Venables, Arbuckle confident in growth of Sooners' offensive line
NORMAN — Brent Venables reiterated several times Wednesday that the Sooners are in a better place now compared to a season ago.
The biggest area of growth, for him and OU offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle, is along the offensive line.
That would be huge, considering the massive issues the offensive line had last season. Injuries kept a lot of starters off the field and kept Sooners from ever finding cohesion, as 10 different linemen logged at least 160 snaps last season. The result was one of the worst units in the country — the Sooners ranked dead last nationally in sacks allowed (50th) and 129th nationally in tackles for loss allowed.
The Sooners did a lot to address those issues during the offseason. Arbuckle noted that group more than any during the offseason.
“The offensive line watched more film together this summer than probably any position group in the building,” Arbuckle said. “I don’t know that for a fact but I feel really confident in saying that. They were up there constantly… That’s the biggest thing about that position group is being on the same page and watching them dive headfirst into getting on the same page, it made me excited as a coordinator.
“It made me want to work harder for those guys, ‘OK, these guys are putting in the work, I just want to work harder now for them because they deserve it.’”
There’s reason for optimism with the offensive line heading into fall camp. Along with several key players like Troy Everett and Jacob Sexton, the Sooners made a few key additions during the offseason. In the portal, the Sooners added experienced players like Jake Maikkula (Stanford) and Derek Simmons (Western Carolina) that are expected to compete for starting roles. The Sooners also added a pair of highly-touted freshmen in Michael Fasusi and Ryan Fodje, adding talent to a group of underclassmen that includes Eddy Pierre-Louis, Isaiah Dent and Daniel Akinkunmi.
“They’ve really stood out,” Venables said. “The offensive line made the most percentage improvements in the weight room, when it comes to strength and added size, pounds in the group. Percentage wise gained, body comp was excellent. Speed, improvement. Lot of areas, lot of groups did. Overall as a team improved in every area from where we were a year ago. But offensive line, between Derek Simmons and Jake Maikkula and also (Luke) Baklenko, just a good group of guys that made great improvement.
“So I feel like the chemistry of the group will be a better place than where we were a year ago.”
Maybe most importantly is the Sooners’ health is much better on the offensive line. Jake Taylor and Sexton are fully healthy after missing most of last season, and Everett had a full offseason this time around after suffering a knee injury last spring.
But Everett knows that it all has to come together on the field. The schedule is unrelenting, and there’s still a ton of room for growth compared to last season. But the offensive line is hoping to put last year behind them.
“Right now, we’re all just focusing on what we have to get better on and not worrying about all that stuff,” Everett said. “You start worrying about it and it’s just more stuff to think about. Right now, it’s just do the basics, do what we’re being taught to do, do what the nutritionists are telling us to do, trust the strength staff and whatever happens, happens.
“We’ve all taken that step to know what didn’t work and what has to work now.”
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