How Stanford transfer Walter Rouse has 'really connected' with OU football linemen
NORMAN — Walter Rouse’s first hit with OU football was a long time coming.
After missing out on the contract portions of spring practice after undergoing shoulder surgery prior to his arrival from Stanford, Rouse was anxious for his first chance to lay a hit with the Sooners — even if it was against a teammate.
The hit wasn’t perfect.
“I had to get a little lower on that first hit,” Rouse said of his hit on defensive end Rondell Bothroyd. “But I was like, ‘OK, let’s go.’”
Rouse is one of the faces of OU’s rebuilt offensive line.
They’ve added Rouse from Stanford, Caleb Shaffer from Miami (Ohio), and most recently, Troy Everett from Appalachian State.
The Sooners’ offensive line last year wasn’t bad, but it didn’t live up to offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh’s high standards.
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“Last year, I thought we were really talented,” Bedenbaugh said. “I thought we played good. Could we have been better? Certainly. But I think from this group, in totality, there’s more buy-in, there’s more cohesiveness. … They know how good they can be with work and obviously we’re a work in progress.”
Rouse started 39 games, all at left tackle, during his time at Stanford.
“You can’t substitute that,” Bedenbaugh said. “There’s not much that he hasn’t seen. He’s an extremely smart kid. He’s always asking questions. He wants to know the ‘why’ of things.”
Now that Rouse is back healthy, Bedenbaugh has been pleased with the level of athleticism Rouse has shown.
With the demands Bedenbaugh puts on his offensive line, that has helped solidify Rouse’s place.
“How he moves, how he runs, how he changes directions, his pass set, just everything — how he pulls,” Bedenbaugh said. “You just see movements out there on the field compared to what you saw on tape (at Stanford).”
The Sooners lost starting tackles Anton Harrison and Wanya Morris. Harrison was a first-round pick in the NFL Draft while Morris went in the third round. But even with those losses, Bedenbaugh said Rouse and Tyler Guyton could make the Sooners more athletic at tackle this season than they were a year ago.
Their athleticism has certainly made an impression on quarterback Dillon Gabriel.
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“There’s a lot of great guys that can do some freaky things,” Gabriel said. “That with just their will to learn and get better, it’ll get to where we want it to be come gameday.”
OU returns five players who combined for 30 starts last season for Bedenbaugh’s group, but only left guard McKade Mettauer and center Andrew Raym started more than five games for the Sooners.
The biggest questions about the group figure to come at guard, with Raym locked in at center, Rouse almost sure to start at left tackle and Guyton at right tackle.
“I think it’s been coming together really well,” Rouse said of the group. “Overall, especially with the ones, we’re really connected with one another.”
Rouse said he’d particularly connected with Savion Byrd, who could wind up as the starter at left guard after Mettauer primarily played on that side last season.
“Some of the stuff we’re doing is nonverbal because we’re already feeling it,” Rouse said. “It’s already instinctive.”
Byrd appeared in nine games on special teams and a reserve role before making his first career start in the Cheez-It Bowl loss to Florida State, where he performed well.
“Savion Byrd has got all the ability in the world, just getting him to play at that real consistent level ” Sooners coach Brent Venables said. “He blocks through the whistle. I love that. He loves it. I want a guy that loves it.”
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OU offensive line depth chart
Name, Class, Ht., Wt., Hometown (Previous school)
The starters
Right tackle: Tyler Guyton, RJr., 6-7, 328, Manor, Texas (TCU)
Right guard: McKade Mettauer, RSr., 6-4, 311, The Woodland, Texas (California)
Center: Andrew Raym, Sr., 6-4, 309, Broken Arrow (Broken Arrow)
Left guard: Savion Byrd, RSo., 6-5, 288, Cedar Hill, Texas (Duncanville)
Left tackle: Walter Rouse, RSr., 6-6, 322, Silver Spring, Md. (Stanford)
The reserves
Tackle
Jake Taylor, So., 6-6, 312, Las Vegas (Bishop Gorman)
Jacob Sexton, So., 6-6, 325, Edmond (Deer Creek)
Cayden Green, Fr., 6-5, 311, Lee’s Summit, Mo. (Lee’s Summit North)
Logan Howland, Fr., 6-6, 288, Westfield, N.J. (Hun School of Princeton)
Aaryn Parks, RJr., 6-4, 309, Seat Pleasant, Md. (National Chr. Aca.)
Guard
Caleb Shaffer, RSr., 6-5, 342, Carmel, Ind. (Miami-Ohio)
Troy Everett, RSo., 6-3, 297, Roanoke, Va. (Appalachian State)
Heath Ozaeta, Fr., 6-5, 304, Snoqualmie, Wash. (Mount Si)
C.J. Compton, Fr., 6-3, 301, Shawnee (Bethel)
Center
Nate Anderson, RJr., 6-4, 305, Frisco, Texas (Rick Reedy)
Joshua Bates, Fr., 6-3, 312, Durango, Colo. (Durango)
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OU football: Walter Rouse's athleticism impressing on offensive line
