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Oklahoma Must Turn Its 2024 Achilles’ Heel Into Strength to Get Offense Back on Track

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Oklahoma Must Turn Its 2024 Achilles’ Heel Into Strength to Get Offense Back on Track


Oklahoma added plenty of skill players to give its offense a jolt in 2025. 

But if the Sooners aren’t able to take massive strides up front, the effectiveness of new quarterback John Mateer, running back Jaydn Ott and the host of wide receivers added by Emmett Jones will be limited. 

As dysfunctional as the offense was a year ago — a unit plagued by an offensive coordinator in over his head, a starting quarterback who proved to be a turnover machine and injuries that essentially wiped out the entire receiving corps — even the best coaching staff would have been unable to overcome the shortcomings up front. 

Center Troy Everett went down during the spring of 2024, and throughout the year, more and more linemen packed Oklahoma’s training room. 

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Oklahoma Sooners, Troy Everett

Oklahoma center Troy Everett (52) returns in 2025 to lead the offensive line. / Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

The result was a disjoint unit that struggled to find any continuity, giving Jackson Arnold and Michael Hawkins little time to operate post-snap. 

If Mateer suffers the same fate this fall, no amount of starting experience will be able to help the Sooners turn things around on Ben Arbuckle’s side of the ball. 

Tackle Logan Howland and guard Heath Ozaeta, who finished the season as the left side of the offensive line, missed spring football to rehab offseason shoulder procedures. Otherwise, the line made it through spring without major incident — the first big win of the year for Bedenbaugh. 

With fall camp on the horizon, OU’s o-line guru must find real answers to have the offense ready to battle Michigan’s defensive front in Week 2. 

Veterans Jacob Sexton, Jake Taylor and Febechi Nwaiwu return alongside Howland and Ozaeta, though fans never truly saw the best of Sexton and Taylor a year ago as they both battled injuries.

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Bedenbaugh also added experienced transfers in former Stanford interior offensive linemen Luke Baklenko and Jake Maikkula and Western Carolina tackle Derek Simmons

But the best-case scenario lies with OU’s underclassmen. 

Guard Eddy Pierre-Louis was the first name out of Brent Venables’ mouth when he was asked about underclassmen at SEC Media Days last week. 

 “You’ll see a lot of Eddy Pierre-Louis,” he said

Pierre-Louis was not an early enrollee last year, so he entered the 2024 season a bit behind. He played against Temple, Maine, Alabama and Navy, totaling 65 snaps on offense per Pro Football Focus, and he needs to win one of OU’s guard spots to raise the ceiling of the offensive line. 

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Nwaiwu started every game at right guard. He was OU’s highest-rated guard who played a significant role, but with a PFF grade of 59.6 for the year, that’s hardly a high bar to clear. 

Oklahoma Sooners,  Febechi Nwaiwu

Guard Febechi Nwaiwu (54) was the only Oklahoma offensive lineman to start every game in 2024. / BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Nwaiwu played 864 snaps, allowing four sacks, 12 hurries and 16 quarterback pressures.

Ozaeta played 630 offensive snaps per PFF, and he also allowed four sacks, 11 hurries and 15 pressures. 

Bedenbaugh will have plenty of options at tackle. 

Sexton, Howland, Taylor and Simmons all have experience, but the best indication that the line will take a leap is if 5-star freshman Michael Fasusi finds his way onto the field. 

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Barring injury, the Sooners won’t have to force Fasusi into action until he’s ready. Bedenabugh is traditionally conservative with his underclassmen, but the last time he trusted a talented freshman, the move paid off. 

Cayden Green was Bedenbaugh’s highest-rated commitment when he initially joined the Sooners. 

He earned playing time in the early stages of conference play in 2023, and by the end of the year, his future appeared to be incredibly bright in Norman. 

Fielding freshmen and sophomores increases the chances of mental miscues, but things couldn’t get worse than last year up front, and the line will have to make drastic improvements to lift the offense in 2025. 

Trusting underclassmen is a risk, but so was hiring a 29-year-old offensive coordinator with no SEC experience. 

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Venables refused to play it safe when he hired Arbuckle. Bedenbaugh needs to follow the example of his head coach.



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Putnam City West moves to virtual learning after student incident

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Putnam City West moves to virtual learning after student incident


PUTNAM CITY, Okla. –

Putnam City West High School will shift to virtual learning on Tuesday after an incident involving two students prompted an investigation by the district and Oklahoma City police, according to Putnam City Schools.

District officials said administrators were alerted near the end of the school day Monday to an altercation involving two students in the school’s arena area.

Officials said the students left campus, and the case was turned over to Putnam City Campus Police and the Oklahoma City Police Department for investigation.

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District officials said no students or staff were harmed and there is no ongoing safety threat related to the incident.

What we know

Putnam City West sent the following email to all families and staff at the school:

All PCW students and staff will transition to virtual learning for Tuesday, April 21st.

Today, an isolated serious incident involving two students occurred on school grounds. Near the end of the school day, administrators were alerted to an altercation between two students in the arena area. The individuals involved quickly left campus, prompting an initial fact-finding response by school administrators before the matter was turned over to Putnam City Campus Police and the Oklahoma City Police Department for further investigation. Because this is an active investigation involving students, no further information will be released at this time.

