Sometimes, it's as simple as more playing time to reveal how great a player really is.
Several Oklahoma players this upcoming season will get more opportunity than they've ever had in their college football careers to set them up for breakout campaigns. We've seen that happen plenty of times before, even as recently as last year with guys like Taylor Wein and Isaiah Sategna III. It's not that the talent was missing, just the chance was.
Who's poised for a similar breakout in 2026 thanks to more playing time expected?
Sooners looking to make the most of a bigger role this season
Sophomore wide receiver Elijah Thomas is the poster child for an incredible talent that fans are begging to get more time. Hopefully that happens in 2026 after Thomas was basically MIA as a freshman last season while appearing in every game but mostly just on special teams.
Read more: Ranking Oklahoma's 5 most likely breakout candidates at wide receiver
Thomas is a freak athlete that has had Sooner Nation anticipating his impact since before he even signed with the 2025 class as a four-star recruit out of in-state Checotah High School. There were expectations for Thomas to immediately produce after a loud preseason that even included wide receivers coach Emmett Jones comparing him to NFL star Malik Nabers.
"We put a lot of pressure on him to see how he will respond," Jones said then. "He's responding well. I try to break him on the field, try to break him in the classroom. I can't break him at all. He's got natural ball skills. Like I said, he's so explosive. His catch range and his radius is ridiculous, man."
At this point, it seems all Thomas needs is a chance to become a star.
For three years now, OU fans have been waiting for defensive end Adepoju Adebawore to reach his full potential as former consensus five-star recruit in 2023. He immediately got playing time as a freshman and already has 36 career games in three seasons under his belt, but he's never cracked the starting lineup or garnered a lot of minutes while sitting behind loads of talent.
Now, with the likes of R Mason Thomas in the NFL, Adebawore will compete with Danny Okoye for the starting edge spot opposite of Taylor Wein. Even if Adebawore doesn't win the job over Okoye, he'll still likely get more action than he has the last three seasons. If his recruiting ratings are even close to accurate, Adebawore will use that added opportunity to show off.
Again, Adepoju Adebawore and Danny Okoye will battle this fall camp for a starting role on the edge, but no matter who comes out as No. 1, both will break out in 2026 because of the way Brent Venables utilizes his defensive linemen.
In 11 games last season as a redshirt freshman, Okoye recorded six tackles, two TFL and two sacks.
Michael Boganowski is expected to fill Robert Spears-Jenning's shoes at safety and will be a fan-favorite once Sooner Nation finally gets a good look at the way he plays.
"Mike Boganowski, another safety to line there with Peyton (Bowen), that's a guy that will run right through your soul," Venables told SEC Network last month.
Read more: Sooners might already have their next defensive star in waiting
Boganowski, a junior, started the season opener last year before appearing in all 13 games as a backup. He tallied 31 tackles, 2.5 TFL and a sack while displaying excellent coverage in the secondary. All those numbers should escalate in 2026 as Boganowski could be flirting with All-SEC status near the end of his first season as a full-time starter.
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