Stormin in Norman
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Oklahoma football: Storylines to follow as training camp kicks off

By Chip Rouse

Oklahoma Defensive Back Jayden Rowe (27) goes through drills as the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU ) hold fall football camp outside The Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium on Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2022 in Norman, Okla. (Alonzo Adams/For The Oklahoman).oufoot -- print jump
Oklahoma Defensive Back Jayden Rowe (27) goes through drills as the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU ) hold fall football camp outside The Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium on Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2022 in Norman, Okla. (Alonzo Adams/For The Oklahoman).oufoot -- print jump /
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Oklahoma’s Peyton Bowen during a practice for the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) football team in Norman, Okla., Friday, Aug. 4, 2023.
Oklahoma’s Peyton Bowen during a practice for the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) football team in Norman, Okla., Friday, Aug. 4, 2023. /

Which OU freshmen have best chance of winning a starting role in 2023?

The 2023 Oklahoma recruiting class was ranked No. 4 in the country, one of the best in quite a few years. So you would expect that there would be some position battles in which some of the talented freshmen from this class would emerge if not as a “1” on the depth chart as a solid “2,” which will result in quite a bit of playing time.

In this day and age, it is not at all surprising to see freshmen players break into the starting lineup, if not in the first week in the first season, then fairly early and gradually increasing over time. We even see freshman quarterbacks win starting jobs. Although that is not the case this season at Oklahoma, the Sooners will have the QB for the future on the sidelines in Jackson Arnold, who will see playing time in favorable late-game situations and at other times throughout the season.

OU recruiting in the 2024 cycle is making a major push for top-rated defensive linemen with size, strength and athleticism typical of what you find in the best of the SEC. The Sooners got a head start in that process in 2023, bringing in five-star edge rusher P.J. Adebawore.

Adebawore won’t break into the starting lineup in the early going, but his impact will certainly be felt in a reserve role, and as he continues to learn the system and develop, he will put competitive pressure on the Sooner starters on the D-line to play at a high level.

Fellow five-star recruit Peyton Bowen was a superstar in high school and his toughness and talent should transfer perfectly in a retooling of the Oklahoma secondary. Bowen will see plenty of action in the OU defensive backfield rotation, but my guess is that at some point in the season will see him on the field more and more.

On the offensive side, wide receiver Jaquaize Pettaway is someone to keep a close eye on. He possesses blazing speed, and his talent and quickness has impressed wide receivers coach
Emmett Jones and the rest of the Sooner staff. In a deep but largely inexperienced wide-receiver room, Pettaway could quickly emerge as a surprise prime weapon in an evolving receiving corps.

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