Breaking down the offensive line,
Starters
Bobby Evans (RJr., 6-5, 301)
Ben Powers (Sr., 6-4, 313)
Creed Humphrey (RFr., 6-5, 325) OR Jonathan Alvarez (RSr., 6-3, 312) Dru Samia (Sr., 6-5, 303)
Cody Ford (RJr., 6-4, 338)
Key backups
Alex Dalton (RSr., 6-3, 288) Adrian Ealy (RFr., 6-6, 328) Marquis Hayes (RFr., 6-5, 351) Quinn Mittermeier (RSr., 6-5, 294) Tyrese Robinson (RFr., 6-3, 332) Erik Swenson (RSo., 6-5, 315)
This season: Despite losing left tackle Orlando Brown and center Erik Wren after last season, the offensive line should continue to be a strength. Cody Ford, who has played guard to this point, was moved to tackle and offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh likes what he’s seen from Ford thus far. The question is which side will he play, with Bobby Evans playing the other side. On the inside, Ben Powers and Dru Samia have been stalwarts at the guard spots. The center position is one of the hottest position battles of camp with senior Jonathan Alvarez, coming off a redshirt season, and redshirt freshman Creed Humphrey vying for the job. Quinn Mittermeier in particular has OU’s staff feeling like the tackle depth is a bit better than it’s been in recent years. Alvarez, if he doesn’t win the starting job, can also back up the guard spots.
The future: After this season, the Sooners will have to replace both of their guards, one of the two center candidates and depending on how things shake out, might have to replace the tackles as well, with both Evans and Ford having the makeup to potentially make the leap to the NFL after this season. Bedenbaugh has recruited well in recent years, and those players will have to shine next year, especially Humphrey, Adrian Early and Marquis Hayes from the 2017 class. This year’s class added high schoolers Brey Walker and Darrell Simpson as well as juco product Tramonda Moore. All were four-star players and should have an opportunity to play in 2019 if they don’t this year. The Sooners already have three 2019 commits up front, including four-star tackle Stacey Wilkins out of Arkansas.