Coming int0 2020, one of the bright spots was the Oklahoma offensive line and the returning starters. It was by no means a weak position, but it was not quite as strong as was expected. Whether it was due to the rumors of the lineman coming in out of shape or the lack of improvement throughout the year it wasn’t what it needed to be. There’s a lot of moving parts in the 2021 offensive line. Let’s get started with our fourth positional preview as we take a look at the offensive line in our Oklahoma Sooners spring preview.
Oklahoma Sooners Spring Preview: Offensive Line
Key Losses
The Sooners will look at replacing two of the five starters this year on the offensive line. Both will be fairly big holes to fill with one expected and the other a bit of a surprise. Creed Humphrey elected to skip an opportunity for an extra senior season and predictably entered the NFL draft. Comparatively, Adrian Ealy decided to leave early to also enter the NFL draft. Both guys were multiple-year starters on the offensive line and could be difficult to replace.
Key Additions
Oklahoma has three critical adds to this year’s two-deep that will go a long way in determining the success of the Sooner offense. The first one is not a true newcomer but played very sparingly last season in UCLA transfer Chris Murray. Murray was not a starter but was in the rotation towards the end of the season. He will be asked to slide over to the center position. Murray will remind Sooners of former center Erik Wren. To add depth, Oklahoma added a transfer from Arizona in Robert Congel. Congel has good size at 6’3, 315 pounds, and can provide some depth on the offensive line.
The loss of Ealy clearly saw the need for a tackle to protect Spencer Rattler. Oklahoma was handed a gift and quite possibly the biggest impact transfer this season. Wanya Morris elected to transfer from Tennessee to Oklahoma. Morris is a former five-star offensive tackle that started a majority of the game for the Volunteers over the last couple of seasons. Morris gives Oklahoma all kinds of flexibility at the tackle position and could be as close to a plug-and-play situation that you would see.
The Starters
In 2020, Oklahoma’s weakness was evident on the right side of the line. Erik Swenson has a slow first step and struggles against speed rushers and Anton Harrison was asked to do a lot as a true freshman. Additionally, Tyrese Robinson has been a little inconsistent at the guard position. The flexibility promotes a large amount of competition at the right tackle spot between Swenson, Harrison, and Stacey Wilkins. Similarly, at the guard position look for Sophomore Andrew Raym to challenge Robinson. Raym received rave reviews from Bill Bedenbaugh last season and could make the leap to be a starter in 2021.
Projected Depth Chart
Left Tackle
- Wanya Morris
- Stacey Wilkins
- Brey Walker
Left Guard
- Marquis Hayes
- Andrew Raym
- Nate Anderson
Center
- Chris Murray
- Robert Congel
Right Guard
- Andrew Raym
- Tyrese Robinson
- Robert Congel
Right Tackle
- Anton Harrison
- Erik Swenson
- Stacey Wilkins
In case you missed it
We will be previewing each and every positional unit on offense and defense over the coming weeks. If you missed anything, we will reference it here.
