What will be an area of concern for the Oklahoma Sooners as they head into the SEC for their inaugural season in the flagship conference in college football? An anonymous college football head coach believes it will be the offensive line.
The SEC is going to be an adjustment for Oklahoma. The program’s style has changed in the past decade. The once-defense-dominant program leaned towards offense and outscoring opponents in shootouts — a highlight of the Lincoln Riley era in Norman.
After Riley left the program after learning the team would be off to the SEC from the Big 12, he left for USC. Following that move, the program hired defensive coordinator Brent Venables.
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Venables has been taking the program in the right direction ahead of a transition to the new conference, though it’s taken some time. He posted six wins and seven losses in year one before winning ten games last season. The defense is coming back to life and the offense remains strong.
So, what will be the team’s weakness during the 2024 college football season?
Anonymous head coach claims offensive line to be Sooners’ weakness in 2024
In an interview with Athlon Sports, an anonymous head coach at the college football level claimed the offensive line will be an area for concern for the Sooners during the 2024 season.
“They’re starting to round out on defense to a unit you’d expect Brent [Venables] to be coaching at Clemson. That’s the good news entering the SEC,” the anonymous coach said. “The bad news is that they could be bad on the O-line if they can’t pull some guys together late in the portal.”
Winning in the trenches will be incredibly important playing top-tier programs. It’s a recipe for success in the SEC, and the Sooners getting beat on the offensive line could hurt their air raid offense next season.
“Oklahoma is a legit top program, but the secret to the SEC is the line play, and they won’t be able to do what they want on offense if they can’t protect against the average DL in this league,” the coach continued.
While the Sooners’ offensive line doesn’t have eye-popping, recognizable names, they could be a stout position group. With four starters from a season ago off to the NFL and another departing in the transfer portal, Oklahoma is getting a fresh start with the offensive line.
Oklahoma added five transfer portal offensive linemen and three in their 2024 recruiting class, which will see the players have plenty of opportunity to prove themselves and create a name for themselves.
With a new offensive and defensive coordinator, there’s a new era in Norman that goes deeper than a conference change, and it’ll be interesting to see Oklahoma try and find its footing during year one in the SEC.
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