Oklahoma added a burst of momentum to its preseason Monday by putting five walk-ons on scholarship, a move Brent Venables said sent the roster into a frenzy.
Offensive linemen Sean Hutton and Kenneth Wermy, defensive back Casen Calmus, wide receiver Trey Brown and kicker Liam Evans all received scholarships during practice, and Venables later described the reaction on his weekly radio show: "The team went absolutely bananas."
The timing made the announcement even more notable. It came on the same day Oklahoma unveiled its initial depth chart, with two of the newly schooled players already slotted into key backup roles for Friday night’s opener against UTEP at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium (7 p.m. CT on SEC Network+).
Evans, a junior from Moore, was listed as the co-backup to reigning Lou Groza Award winner Tate Sandell at kicker. A member of Oklahoma’s 2024 recruiting class, Evans came in as the No. 8 kicker in the country, according to Kohl's Kicking Camps, and picked the Sooners over offers from Baylor, Kansas State and Texas Tech, among others. He has yet to try a field goal in two seasons, but is 1-for-1 on PATs.
Hutton, a 6-foot, 310-pound lineman from Lewisville, Texas, showed up on the depth chart as the third-team left guard behind Eddy Pierre-Louis and Heath Ozaeta. He arrived at Oklahoma before the 2025 season and did not play last year. In high school, he lined up alongside five-star offensive lineman and current starting left tackle Michael Fasusi.
Wermy’s path has already taken a detour. The 6-foot-4, 312-pound offensive lineman from Cache started at Oklahoma as a walk-on in 2023, spent two seasons with the Sooners, then transferred to Central Oklahoma last year. He appeared in six games at UCO before returning to Norman this offseason.
Calmus, a 5-foot-10, 205-pound defensive back, is entering his fourth year with the program. He is the son of former Oklahoma All-American and 2001 Butkus Award winner Rocky Calmus, and while he hasn’t played in a game across his first three seasons, he did pick off a pass in the Sooners’ spring game in April.
Brown, a 5-foot-9 receiver from Nashville, Tennessee, is also heading into his fourth season at Oklahoma and, like Calmus, has yet to appear in a game for the Sooners.
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The change matters even more now that the traditional walk-on designation is gone and teams are working within a 105-player limit, making every bit of financial aid and roster flexibility count. It also comes at a meaningful moment for Oklahoma, since some of those players are already showing up on the depth chart for the season opener, a sign their role could extend beyond the usual feel-good summer story. [Read more 🡒]