLANDO — After a shaky performance from Oklahoma’s offensive line against Arizona in the Alamo Bowl, fans and media have started to question whether Sooners’ offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh has lost his edge.

New OU signee Daniel Akinkunmi has a different opinion, and firmly believes that Bedenbaugh isn’t going anywhere any time soon.

“His whole family is (in) Norman,” Akinkunmi said Friday at Under Armour All-American Game media day. “He said he’s never going to leave unless he gets fired, and let’s be real, with the type of talents he produces, he’s not going to get fired. So, that stability in my coach really made me happy to commit to the school.”

With Savion Byrd failing to develop the way his recruiting ranking would indicate he should have, resulting in the former high 4-star recruit transferring to SMU, and star freshman Cayden Green transferring to Missouri, Oklahoma had very little depth along the offensive line against the Wildcats.

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The Sooners’ offensive line wasn’t just a problem against Arizona, however. Throughout the 2023 season, OU had trouble finding its best five lineman to put out on the field.

Even when Oklahoma finally did get one group of five consistently playing together, the unit was not as dominant as Bedenbaugh would have liked. With all signs pointing to Tyler Guyton being a first-round pick in the NFL Draft, Andrew Raym heading to the Senior Bowl and another NFL talent in Walter Rouse in the trenches, many observers believed that the Sooners’ offensive line should have been able to manhandle its opponents more than it did this season.

With OU heading into a much more physical conference next season, many fans have begun to worry that Bedenbaugh has started to lose his fastball. Despite the critics, Akinkunmi still has faith in his future coach.

“I feel like to come to a place like Oklahoma, who has Coach Bedenbaugh who’s been there for 13 years, I knew that he was never going to leave Norman,” Akinkunmi said.

“He told me, like, he’s turned down more opportunities from the NFL, from other schools, just to stay in Norman because he loves Norman.”

Being such a raw prospect, Akinkunmi likely won’t challenge for a starting spot as a freshman, but the 3-star recruit’s physical traits and mindset should make him a solid depth piece on the offensive line with the potential to develop into a high-level starter for the Sooners.

One of the characteristics that makes Akinkunmi such a good fit under Bedenbaugh is his hard-nosed mentality. At Under Armour All-American Media Day, Akinkunmi said that he takes pride in being such a physical force in the trenches.

“I’m willing to put my body on the line, my life on the line, to protect my teammates. Protect my quarterback. I feel like that’s something a lot of guys don’t do,” Akinkunmi said. “They’re not willing to put their life on the line, they’re willing to be in it, but I’m willing to put my whole life on the line to protect my teammates and help my team win.”

On Jan. 3, Akinkunmi will play in the Under Armour All-American Game, marking his first football game in the United States. Following his time in Orlando, the London native will head to Norman to enroll early at OU.

Upon his arrival in Oklahoma, Akinkunmi said that he will be roommates with local offensive lineman Josh Aisosa. As the two enter their freshman season, they will provide much-needed depth and the potential to develop into solid offensive lineman down the road.

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