The Oklahoma Sooners will be looking to improve to 2-0 on Saturday night. They’ll welcome the Houston Cougars to Norman at 6:45 p.m. after defeating the Temple Owls by a score of 51-3 last Friday night.
OU’s younger players got plenty of playing time in week one, as the home team was in control from the beginning. While Houston is a more talented team than Temple, the Sooners are expected to win in convincing fashion again.
But even if the opponent were a tougher one, Oklahoma would still be needing contributions from the youngest players on their depth chart. [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] and his coaching staff did an excellent job in the [autotag]2024 recruiting class[/autotag], and now they hope their hard work continues to pay off, beginning with a strong showing against the Cougars. Here are three freshmen players on OU’s roster to watch in week two.
1. Jayden Jackson, DT
Making history last week as the first true freshmen starter at defensive tackle since Tommie Harris in 2001, [autotag]Jayden Jackson[/autotag] starts again up front for Venables and Co.
Jackson’s size and strength on the interior of the defensive line will be tested more once the Sooners reach [autotag]SEC[/autotag] play, but against Houston, he should once again have a chance to make some noise.
He wasn’t the player up front that popped the most last week against Temple, but the defensive line dominated the game when he was in. Watch for Jackson to make plays stuffing the run against a porous Cougars offensive line while rotating with [autotag]Damonic Williams[/autotag], [autotag]Da’Jon Terry[/autotag], and [autotag]Gracen Halton[/autotag].