There should be no doubt Michael Fasusi wants to return to contribute for Oklahoma (and soon)

For some bizarre reason, there’s been a notion flooding social media that Oklahoma starting left tackle Michael Fasusi isn’t really injured. He’s apparently just faking an injury to sit out while cashing an NIL check without the work, before transferring somewhere else for an even bigger bag. 

That’s BS.

It was already preposterous to believe that about an athlete playing at such a high level, but OU head coach Brent Venables and offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle both hushed that talk during Tuesday’s weekly press conference ahead of the Sooners hosting No. 15 Kentucky. 

"He's a captain for a reason," Arbuckle said. "He loves football, loves his teammates. There's nobody who wishes they were playing right now more than Michael Fasusi. 

“You should see him at practice. Always encouraging, great energy, great juice. Even whenever you could say we're at a little bit of a low, man, he's out there just yelling, 'Thank you, Jesus!’ He's just a great leader, great teammate. Loves football, loves his teammates. He wishes he could be playing.”

Brent Venables gives Michael Fasusi injury update while making it clear he wants back out there

Fasusi injured his shoulder during the first quarter of the Sooners’ season opener, and we haven’t seen him on the field since, now heading into Week 7. He has suited up and even participated during warm-ups before games, including before the Red River Rivalry on Saturday, but hasn’t actually played. 

Even though he almost always points to the SEC availability report that’s released throughout the week, Venables somewhat gave an answer about Fasusi’s status when asked on Tuesday. It still didn’t reveal much of anything, so we still won’t really know the chances of Fasusi playing against Kentucky until the initial report is revealed on Wednesday evening. 

Venables at least sounded optimistic while also echoing Arbuckle’s words, assuring Fasusi wants to be back on the field. 

“He’s just about ready,” Venables said. “I’m excited, everybody’s excited to get another really good player back. He’s worked relentlessly. He’s in great shape. I think you saw him in pregame, amped up and ready to go. 

“But he’s got to clear another hurdle or so here in the next few days to get him back going. He’s an important part of our guys up front. But he’s done a great job from a leadership standpoint. Nobody misses being out there with his teammates more than Mike.”

A coach wouldn’t speak that highly of a player if they were intentionally trying to avoid playing or even babying an injury. There would be obvious frustration from a coach over a player letting his teammates down. There would also be no need to maintain a good relationship if Venables already knew Fasusi was headed toward the exit. 

Despite a portion of the fan base declaring that we’ll never see Fasusi play for the Sooners again, he’s still a vital part of this team succeeding, and he obviously wants to be part of whatever success the Sooners accomplish. 

What the Sooners are capable of, especially offensively, will be a lot more once Fasusi is back. He’s a former five-star recruit who started 10 games as a freshman last year while earning Freshman All-American honors from On3. He was named Preseason Second-Team All-SEC, setting even higher expectations for his sophomore campaign in 2026. 

Between his old five-star status and what he’s shown in the trenches when healthy, Fasusi, listed at 6-foot-5 and 319 pounds, is destined for the NFL, likely at the first opportunity he gets. 

OU general manager Jim Nagy proclaimed over the offseason that “Sunday money is always going to trump Saturday money.” Even if it is money that Fasusi is after, he still has to play on Saturdays to eventually earn a payday on Sundays. 

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