OU football’s head coach Brent Venables and offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle held a press conference ahead of their season opener against UTEP on Friday at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.
Here are three key takeaways:
Ryan Fodje under center
Arbuckle said he’s pleased with sophomore offensive lineman Ryan Fodje’s ability to play center in the wake of an injury to fifth-year offensive lineman Jake Maikkula.
“He’s been doing a great job out of practice,” Arbuckle said. “Out there being vocal (and) leading. He’s been doing a great job, so I’m excited to watch big Ryan play some ball.”
One question was how fifth-year quarterback John Mateer would gel with the new presence under center with only a couple of weeks for Fodje and him to develop chemistry. Arbuckle said Mateer and Fodje have gotten along well.
“Most quarterbacks will probably tell you they’ve taken snaps from a lot of people,” Arbuckle said. “They’ve played around each other so much, and Ryan’s played a lot of snaps on the offensive line. There’s already a lot of chemistry there, so it’s really good.”
UTEP unknowns
UTEP will take the field Friday with a revamped offense that looks much different from the one it went 2-10 with last year. Their offense will feature incoming transfer quarterback EJ Colson and running back Tavorus Jones, who enters the program after taking only seven carries at Missouri last year. This has led to limited scouting opportunities on some of UTEP’s players, which Venables acknowledged.
“In this environment, where you can just have all these brand-new guys, it’s hard to find the tape,” Venables said.
Venables said instead of looking at the team’s game tape, as in previous years, they’ve had to rely more on other sources of video.
“You look at some of the DNA,” Venables said. “Their quarterback was a starter at Incarnate Word. And they had a spring game, so you can check some of that out as well.”
UTEP’s defense can’t be underestimated by the Sooners, either. Despite the Miners’ record, they excelled under pressure last year, finishing top five in third down defense.
“They get very aggressive; they’ve got great experience on the defensive side of the ball,” Venables said. “Little bit more question marks but we do know they have tremendous skill."
Defensive continuity
Many of OU’s defensive starters entering the 2026 season, including junior defensive backs Peyton and Eli Bowen, junior defensive lineman David Stone and Taylor Wein, were recruited by the Sooners coming out of high school. All four have become key players for the Sooners, landing together on the preseason all-Southeastern Conference second team. Venables sees this as a sign of his players building a culture at OU.
“It speaks volumes for what they’re coming from, from a family standpoint,” Venables said. “The motives were pure from the jump. Nothing’s changed, it’s only enhanced and got better. I don't (want to) speak for everybody, but you live and die with them, through it all.”
Many of OU’s defensive starters are reaching the end of their college football careers, with the vast majority of them being juniors, seniors or even in their fifth and sixth years of college.
“There’s a great blend of experience on our football team, with our first group of guys on both sides of the ball," Venables said.
This story was edited by Joshua McDaniel.
