Fall Camp: Previewing the biggest questions for OU's offense

After one of the worst campaigns in program history, the Sooners’ new-look offense faces a ton of pressure entering this fall.

There’s a lot of optimism that the offense will be better, but there’s plenty of question marks, too.

The Sooners know that new quarterback John Mateer will be their leader on offense, and he should be able to bring a new energy and explosiveness that simply wasn’t there last season. They also added former California running back Jaydn Ott, who projects to immediately step in as the team’s No. 1 running back. But outside of that, the Sooners still have a lot of things to figure out before the season opens on Aug. 30.

Fall camp begins on Thursday. Here’s a look at the biggest questions facing the Sooners’ offense:

What are the Sooners doing at tight end?

It’s probably the biggest question on either side of the ball.

The Sooners aren’t short on candidates, but each of them have question marks. Jaren Kanak switched from linebacker to tight end and is unproven. Carson Kent and Will Huggins were added out of the transfer portal, and both bring experience but not a ton of production. Kaden Helms and Kade McIntyre are the program guys who have battled injuries.

There are two big questions to answer. Do the Sooners have someone who can actually be productive as a pass catcher? If not, do they look for someone who can at least be helpful as a blocker?

Either way, the Sooners have a logjam at tight end with a lot of players who are unproven.

How do things shake out on the offensive line?

It’s not a stretch to say that none of the starting offensive line spots are absolutely locked in heading into fall camp. That’s not necessarily a bad thing for a unit that ranked dead last nationally in sacks allowed and second to last in tackles for loss allowed a year ago.

Sure, there are reasonable projections for a couple of spots. Senior Troy Everett has been the defacto leader of the offensive line and has the most experience at center. Febechi Nwaiwu started every game last season at right guard.

But the Sooners could have at least two guys competing for every single spot. At center, the Sooners added former Stanford center Jake Maikkula, who started 13 games the last two seasons. Second-year right guard Eddy Pierre-Louis has grown a ton this offseason, and he was the first player Brent Venables mentioned at SEC Media Days when discussing young guys who could see more playing time.

The other spots could be even more interesting. Western Carolina transfer Derek Simmons did well to assert himself at right tackle, but he’ll be battling with Jake Taylor for that spot. Taylor has been snakebitten by injuries, but he started all four games he played last season.

Heath Ozaeta enters the picture as the most likely to regain the starting spot at left guard after he was thrust into action last season, starting the last seven games. But could Eddy Pierre-Louis challenge for that spot? How about the left tackle spot? Is it Jacob Sexton’s to lose, or could Logan Howland challenge for that spot?

The offensive line is filled with both veterans and a ton of hungry underclassmen who are eager to prove they’re ready to play. There’s a lot of ways this could go.

What happens at running back behind Ott?

Unless something unexpected happens, Ott will be the No. 1 guy. But what happens with the depth chart behind him?

The Sooners have three legitimate candidates for the No. 2 spot. Jovantae Barnes is the experienced veteran who can run between the tackles, but he doesn’t offer explosiveness or pass-catching abilities. Then there’s the duo of second-year running backs in Xavier Robinson and Taylor Tatum.

Robinson burst onto the scene late last season, going for 107 yards and two touchdowns against Alabama. He was particularly good at forcing missed tackles, averaging nearly 3.7 yards after contact, per Pro Football Focus. He also caught 13 passes for 119 yards.

Tatum has the highest ceiling in terms of explosiveness and top-end speed, but he lost three fumbles during conference play and saw his role diminished as the season went on.

All three guys have different skillsets to offer, and they’ll all be battling for scraps behind Ott. Unless Ben Arbuckle and DeMarco Murray turn things into a committee backfield, there just won’t be enough playing time to go around. That trio will have to prove they belong in the rotation over the next few weeks.

Is there a difference maker at wide receiver?

The real question is whether the wide receivers can stay healthy, given the awful injuries last season.

That’s still going to be a question this fall. Javonnie Gibson is “on track” to recover from the broken leg he suffered in April, but it’s unclear if he’ll be available by the season opener. Jayden Gibson missed the spring, and his timeline is also unclear.

But even if those guys are able to recover soon, the Sooners still need a few receivers to emerge. Thankfully for them, there’s no shortage of options.

Deion Berks is likely the only rock-solid starting option. Former Arkansas transfer Isaiah Sategna received a nice shoutout from Arbuckle last week, referring to him as the player who always does things right. The Sooners also added Jer’Michael Carter, Josiah Martin Keontez Lewis out of the portal.

How about the stable of young guys? Zion Kearney, Ivan Carreon and Zion Ragins all enter their second team after seeing real playing time as freshmen. True freshmen Manny Choice and Elijah Thomas also generated real buzz during the spring, and it’d be foolish to not factor them as real threats to crack the rotation.

But all of it amounts to players who either largely lack experience or lack production at the Power 4 level. Over the next few weeks, the Sooners have to figure out which guys can help Mateer in the passing game.