Oklahoma's offensive line biggest key to Sooners' success in 2025

The Oklahoma Sooners made a splash in the 2025 winter transfer portal window when they signed John Mateer away from Washington State.

It reset the Sooners' offense for 2025 and provided some hope that OU could rebound on that side of the ball heading into year two in the SEC.

Brent Venables and his staff at the time, which included the newly hired Ben Arbuckle, landed the portal's No.

1 quarterback.

Mateer had just totaled 4,000 yards and 44 touchdowns for the Cougars.

Although it wasn't against the toughest competition, the expectation is he'll be better in year two as a starter for the Sooners than he was in year one for Washington State.

It was the biggest move of the offseason from a personnel standpoint.

But everything Oklahoma wants to accomplish won't simply hinge on Mateer's arm or his legs.

The Sooners have to get everything else right, too.If the 2024 SEC season showed us anything, it's that it's not enough to simply have the best quarterback in the league.

You also need a good team around them.

Garrett Nussmeier threw for 4,000 yards for the LSU Tigers, and they went 8-4 during the regular season.

Jalen Milroe and Jaxson Dart were drafted in the top three rounds of the NFL draft, and their teams went 9-3 and were upset by bad Oklahoma and Kentucky teams.Mateer has to be good for Oklahoma, and he probably will be.

But if OU's offensive line isn't significantly better than what it was a year ago, it's not going to matter how good Mateer is.

He and fellow portal addition Jaydn Ott will be running for their lives.More: Oklahoma Sooners 2025 position preview: Offensive line will determine OU's successOklahoma finished 12th in the SEC in pass blocking grade according to Pro Football Focus.

They were also 15th in the conference in run blocking grade.

The Sooners were 76th in the nation, averaging 155.2 rushing yards per game and 92nd in the country in yards per carry at 3.9 yards per rush.The SEC will make you play if you can't block it up front.

Now, some of their misfortunes along the offensive line were due to injuries.

They lost portal additions Branson Hickman and Geirean Hatchett to injuries early in the season, while fellow interior offensive lineman Troy Everett was still recovering from an injury of his own.

Oklahoma also lost starters Jake Taylor and Jacob Sexton to injuries at different points during the season, leading to an offensive line that was often inexperienced and overmatched.Heath Ozaeta and Logan Howland saw important snaps that will only help them get better as they continue to develop.

Right guard Febechi Nwaiwu was the only offensive lineman who started all 13 games for the Sooners.

He's in year two in the program after transferring in from North Texas last offseason.

He may have had a rough start to his Sooners career, but he got better as the season went along.

The Sooners have a lot of that group coming back this year.

While that might not invoke confidence, they'll be a more experienced group than they were a year ago.

The expectation is that Eddy Pierre-Louis, a former four-star interior offensive lineman, will compete for snaps at guard.

And it's a group that made it through the offseason relatively unscathed.Oklahoma also added pieces in the transfer portal to compete with their guys.

Derek Simmons, Luke Baklenko, and Jake Maikkula will bolster the Sooners' two deep with experience, and Simmons and Maikkula could be week one starters for the Sooners.

The most exciting additions came through the high school recruiting ranks.

Michael Fasusi and Ryan Fodje were big-time talents that OU signed and have a chance to make an immediate impact.

The two stood out during spring ball.

While there are veteran talents ahead of them on the depth chart at the moment, Bill Bedenbaugh showed us back in 2023 that if a true freshman can upgrade the offensive line, then he'll put him in the lineup.So what does all that mean? It's not all on John Mateer.

Mateer has to be good.

He can't be average for Oklahoma to win 10 games and compete for a SEC title game berth or College Football Playoff spot.

The Sooners can't get by with just average quarterback play.

No team in the SEC can.

But the rest of the Sooners' offense has to be good too.

The offensive line is the key.

If the offensive line can stay relatively healthy (injuries happen), then everything else will come together.Projected OL Week 1 Depth ChartPositionStarterBackupLTJacob SextonMichael FasusiLGEddy Pierre-LouisHeath OzaetaCJake MaikkulaTroy EverettRGFebechi NwaiwuRyan FodjeRTDerek SimmonsLuke BaklenkoContact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions.You can also follow John on X @john9williams.This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: Oklahoma offensive line, not John Mateer key to Sooners success.

This article has been shared from the original article on yahoo, here is the link to the original article.