Oklahoma Sooners Heath Ozaeta fighting for a starting spot
The Oklahoma Sooners are replacing five starters from the offensive line from a season ago. This offseason they’ve brought in several transfers to add competitive depth and compete for starting roles.
But that hasn’t discouraged the young players that were already on the team. They’re also fighting for those spots and not going down without a fight. A name that has received a lot of praise this offseason is redshirt freshman Heath Ozaeta. He’s primarily been working at one of the guard spots.
It was expected that transfers would occupy the starting guard spots, but Ozaeta has really impressed. So much so that people think he has a chance to start this seaon.
Ozaeta talked about how his offseason is going so far. “It’s been good,” Ozaeta said. “It’s been a grind so far. But a lot of new guys. A lot of new faces in the building. Just trying to work together, mesh together. We’ve got a good group of guys, and we like what we’ve got going.”
Cohesion is key along the offensive line. They are a talented group but they have to be able to build that chemistry to enhance what they do on the field. As the Sooners work through the offseason, Bill Bedenbaugh is tasked with finding the five players that give Oklahoma the best chance to succeed offensively. Though Ozaeta might project to be a tackle long-term, he’s finding a home at guard.
Heath Ozaeta is a very athletic offensive lineman, something that Brent Venables praised at OU Media Days back in August. But he isn’t just an athletic player, from his high school film, he looked to punish defenders.
And if Ozaeta can showcase that athleticism and physicality along the interior the Sooners offense will thrive once again in 2024.
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