What are OU football’s pressing questions as Sooners open 2024 preseason camp?

NORMAN — It’s football time in Oklahoma.

The Sooners open their preseason camp Wednesday, marking their first official practice of the 2024 season and as members of the Southeastern Conference.

After a 10-3 season and an offseason which saw starting quarterback Dillon Gabriel, offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby and defensive coordinator Ted Roof depart, there are a lot of questions entering the season. Quarterback Jackson Arnold will attempt to emulate the success Gabriel had last season, while new coordinators Seth Littrell and Zac Alley put their stamps on their respective sides of the ball.

Here are five question marks surrounding the program this preseason:

More: OU football adds Utah State to 2027 nonconference schedule

How will OU’s rebuilt offensive line look?

The biggest question mark surrounding the program throughout the offseason was the offensive line rebuild.

With four veterans headed for the NFL — Tyler Guyton, McKade Mettauer, Andrew Raym and Walter Rouse — the Sooners were always going to be young at the position after 2023, but the shocking transfer of talented freshman Cayden Green to Missouri shook up some plans.

Enter Michigan State’s Spencer Brown, Washington’s Geirean Hatchett, SMU’s Branson Hickman, North Texas’ Febechi Nwaiwu and USC’s Michael Tarquin. Spring practices were filled with injury and inexperience so we should get a more telling look at this group during preseason practices.

Hickman, likely OU’s starting center, has stood out among the pack so far, receiving a vote of confidence from Jackson Arnold during SEC Media Days and earning a preseason Outland Trophy watch list nod. Nwaiwu is familiar with Littrell dating back to their days with the Mean Green.

Along with the transfers, it’ll be interesting to see if this is the year incumbent players like Joshua Bates and…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/ou-footballs-pressing-questions-sooners-101530427.html

Author : The Oklahoman

Publish date : 2024-07-31 10:15:30

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