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OKlahoma offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby speaks to the media Tuesday during OU Media Day.
OKlahoma offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby speaks to the media Tuesday during OU Media Day.
Throughout all the changes Oklahoma’s whirlwind offseason, one message has been constant from coaches and players since the hiring of offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby.
There’s going to be a greater emphasis on being physical up front and establishing the run game.
It’s difficult to question Lebby’s commitment to that focus. A former offensive lineman, Lebby committed to play for Oklahoma in 2002 before injuries put an end to his playing career.
Despite spending time coaching tight ends, quarterbacks and running backs at various spots, Lebby has always been an offensive lineman at heart.
“I think probably the biggest thing is I learned the offensive side of football front to back,” Lebby said. “Up front is where it all starts. That’s engrained in me. It’s who I naturally am. I think everybody is aware of how we’re going to run the football. We’re going to run the football in a great way. We’re going to be incredibly physical up front and the way we carry the ball. It’s a huge part of how we do things for sure.”
Naturally, it didn’t take long for him to form a connection with offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh. The pair have a history that goes back to when Bedenbaugh recruited Lebby to play for him at Texas Tech.
The commitment to being more physical up front has been mentioned by head coach Brent Venables and his staff since he arrived on campus. Venables brought on strength and conditioning coach Jerry Schmidt to revamp the Sooners’ offseason workout program and also hired former OU and NFL offensive lineman Phil Loadholt as a support staffer.
With Jon Cooper, who played center at Oklahoma and in the NFL, already on staff, Bedenbaugh now has many different minds to bounce ideas off of.
“I’m as excited as I’ve been in 20-something to get going,” Bedenbaugh said. “That doesn’t mean I haven’t been excited in the past, but it’s been fun. I’ve learned with Coach Venables here. I’m 49. I think I’ve been coaching 26 or 27 years, something like that... It’s not just football but life, dealing with people, relationships and all of those things. You see it’s paying off. It’s been really good.”
The Sooners’ rushing numbers have been on a downward trajectory since 2017.
Then, they ran the ball 546 times for 3,049 yards and 5.6 yards per carry. Oklahoma saw a drop in each of these stats over the next two years before hitting a low in 2020 with 419 rushing attempts, 2,252 yards rushing and 4.7 yards per attempt.
The Sooners were talented at running back in 2017 with Rodney Anderson and Trey Sermon each averaging over six yards per carry, but the biggest difference was on the offensive line. Creed Humphrey, Cody Ford, Orlando Brown, Bobby Evans, Dru Samia and Ben Powers were all members of the 2017 team and all six went on to be drafted in the NFL.
The Sooners come into this season after losing three starters in the offseason. Tyrese Robinson, Marquis Hayes and Erik Swenson have departed and Anton Harrison (left tackle), Andrew Raym (center) and Chris Murray (right guard) each return with experience.
“I think with the offensive line they have a great problem,” OU running back Eric Gray said. “They have a lot of guys that can start right away, so that’s a good problem to have. Those guys are probably one of the best groups on the team if not the best group on the team. They’re hard-working guys and I’m gonna love running behind them.”
Bedenbaugh received a huge boost to the offensive line with the addition of California transfer McKade Mettauer. With 28 starts under his belt, the All-Pac 12 second team selection is expected to take the starting left guard spot this fall.
“It definitely feels different,” Harrison said. “When Marquise and Tyrese were here, they were the leaders. We all looked up to them, they led us, but now it’s like me, Chris and Andrew, we’re leading the group. We’re the leaders now so all the young cats are going to look up to us, so we’ve go to make sure we’re on point and make sure we do everything right.”
Tarik Masri is a sports reporter for The Transcript covering OU athletics and area sports. You can reach him by emailing tarik@normantranscript.com
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