The calendar has flipped to conference media days, and that means fall camp is almost here for Oklahoma. For Brent Venables and the Sooners, there’s no luxury of easing into the season. Michigan in the Big House, Georgia between the hedges and the Red River Rivalry all land in the first half of the schedule, so this group has to come out of camp ready to go.
A lot of the offseason focus has centered on the run game and on building depth. Most of the real position fights are expected to happen behind the starters, but a few Sooners need to separate themselves before the 2026 season arrives.
Adepoju Adebawore is one of them. Because of the NCAA eligibility changes, he could have one more year of college football after this season, which makes fall camp especially important for a player whose career has already had some stops and starts.
The former 5-star recruit pushed for playing time as a freshman, then injuries slowed his sophomore year. Last season, though, he put together 17 total tackles with 5.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks while becoming a dependable run defender.
With Taylor Wein’s emergence opening up one starting defensive end spot, and Danny Okoye looking like a breakout candidate, Adebawore has to get back on track. Defensive ends coach Miguel Chavis is used to rotating his group, and freshman Jake Kreul is also trying to make noise.
Jer’Michael Carter enters camp with a different kind of challenge. He arrived after spring last year, spent the summer and fall trying to catch up, and eventually worked his way into Keontez Lewis’ role late in the season.
That path was steady enough, but this year the receiver room is a lot more crowded. Isaiah Sategna is back after coming just short of 1,000 yards, while Oklahoma also added All-ACC Third Team receiver Trell Harris and former Texas pass catcher Parker Livingstone through the portal.
On top of that, sophomores Elijah Thomas and Manny Choice are both looking to break through in 2026, which means Emmett Jones’ group will be battling for snaps all camp long.
Heath Ozaeta is another player with something to prove. He got banged up in November, and that opened the door for Eddy Pierre-Louis to emerge.
Rather than leave through the portal, Ozaeta chose to come back and fight for his spot. He’ll have to hold off Pierre-Louis, and he’s also dealing with competition from Ryan Fodje, who could move into right guard now that Arkansas transfer right tackle E’Marion Harris has arrived.
Bill Bedenbaugh has plenty of experienced pieces to work with on the offensive line, but Ozaeta needs to get back to form if he wants to stay ahead in the competition.
Then there’s Grayson Miller, whose camp battle is tied to a role he was never supposed to own. Oklahoma brought in Jacob Ulrich to handle punting, but an early injury forced Miller into the job.
He was excellent through the regular season, and there was no reason to turn elsewhere. The College Football Playoff, though, brought the one moment that stuck.
Against Alabama, he dropped the ball instead of punting it, and the Crimson Tide recovered after OU had built a 17-point lead. No one play decided everything, but that moment helped swing things Alabama’s way.
With Ulrich healthy again, the punting job is back up for grabs, and Miller already lost that competition once last year when his fall camp performances were inconsistent.
In Other News...
ESPN Just Reinforced Oklahoma's Place Among College Football's True Bluebloods
ESPNs latest jersey-number exercise ended up sounding a lot like an Oklahoma football roll call. In a ranking of the best college players ever to wear each number, the Sooners landed four times at the top, with Baker Mayfield, Caleb Williams, Tommy McDonald and Ricky Dixon each chosen as the standard-bearer for their respective jerseys. It was the kind of list that doubles as a reminder of how often Oklahoma has produced the kind of stars who still define eras.
The deeper cut was almost as telling, because Oklahoma had 12 more former players turn up as first runners-up. Names like Kyler Murray, Adrian Peterson and Lee Roy Selmon only sharpen the point: this is a program with enough history, and enough elite talent, to crowd the conversation at nearly every number. ESPNs breakdown did not just flatter the Sooners, it reinforced the idea that their place in the sports blueblood class still rests on a long line of players who left a mark that is hard to top. [Read more 🡒]
Sooners Suddenly Have Real Buzz In Massive Defensive Line Battle
Kellan Hall is already looking like one of the marquee defensive line names in the 2028 class, and Oklahoma has put itself squarely in the mix early. The Christian Academy of Louisville standout has picked up more than 25 offers and has drawn attention from a national group that includes Notre Dame, Texas A&M, Georgia, Ohio State, Tennessee, Ole Miss, Miami and Kentucky, a sign that his recruitment is going to be anything but quiet.
For the Sooners, the appeal is obvious. Hall has been in Norman multiple times, and those visits have helped keep Oklahoma in a strong position as the race develops. He is expected to trim his list with a top 10 in August before laying out his next round of visit dates, which should give the Sooners a better sense of where they stand in a battle that is only just starting to heat up. [Read more 🡒]
Sooners Fans Have Every Reason To Watch Keldrid Ben Right Now
Keldrid Ben has been one of Oklahomas more important recruiting wins since he committed in December, and now the four-star prospect is back in the spotlight for a different reason. With Florida and Oregon still lingering in the picture, the Sooners have had to keep an eye on a recruitment that has stayed active even after his pledge, which is why his next move is drawing so much attention.
Ben is set to make a new announcement about his recruitment, and the setting points to something more celebratory than dramatic. The expectation is that the moment will play out with his local community in Montgomery, Texas, giving Oklahoma fans another reason to watch closely as one of their top commitments steps back into the public eye. [Read more 🡒]