Sometimes fans don’t even realize what they’re missing.
Jovantae Barnes, who has been Oklahoma’s RB2 most of the season, was listed as questionable on Wednesday’s SEC Availability Report ahead of the No. 14 Sooners’ trip to South Carolina at 11:45 a.m. CT Saturday.
Jovantae Barnes injury update
Barnes hadn’t appeared in the Sooners’ last two games against Kent State and Texas. When asked about Barnes’ recent absence during Tuesday’s weekly press conference, OU head coach Brent Venables stated that Barnes was set to play in the Red River Rivalry, but suffered an injury during pregame warmups that kept him out of the loss.
"Something happened in pregame," Venables said. "We thought initially was hamstring or something else. I think it'll be a short-term thing."
Thanks to the emergence of freshman Tory Blaylock as OU’s lead back, some OU fans might not have even realized Barnes was gone the last two games.
Barnes, a senior who led the Sooners in rushing last year, hasn’t produced much on the ground this season. In the first four games, he had just 45 rushing yards and a touchdown on 19 carries while averaging 2.4 yards an attempt. Twenty-four of those yards came against Michigan Week 2 thanks to gains of 10 and nine yards during the game.
Although some fans might not even notice Barnes’ presence, others complained he was getting too many snaps during those first four games because of his rushing numbers. However, Barnes has been an undervalued asset of the Sooners’ offense because of a part of his game that doesn’t show up on stat sheets.
Barnes excels as a pass blocker, which any freshman like Blaylock could struggle with during his college football introduction.
With Barnes on the sideline for two games, though, his value can somewhat be measured now.
Kent State was a wimpy opponent, but even against the Golden Flashes, OU backup quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. was still pressured more than he should have been against such a lackluster defensive front. Kent State logged three sacks, which was more than any defense before in 2025. Kent State sacked OU’s quarterback more than the likes of Michigan and Auburn.
Then in the Red River Rivalry last week, Texas sacked quarterback John Mateer five times for another new season-high. It can’t proven when or when not Barnes would have prevented a sack, but he was the only common dominator for both of those games.
South Carolina won’t have the same level of pass rush as Texas, but the Gamecocks will certainly be more talented than Kent State. If Barnes can’t go again on Saturday, his absence might not be noticed in the running game, but it could be felt in the passing game.