OU captains named for Ole Miss: Barnes, Everett, Heinecke, Kanak, McKinzie, Schmit
A struggling OU offense? Absolutely. But two names that have come up repeatedly about having the pulse of the locker room are running back Jovantae Barnes and Troy Everett.
Those are two of the six captains named for OU’s showdown at Ole Miss on Saturday. Joining them are linebackers Jaren Kanak and Kobie McKinzie, kicker Zach Schmit and special teams specialist Owen Heinecke.
This is the second straight week Everett has been named the captain. And Barnes was singled out by head coach Brent Venables following the game last Saturday.
OU took it on the chin 35-9 to visiting South Carolina, but Barnes is trying to become that guy, that leader for the offense.
“Great toughness. Great resolve,” Venables said. “He’s got tremendous will to win. He’s becoming a really good leader. Using his voice and the success that he’s having, he’s doing a really good job of trying to not only be an example but to lead these guys emotionally and verbally. But today was another — he had some really good moments today.”
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Everett was a name mentioned a lot during his injury. He said he took it upon himself to become a much bigger leader during that time. Now that he’s back, he wants to be the guy to get the offensive line on track.
“When I was sidelined with the injury, I took a leadership role with the offensive line,” Everett told SoonerScoop after the game. “For me, I know I’m looked at someone who can get things going. I’m trying to, trying to bring everybody up. But we have great leaders at all positions. It’s not just one guy. Every position has a great leader. It helps. We have to have everybody come together.”
The new OU offense, now led by Joe Jon Finley and Kevin Johns, will head to Oxford at 11 a.m. Saturday on ESPN.
