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OklahomaSooners

Opposing coach cites line of scrimmage as Oklahoma's biggest SEC adjustment

Alex Weberby:Alex Weber•06/20/24
Syndication: The Oklahoman
Oklahoma Sooners defensive back Billy Bowman Jr. (2), Oklahoma Sooners linebacker Kip Lewis (10), Oklahoma Sooners linebacker Jaren Kanak (7) and Oklahoma Sooners linebacker Dasan McCullough (1) stop Texas Longhorns running back Jonathon Brooks (24) during the Red River Rivalry college football game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and the University of Texas (UT) Longhorns at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023. Oklahoma won 34-30.

Oklahoma starts their SEC tenure in 2024, and while the storylines are plentiful, one college football coach sees a phase of the game where he’s unsure the Sooners can compete.

The knock on the Big 12 compared to the SEC over the years has been that they just don’t have the big beefy talented bodies up front like the teams in the southeast. There’s great QBs, coaches, skill talent, etc., but the SEC has just consistently produced pros in the trenches like no other league besides maybe the Big Ten.

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So, heading into 2024, one anonymous coach noted that the bigger and better lines in the SEC could be a major challenge for OU in year one.

“The biggest adjustment for Oklahoma will be the line of scrimmage,” said the coach. “They’re Big 12 built. Not to say they’re not good players, but they’re Big 12 built and they’re not like the SEC.”

He doesn’t see the Sooners having those top-end talents on each side of the line.

“In the SEC you have two or three special guys on the offensive and defensive line, whereas in Big 12 play, you might have one on offense and one on defense.”

Don’t fret too much, though, Oklahoma fans, because this coach still believes the program as a whole is built to compete in their new league: “It’s Oklahoma, they’re gonna be fine in the SEC.”

On3’s Andy Staples isn’t fully confident in the Oklahoma offensive line heading into the 2024 season either, and expressed concern in a recent On3 YouTube video.

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“But that offensive line, they’ve just kind of had to piece it together. Are they going to be able to hold up? You do not want to come into this league having to rebuild your offensive line.”

Perhaps, though, the new SEC membership and the prestige and recruiting territory that comes with that, plus the pipelines already established, could give OU pathways to build in the future like the current SEC powerhouses.

“Oklahoma years ago established themselves in north Texas in recruiting,” commented another anonymous coach, per Lindy Sports. “They’ve always made a living in Texas. And they might do even better as a member of the SEC.”

There may be a learning curve in the SEC, but Oklahoma has the current and future resources to build into a contender again.