Last year was supposed to be the season [autotag]Jovantae Barnes[/autotag] and [autotag]Gavin Sawchuk[/autotag] experienced breakout years. Instead, it was [autotag]Marcus Major[/autotag] and [autotag]Tawee Walker[/autotag] leading the way in the early part of 2023.
That was because Sawchuk was nursing an injury, but it was never clear why Barnes wasn’t playing much. He would suit up just about every game. He would even get in at some points but just never looked like himself.
Barnes met with the media after practice on Monday and shared what happened last season.
“It had a lot to do with my foot surgery and just the timing,” Barnes said. “Just me trying to rush it and make sure I can be back before the season and be out here for the coaches and make sure they can depend on me. I just wasn’t ready, and there would be times where I was like, ‘Okay, I feel good at practice, I feel good this week.’ Then I would go back out there, and I wouldn’t be able to burst.”
Barnes said he’s spent a lot of time in the training room this offseason and finally feels back to normal. A lack of playing time and Sawchuk’s breakout stretch to close the year brought a lot of speculation that he might hit the transfer portal after the year. Barnes said that wasn’t an option as he wanted to keep playing for running backs coach [autotag]DeMarco Murray[/autotag].
If the Sooners can get Barnes back to what he was as a freshman, they could have a legit one-two punch heading into the [autotag]SEC[/autotag]. But both guys have to get healthy and stay healthy this offseason.
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