Before Bobby Evans was even enrolled at Oklahoma, offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh was coaching him. When Evans came to Oklahoma on a recruiting trip, he found himself in the film room with Bedenbaugh. The two watched Evans’ film together as Bedenbaugh quizzed him on play calls. It was a moment that stuck with Evans because no other coach had done something like that with him.
Attention to detail and a high level of intensity are key to Bedenbaugh’s teaching style. It has fostered one of the best, deepest O-lines in the country and made him a finalist for the Broyles Award, which is given to the best assistant coach in college football.
Bedenbaugh is a perfectionist. Now in his fourth year in Norman, he has turned the offensive line into one of the Sooners’ most consistent position groups. Widely known as one of the top O-lines in the country, it has been groomed to near perfection under Bedenbaugh. But near isn’t good enough — not for him.
“He has a good balance of being a funny and complimentary coach while still being completely crazy,” said Gabe Ikard, a former Oklahoma offensive lineman. “He expects so much out of his guys that it really drives you to want to be the best player you can be.”
When Bedenbaugh arrived in 2013, he had an immediate impact on the O-line and the offense. In his first season, the Sooners averaged 62.5 more rushing yards per game than the previous season. The Sooners have averaged over 200 yards rushing per game since his arrival.
Oklahoma is the latest successful stop in Bedenbaugh’s career. He built lines at Arizona, Texas Tech and West Virginia that led to conference leading and program-record breaking offenses.
The success he’s brought comes from the way he teaches, putting an emphasis on more than just the line or individual positions. For some linemen, Bedenbaugh was the first coach who taught them about the defensive side of the ball.
“I think he really transformed the way that we thought about football,” said Ty Darlington, offensive quality control coach and former Oklahoma offensive lineman.
He doesn’t want every player to just focus on his position, he wants them to look at the big picture. Bedenbaugh expects each lineman to know what every defender on the other side of the ball is doing. He teaches them how to watch film, shows them what to look for, so they can study defenses on their own.
At practice, Bedenbaugh starts by splitting the line in half so he can see each side clearly. He walks and talks through things. If the team isn’t going live, he stops drills to talk about about every possible thing the defense could do, giving his linemen every tool he can.
The time and energy put into each aspect of the line has paid off. This year’s line has helped make Oklahoma the best offense in the country, ranking No. 1 in passing yards and No. 26 in rushing yards. They’ve protected a Heisman hopeful who’s thrown for 4,097 yards and 37 touchdowns and picked up another 79 yards and five touchdowns with his feet. They’ve opened holes for the stable of backs to rush for 2,589 yards.
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Junior O-lineman Dru Samia stormed off the field, ripped his helmet off and threw it to the ground, yelling in anger. He had just been ejected for unsportsmanlike conduct in the Sooners’ game against West Virginia. When he got to the sideline, Bedenbaugh was calm. He followed Samia, who paced up and down fuming, but he didn’t yell.
Bedenbaugh wants his players to play with fire, but ideally he doesn’t want them to go over the edge. Still, he would rather have to pull his players back than push them forward. The intensity in his players is a reflection of their coach.
“He just enforced from the get go that there’s only one way to play,” said Ty Darlington, offensive quality control coach and former Oklahoma offensive lineman. “To play hard. To play physical. To play mean. And there’s no substitute for that.”
Intensity is part of Bedenbaugh’s personality and it’s part of what has made Oklahoma great. He’s fostered an offensive line that’s extremely competitive because of the depth he’s built.
The depth begins with the recruiting and developing of players, something Bedenbaugh has become a master at. He stresses linemen learn all positions, which forces them to fight for their starting spots. Despite starting 13 games for the Sooners, senior Jonathan Alvarez is redshirting this year. When sophomore Cody Ford was injured, Alvarez slid to guard and junior walk-on Erick Wren stepped in at center. Though Alvarez recovered, his starting spot was taken, forcing Alvarez to redshirt.
Bedenbaugh has options, and it’s important that his players know that. His expectations are high, and that’s part of what drives the line to perform at the level it does.
He demands focus and attention to detail from his players.
“He’s going to get on your ass,” Samia said. “And he’s going to make you watch that play over and over until you don’t make the same mistake again.”
He’s hard on his players, but they respond well to him. They understand the goal he’s pushing them toward, and they’re confident in how he goes about it because it’s proven to work.
The proof came this season when Oklahoma played Ohio State, boasting one of the best defensive lines in the country, and the line gave Mayfield the protection he needed to throw for 386 yards. It showed up again when the Sooners faced the best defense in the Big 12 in TCU and OU rushed for 200 yards.
Bedenbaugh’s rougher edges are part of what makes him who he is, but it’s also part of what makes his line successful. The abrasiveness has spread to his players, and it’s something he takes pride in.
“We haven’t gone over the edge very much,” Bedenbaugh said of his players’ intensity. “But I’d rather pull them back than have to say go get ‘em. The whole group is like that, and that’s how I want them playing. ”
Correction: This story was updated at 8:30 p.m. Nov. 29, to note that Erick Wren replaced Cody Ford, not Jonathan Alvarez. A previous version of the story incorrectly stated that Wren took Alvarez's starting spot after Alvarez was injured.
