There are 123 players listed on the 2023 Oklahoma football roster. Everyone on the roster has a role to play, but not all players are created equal.
There are a handful of OU players on both sides of the ball who play a bigger role than the others and whose performance is central to the Sooners’ success in every game throughout the season.
Contrary to popular opinion, one player or one play does not determine the outcome of a game or a season. It takes all 11 players on the field, doing their individual and collective jobs, making plays, playing complementary football and pulling the rope in the same direction.
Football is the ultimate team game. Nevertheless, there are certain players who are counted on every season to rise up and be the standard bearers for a team’s success on the field.
The following seven Sooner players are pivotal to Oklahoma’s success on the gridiron this season as the Sooners attempt to rebound from their disappointing 6-7 record of a year ago.