With Oklahoma set to open against UTEP in less than a day, the Sooners may be on the verge of adding another piece to their defensive line for 2026.
Braxton Fely, a former starting defensive tackle at Boise State, was granted a temporary restraining order by the Cleveland County District Court against the NCAA, clearing the way for him to enter the transfer portal and compete next season. Court documents say Fely plans to play his fifth college football season at Oklahoma.
Fely spent four seasons at Boise State and made his presence felt every year. As a true freshman in 2022, he appeared in all 14 games. His role grew in 2023, when he started 14 games at defensive tackle and led the Mountain West with three forced fumbles.
He earned All-Mountain West Second Team honors in 2024 after posting 24 total tackles, 14 solo tackles, nine tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks. He repeated as a second-team selection in 2025, finishing with 24 total tackles, seven solo tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks while helping Boise State go 9-5.
According to Pete Nakos of On3, Fely was invited to an NFL mini-camp but never signed a professional contract. He is from Orem, Utah, and was a 3-star recruit in the Class of 2022, per ESPN and 247Sports.
Even if Fely does end up in Norman, Oklahoma’s defensive front is already shaping up as a major strength in 2026. The Sooners kept David Stone and Jayden Jackson, both juniors, after they combined for 70 tackles, 13 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks in 2025. Behind them, Trent Wilson, Nigel Smith II, James Carrington and Bishop Thomas will be battling for snaps.
Fely is not the only fifth-year defensive lineman trying to get on Oklahoma’s roster for 2026. Danny Saili, who previously played at Arkansas, committed to the Sooners in August after a Colorado judge ruled that fifth-year student-athletes were eligible under the NCAA’s new “five-for-five” framework. That decision was later stayed by Colorado’s 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, which left Saili ineligible.
Saili is listed at 6-foot-3 and 319 pounds. In 2025, he had 10 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and two quarterback hurries.
In Other News...
Oklahoma Just Got Dragged Into An SEC Fight Fans Need To See
A federal judges preliminary injunction has suddenly put roster rules back at the center of the college football conversation, and the SEC is not happy about it. The ruling blocks conferences from punishing teams simply for carrying former professional players, which opened the door for LSU to add former NFL players DaeQuan Wright and Zxavian Harris ahead of its season opener against Clemson.
The conference is opposing the decision and could appeal, while Louisiana officials have voiced support for the ruling, setting up a familiar kind of late-summer legal standoff with real football consequences. For Oklahoma and the rest of the SEC, it is one more reminder that the leagues path to opening weekend may still run through a courtroom before anyone gets to the field. [Read more 🡒]
Sooners Face A Looming 2026 Problem In Ben Arbuckles Offense
Ben Arbuckles first Oklahoma offense offered enough clues this fall to make the long view worth taking seriously. A look at his play-by-play tendencies, compared with what he ran at Washington State in 2024 and then with John Mateer directing the Sooners in 2025, shows an offense that leaned more heavily on the pass in key spots, especially on third down, while the ground game never gave it much balance. When the run game isnt threatening, the sequencing gets easier to read, and the data from this season suggested Oklahoma spent too much time in that exact trap.
The bigger concern is what that means when the Sooners eventually move past Mateer and into 2026. Arbuckles scheme still has the shape of something dangerous, but the numbers point to fewer explosive passing plays than he produced before, dropping from 35% to 25% in the comparison the article examined. If the running game remains ineffective, the offense could become increasingly predictable at the very moment Oklahoma needs it to stay ahead of defenses that will have a full year of tape on how Arbuckle wants to build drives. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahoma Just Added A Defensive Tackle With One Big Catch
Oklahomas roster for the 2026 season now has its final name on it, even if the situation around it is still unresolved. Danny Saili, a former Arkansas defensive lineman, has been added to the Sooners official roster after enrolling at Oklahoma and joining the team in practice, giving Brent Venables another body in a position group that always demands depth and physicality.
The catch is simple enough: Saili is currently not eligible to play while ongoing eligibility rulings play out. Still, his presence matters to Oklahoma because he is already around the program, working with the team and giving the staff a chance to evaluate where he fits if and when the matter is cleared up. For now, the Sooners are listed at 111 players heading into next season, with one roster spot used and one key question still hanging over it. [Read more 🡒]