With fall camp less than 10 days away, here are five reasons the Oklahoma Sooners will be much better in 2025.
The Oklahoma Sooners have a big 2025 football season ahead of them. It's a group that analysts across the country believe will be better than it was last year. The question is how much better. While it might be crazy to think the Sooners could get back into title contention after their tumultuous 6-7 season, there's support for OU to be in the hunt to hang a banner at the end of the year.
The Sooners didn't rest on their laurels this offseason, content to let injuries drive the narrative of what went wrong. While they were a significant part of it, Oklahoma was aggressive in the coaching market and the transfer portal, adding talent to the staff and on both sides of the ball.
Last year, the defense kept the Sooners in several games, and despite an offense that averaged just 13 offensive points per game in SEC play, Oklahoma was leading Ole Miss on the road at halftime and was beating Missouri on the road in the final few minutes of the game. This team was just a few plays away from being an eight-win team. Give the defense an offense that's respectable and it's not difficult to see the Sooners being a problem in the SEC.
Fall camp is less than 10 days away, and the Sooners are less than 40 days out from opening the season against Illinois State, and there's a lot to feel optimistic about. Here are five reasons why the Sooners will be much better in 2025.
1. Experience in Brent Venables' Defense
The Oklahoma Sooners are entering year four of the Brent Venables era, and each year their head coach has been in Norman, the defense has improved. Even with the shift to the SEC and an offense that couldn't provide a whole lot of help, the defense allowed just 21.5 points per game in 2024. That's better than the 23.5 points per game allowed in 2023. Back in 2022, the Sooners allowed 30 points per game, which was basically the reason they went 6-7 that year.
Venables has established his players in the program, with several key players entering their fourth year in the same system. Stars like R Mason Thomas, Gracen Halton, Robert Spears-Jennings, and Kip Lewis had standout performances in 2024 and are looking to build on it in 2025. Kobie McKinzie, who will take over for Danny Stutsman at middle linebacker, may not have a ton of snaps to his name, but he's been with Venables his entire collegiate career. He knows the system.
That experience matters.
McKinzie will join a starting lineup that returns eight starters from a year ago and will get Kendal Dolby back after he suffered a season-ending injury in the early part of last season.
The Sooners' defense is ready to roll. It just needs a little help from the offense.
2. Oklahoma's Improved Offensive Line
Pretty much everyone in football believes Bill Bedenbaugh is one of the best offensive line coaches in the game, regardless of the level of competition. So it seems a lot more likely that what happened in 2024 was an aberration than a reflection of what Oklahoma's offensive line actually is.
It was as banged up as the wide receiver room. Just one player started all 13 games, right guard Febechi Nwaiwu. Oklahoma ran through 10 different offensive line configurations, including four different centers. Hard to have chemistry and strong communication when there's no continuity.
While you can't plan against injuries, the Sooners are hoping for better luck in 2025. Their projected starting five looks a lot more experienced than what they were rolling with for much of last year.
Here are the career snap counts via Pro Football Focus.
- Jacob Sexton, LT: 991
- Eddy Pierre-Louis, LG: 65
- Troy Everett, C: 1,421
- Febechi Nwaiwu, RG: 2,476
- Derek Simmons, RT: 1,579
The Sooners also have experienced players like center Jake Maikkula, tackle Luke Baklenko, guard Heath Ozaeta, and tackle Logan Howland who all have at least 500 collegiate snaps to their name. Michael Fasusi and Ryan Fodje are true freshmen, but have impressed in their short time with the Sooners.
There are still position battles at left guard and center that will impact the starting lineup but whatever the configuration, it's going to be better than last year because it's more experienced than last year.
3. John Mateer set to Shine
The only other quarterback generating more buzz across the country than John Mateer is Texas' Arch Manning. Analysts and fans alike are itching to see Oklahoma's new starting quarterback take the field. Though not everything is on Mateer's shoulders, a lot is riding on Mateer being the guy.
He's got the ability to put up numbers, even against SEC competition. At the same time, Mateer doesn't have to lead college football in total touchdowns for the Sooners to be successful. If Mateer even has just 75% of his production from the 2024 season, the Sooners' offense will be really good.
Mateer's going into his third season in Ben Arbuckle's offense. He's also really effective playing out of script when things break down due to his ability to scramble. Everyone that speaks about Mateer talks about the "it factor" and he carried a confidence with him during SEC media days. The Sooners will need Mateer to match the hype if they want to get back to contending for championships.
4. Return of Deion Burks
Oklahoma's injury issues at wide receiver played a real role in the team's lack of success in 2024. It's unlikely the Sooners deal with similar issues two years in a row. And Oklahoma can't afford another season with a significant number of its wide receiver depth chart out of action.
There might not be a more anticipated return to the lineup than Deion Burks. The former Purdue transfer arrived at Oklahoma with high expectations, due to his speed and ability after the catch. It didn't take long to see what he was capable of with three touchdowns in his Sooners debut. However, as Oklahoma struggled to move the ball down the field, Burks was relegated to the short passing game, limiting the explosiveness we witnessed in the spring game.
He has the speed, short-area quickness, and explosiveness to win at every level of the passing game. Burks can be one of those players who makes a game-changing play every time he's targeted.
5. Ground and Pound
The offensive line is expected to be better, providing improved protection for John Mateer, and it will also enhance the rushing attack in 2025.
Teams will be forced to account for John Mateer in the zone-read and run-pass option game, which will open up better running lanes for the backs, featuring new Oklahoma runner Jaydn Ott. But the Sooners have a really good running back room in addition to Ott.
Jovantae Barnes is back and is a leader for the team on offense. He set the tone with his effort and work ethic. On an offense that had a hard time finding anything consistent, Barnes gave the Sooners everything he could last year. He finished the year averaging 4.7 yards per carry and totaled 700 yards from scrimmage and six touchdowns. Not an All-American season, but considering everything that was working against Oklahoma's offense last year, that's a pretty solid year.
Also back are Xavier Robinson and Taylor Tatum for their second year in the program. They had some really good moments for the Sooners and have a lot of potential. The Sooners will need to get them the ball in certain situations because they're too good not to play.
Also in the mix is true freshman Tory Blaylock. And you might be thinking, "there's no way he gets on the field with the talent in front of him on the depth chart." But Blaylock is so explosive that Ben Arbuckle and DeMarco Murray may have to manufacture touches for him.
Oklahoma's running back room is healthy and deep. It's a group that can all have a role in Arbuckle's offense. Ott and Barnes will likely get the first snaps given their experience and do-it-all capabilities, but it's going to be hard to keep the three youngsters off the field.
The Sooners' offensive line will be better, and so will the run game.
The Oklahoma Sooners are fixing to get back to old times.
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This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: 5 reasons the Oklahoma Sooners will be better in 2025
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