The Oklahoma Sooners’ fall camp has went better for others as they near that season opener against UTEP on Friday, Sept. 4, or just skip focus straight to that Week 2 clash at Michigan.
The eventual Week 1 depth chart will provide the most clarity, but it’s still been clear who made the most of OU’s fall camp to rise in the ranks and who, even if no fault of their own, suffered a setback over the last few weeks.
Here some winners and losers from the Sooners’ 2026 fall camp:
Winner: RB Lloyd Avant
After making the jump to the Power 4 level from Colorado State, running back Lloyd Avant might be the biggest winner of the entire offseason. New running backs coach Deland McCullough was already impressed with Avant before fall camp, then everyone else saw why the last few weeks.
Even with Xavier Robinson getting healthy a and looking like a No. 1 back again, Avant still might at least start the season as the Sooners’ lead back. Even worse-case scenario, it seems like Avant is at least RB2, unless freshman Jonathan Hatton Jr. eventually breaks out.
Avant went from maybe adding an occasional wrinkle to the Sooners’ offense and being a weapon on special teams, to being a potentially vital part of the offense.
Loser: RB Tory Blaylock
Any time someone wins, that means somebody else lost.
Running back Tory Blaylock missed spring camp because of injury, then was limited again throughout the fall because of a hamstring injury. The time Blaylock has been sidelined is when Lloyd Avant impressed enough to jump to the top of the backfield hierarchy. Freshman Jonathan Hatton Jr. has also made a strong case that he’s already ready for a bulk of carries. There’s also obviously still Xavier Robinson leading the pack.
A year after leading the Sooners in rushing yards as a freshman, Blaylock has suddenly plummeted to maybe being OU’s RB4.
Winner: Jason Witten
No position group as a whole has been praised as much as the tight ends throughout fall camp. That’s a win for their new position coach, Jason Witten.
The Sooners completely transformed their TE room over the offseason with three new massive transfer additions in Hayden Hansen (Florida), Rocky Beers (Colorado State) and Jack Van Dorselaer (Tennessee), plus Witten replacing Joe Jon Finley. The added talent alone pointed to improvement at the position, but then results at practice have proven a successful overhaul.
Witten’s group winning also means another win for Lloyd Avant or whoever else is running the football behind those tight ends, including quarterback John Mateer.
Loser: C Jake Maikkula
To no fault of his own, starting center Jake Maikkula was the biggest loser of fall camp, and also the Sooners’ biggest loss.
Heading into a season with All-SEC level of aspirations, Maikkula sprained his medial collateral ligament (MCL) during one of OU’s preseason scrimmages. He at least avoided a season-ending injury, which was initially feared, but there was still a timetable of 4-6 weeks. Based on that, Maikkula could return Week 2 against Michigan at the earliest, but likely later.
That has left offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh to find someone new to man the center spot for now and will also force him to shuffle around what was previously a stable front five.
Winner: OL Noah Best
Again, when someone loses, somebody else wins. Freshman offensive lineman Noah Best would never want to see a teammate go down, but Jake Maikkula’s injury opened up even more opportunity for him after an impressive fall camp.
Best first turned heads when Michael Fasusi and Heath Ozaeta were banged up and didn’t participate in practice. He earned some reps at right guard with the starting unit and was good enough that he convinced Ryan Fodje he’d be ready to start Day 1.
That performance already had Best destined for a spot in the rotation as a freshman, but now with Maikkula sidelined, he’s an option to either fill in at center, or could even start at right guard if Fodje slides over and Bill Bedenbaugh goes with Best over Ozaeta.
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