Oklahoma offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh is widely thought of and respected as one of the best in the business at his profession, which is recruiting and developing top college offensive linemen.
And he has a resume that clearly supports that claim, having produced 13 NFL Draft picks in his 12 seasons as an OU assistant, including nine offensive tackles. In 2018, the Oklahoma offensive line was awarded the Joe Moore Award as the best offensive line in college football. The following season, four members of the OU offensive line were selected in the NFL Draft.
The past couple of years, however, the Oklahoma offensive line hasn't been as formidable, which has been a principle reason for the Sooners' recent offensive struggles. In 2023 and 2024, the Sooners turned heavily to the transfer portal to bring in experience and fill immediate needs on the O-line, but multiple injuries took their toll both seasons, leading to inconsistency up front and exposing depth issues.
That's when Bedenbaugh and the Sooners decided it was time to take a step back and return to what has been OU's bread and butter under Bedenbaugh in building offensive line strength: recruiting and signing top offensive line talent from the high school ranks, developing that talent to meet expectations and retaining the talent.
Sooners mixing blue-chip recruits with transfer portal additions to make O-line a strength again
This should be the year that the Sooners start to see the fruits of that decision, and an offensive line that brings continuity and consistency and is truly SEC worthy.
Oklahoma brought in five-star prospect Michael Fasusi and four-star Ryan Fodge, members of the 2025 recruiting class, and joined them with redshirt freshman Eddy Piere-Louis last year. That trio formed the nucleus of last season's starting offensive line and are all back this season with a valuable year of experience under their belt playing against tough SEC defenses. The Sooners have also added to that by bringing in veteran offensive tackle E'Marion Harris from Arkansas, where he started 24 games the past two seasons.
Fifth-year senior Jake Maikkula, a former Stanford transfer, also brings plenty of game experience and was expected to be the OU starting center this season but suffered an MCL sprain in a scrimmage during fall camp. The injury is not as serious, however, as first thought. He will likely miss some games but is expected back at some point.
The offensive line prospects look equally strong for Oklahoma beyond this season. The Sooners' 2027 recruiting class, currently ranked No. 6 nationally by 247Sports, includes a pair of blue-chip offensive tackles in Kaeden Penny and Cooper Hackett, both from the state of Oklahoma. Depending on the outlet, both are five-star recruits.
National recruiting analyst Steve Wiltfong of Rivals said last week on the Wiltfong Whiparound for Rivals on You Tube, "Oklahoma's got arguably the top offensive line class in the country for 2027."
The challenge going forward for Bedenbaugh and the Sooners is to keep the high-level recruiting of top offensive line talent going. Oklahoma's 2026 and 2027 recruiting classes represent a giant step in that direction.
With an offensive line pipeline that rich in talent, and Bedenbaugh's reputation in not only attracting but bringing out the best in young offensive linemen who are willing to put in the work to get better, it shouldn't be long before Oklahoma's offensive line group begins to rival some of the best that have come through the program under Bedenbaugh.
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