Oklahoma’s offensive line may have found another freshman worth fast-tracking.
Three weeks before the Sooners open the regular season against UTEP on Sept. 4, Brent Venables is already talking about Noah Best like someone who could be part of the answer up front. That’s notable in Norman, where freshmen linemen don’t usually earn that kind of trust this quickly.
“He’s done a good job,” Best said. “He’s got a capacity, mentally, to come compete every day. That’s a little bit abnormal for freshmen.”
Best, a Midlothian, Texas, native, didn’t arrive with the same recruiting buzz as last year’s freshman linemen Michael Fasusi and Ryan Fodje. Fasusi came in as a consensus 5-star recruit and played 676 offensive snaps as a freshman. Fodje, a former 4-star prospect, logged 433 snaps and made six starts.
Best’s path was different. The 6-4, 319-pound lineman was a star at Midlothian High School, where he picked up Texas 5A Second Team All-State honors as a senior in 2025 and was a two-time first team all-district selection. But the recruiting industry still saw him as a 3-star prospect, and he picked Oklahoma over offers from Texas Tech, Missouri and Kansas State.
Inside the program, though, the early impression is strong enough that Fodje is already talking like Best could be more than a developmental piece.
“He doesn't talk too much, but he is consistent with his work,” Fodje said. “You'll see him strike (junior defensive tackle) Jayden Jackson - he was a Freshman All-America. And as a true freshman, that's extremely hard.”
Venables pointed to the freshman class getting a boost from what Fasusi and Fodje did a year ago. That success has made it easier to believe a first-year lineman can help right away.
“His improvement and his consistency and his toughness, his maturity that he’s shown with young players has really helped him earn some trust, and that’s what it’s about,” Venables said. “Being a part of that circle of trust, that is really important.”
Where Best ends up is still unsettled. In high school, he mostly played guard, but Venables said he has been moved around regularly, which gives Oklahoma another possible option across the line in 2026.
“He’s played different positions in the spring, so we’ve been able to develop some depth without having depth in numbers,” Venables said.
The projected picture for the Sooners’ interior still includes Fasusi and Arkansas transfer E’Marion Harris at the guard spots, with Fodje, Eddy Pierre-Louis and Jake Maikkula likely starting on the inside.
Even with that group in place, Fodje sees a path for Best to force his way into the conversation for Sept. 4.
“I feel like he has a chance to be a starter on Day 1,” Fodje said. “The thing I like about him the most is how consistent he is. Obviously, we have to finish camp, but he’s a great player.”
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