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We understand this information may be concerning to students, staff, and families. Please know we are committed to maintaining a safe, secure, and positive learning environment for all students. At Putnam City Schools, student and staff safety remains our highest priority. Therefore, out of an abundance of caution and to allow for a thorough investigation, all PCW students and staff will transition to virtual learning for Tuesday, April 21st. Students will need to check Google Classroom for updates from teachers.

Thank you for your understanding and continued support of PC West.

Putnam City Schools

All students and staff at Putnam City West will transition to virtual learning on Tuesday, April 21, while investigators continue their work, according to the district.

Students were told to check Google Classroom for instructions from teachers.

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The district said it is withholding additional details because the case involves students and remains under investigation.

School officials have not said what triggered the incident or whether any arrests have been made.

This is a developing story. Updates will be added as more information becomes available.





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Oklahoma launches program letting adults use past credits, test scores to earn diplomas

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Oklahoma launches program letting adults use past credits, test scores to earn diplomas


A new program in Oklahoma is giving adults another way to finish high school by allowing them to use past credits and test scores to earn a diploma, an option officials say could help thousands of people and strengthen the state’s workforce.

For years, adults in Oklahoma who did not finish high school largely had one main option: earning a GED. Now, Oklahoma CareerTech is rolling out the Career Readiness Diploma, a pathway designed to build on what students have already completed rather than requiring them to start over.

“So in Oklahoma right now, if you look at the demographics, we have about 279,000 people in our state without a high school diploma. So it’s almost 10% of our population doesn’t have a high school diploma,” said Lance Allee, an adult education and family literacy specialist with Oklahoma CareerTech.

Allee said the program allows adults to apply previously earned high school credit and combine different assessment scores into a single record to qualify for a diploma.

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“It allows the student to use previously earned high school credit. So, it’s kind of like a portfolio where you can take multiple assessment scores and put them into one portfolio to get your high school diploma,” Allee said.

The program is open to adults 21 and older. In some cases, officials said, participants can finish in just weeks, depending on how many credits they already have.

CareerTech officials say the program is also aimed at improving job prospects for individuals while helping Oklahoma remain competitive when attracting employers.

“When you’re a company and you’re looking at moving into Oklahoma, you look at the demographics and say, is there a workforce there that we can employ? And you say, well, about 10% of the population doesn’t have a diploma, they may start looking at states that surround us. So, we definitely want to get as many diplomas out there as we can,” Allee said.

The program started issuing diplomas in recent weeks, and officials said dozens more people are already in the process. For more information or to sign up click here.

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Cord Rager’s Return, Consistent Hitting Earns Oklahoma First SEC Sweep of Missouri

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Cord Rager’s Return, Consistent Hitting Earns Oklahoma First SEC Sweep of Missouri


NORMAN — Cord Rager’s return comes at a pivotal time for Skip Johnson’s Oklahoma Sooners. Not only do they get their day three starter back in time for big road matchups against Auburn and Arkansas on the horizon, but the Sooners pitching strength, their rotational depth, is primed and ready for the test.

The freshman lefty finished with eight strikeouts and only gave up one hit in only 65 pitches before his day ended in the sixth.

No. 14 Oklahoma earn its first conference sweep of the season, defeating Missouri 8-4. It was OU’s fourth conference series win.

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Oklahoma (27-12, 10-8) put their best foot forward as they turn the page to the meat of their schedule where they will do battle against No. 13, No. 20 and No. 16 over the next three weeks — two of those series’ on the road.

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Camden Johnson runs home against Missouri. | Carson Field / Sooners On SI

Four runs in five hits in the second got things rolling for the Sooners.

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Camden Johnson continued his brilliant play of late with a triple in the second. This came after a Brenden Brock solo home run to put OU up 1-0. Deiten LaChance grounded out to short but scored Johnson. Dasan Harris and and Nolan Stevens each found home before the inning ended.


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OU found fortune from the plate again in the fourth. Four runs off of four hits highlighted by a three-run home run by Johnson put Oklahoma up 8-0. It was Johnson’s seventh home run of the season, second on the team behind Brock’s nine.

Trent Collier got the nod in the sixth to relieve Rager.

In the seventh, Missouri finally got on the board for the first time since the ninth inning of Friday night’s Sooner victory. Cam Durnin hit a solo shot — his fourht of the season — to make the score 8-1 in favor of the home team.

The Tigers got their third hit of the game shortly after. From there, Collier’s short day was done. Gavyn Jones came on to relieve

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Dasan Harris runs home to score against Missouri. | Carson Field / Sooners On SI

LaChance missed a home run by inches when Tiger center fielder Kaden Peer made a leaping catch, jumping into the fence.

In the eighth, the Tigers continued to chip away. With bases loaded, Blaze Ward hit a basehit to score two Missouri base runners. OU led 8-3 heading into the final inning.

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Harris led the Sooners with three hits. His day was accented by an RBI, stolen base and a run.

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Oklahoma will travel to Auburn to take on the No. 13 Tigers for a three game series starting on Friday. Before that, they will host Oral Roberts for a midweek game at Kimrey Family Stadium in Norman. The Sooners won 4-0 against ORU earlier this season.

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