Oklahoma got a little better picture Tuesday on one of its most important injured pieces, and Brent Venables sounded encouraged.
During his weekly press conference in Norman, the OU coach suggested that offensive lineman Michael Fasusi is getting closer to a return. Fasusi, a sophomore tackle and former 5-star recruit, has been out since aggravating a shoulder injury in the Sooners’ season opener against UTEP on Sept. 4.
That setback came after a promising start to the year. Fasusi played in 11 games and made 10 starts as a true freshman in 2025, then entered this season with Preseason Second Team All-SEC recognition. But against UTEP, he was limited to 17 snaps and has not played since.
Even with the injury keeping him off the field, Fasusi has remained around the team. He dressed out for each of Oklahoma’s last four games, and before the Sooners faced No. 1 Texas on Saturday, he took part in walkthroughs for the first time since getting hurt.
Venables made clear the Sooners would welcome him back.
“I’m excited,” Venables said. “Everybody’s excited to get another really good player back. Proud of him and how he’s handled it.”
There’s still a hurdle to clear before anyone can count on Fasusi for Saturday’s matchup with No. 15 Kentucky.
The SEC’s first availability report comes out Wednesday, and that should give a better read on where he stands. Last week, Fasusi opened on the report as doubtful before being moved to out.
“He’s got to clear another hurdle here in the next few days,” Venables said.
If Fasusi is able to go, that would be a major boost for an Oklahoma offensive line that has already dealt with absences. Junior guard Eddy Pierre-Louis was listed as questionable on last week’s initial report before missing the Sooners’ 27-24 win over Texas. Backup lineman Fred Hinton, whose only action of 2026 came against UTEP, was initially doubtful before being ruled out.
Fasusi arrived at OU as a consensus top-10 prospect in the Class of 2025, choosing the Sooners over Texas, Texas A&M and Missouri. He has already shown why the program wanted him so badly, especially in the run game. As a freshman, he posted a 68.5 Pro Football Focus run-blocking grade and finished with a 65.1 PFF offensive grade across 676 snaps in 2026.
Oklahoma’s game against Kentucky is set for 6:30 p.m., with the Sooners trying to make it two wins in a row against a Wildcats team that is 5-1 and already has SEC wins over LSU, Texas A&M and South Carolina.
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