Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables said back on Early National Signing Day that he expected some incoming freshmen to play "right away" on the offensive line, but we didn't think that actually meant Day 2 of fall camp.
Rivals' Parker Thune reported on Friday from the Sooners' second practice of fall camp that freshman Ryan Fodje got first-team reps on the offensive line, which is OU's biggest unknown heading into the 2025 college football season. According to SoonerScoop's George Stoia, Febechi Nwaiwu, who's expected to start at right guard, was not at practice, which opened the opportunity for Fodje.
Ryan Fodje got some reps with the #Sooners’ first-teamers today.
— Parker Thune (@ParkerThune) August 1, 2025
Michael Fasusi has the fanbase abuzz and rightfully so, but don’t ignore Fodje, who has a very strong chance to crack the two-deep as a true freshman. pic.twitter.com/94V22q3eli
Ryan Fodje reportedly getting first-team reps for Sooners
Fodje, listed at 6-foot-5 and 275 pounds, was a consensus four-star recruit in OU's most recent signing class. He was a massive get for the Sooners, but was mostly overshadowed by five-star prospect Michael Fasusi, who was a top-10 overall recruit and the highest-rated player in OU's 2025 signing class.
Venables said on Early National Signing Day in February that he expected some of the new additions to contribute early, but it was still a bit of a surprise to see that Fodje has apparently already made the Sooners' two-deep depth chart early in fall camp.
"That group overall, just powerful, athletic, incredibly physical, incredibly physically tough," Venables said during his signing day press conference. "And this is a mature group of guys that really believe they're going to be able to come into a really good young group of offensive linemen and going to make an impact, going to make us better. No developmental, quote on quote, type of guys in that group.
"This is a group of guys that really can line up and play football for us right away once they understand the language and those type of things."
“I think you'll see Mike Fasusi, Ryan Fodje, that couple of freshmen offensive linemen that are mature beyond their years -- mentally and physically," Venables said then.
Coaches always say there will be a chance for young stars to see the field early, but apparently Fodje could emerge as a major contributor already as a freshman.
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