[mm-video type=video id=01fcveyfa1d66dfxdwcy playlist_id=01eqbz7cqqgxy50qwt player_id=none image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01fcveyfa1d66dfxdwcy/01fcveyfa1d66dfxdwcy-50d2ad7a504f75edb45cf3bcadeb0a5b.jpg]
One of the lingering questions from the spring was what the Oklahoma Sooners were going to do at center entering the fall. Speaking to the media last week, Lincoln Riley made it known that a full-blown competition was underway to replace Creed Humphrey.
As many as five players were getting a look at taking over the starting spot in the middle of the Oklahoma Sooners offensive line. Though Andrew Raym had been the consensus favorite to win the job, Riley mentioned Chris Murray, Robert Congel, Ian McKiver, and Nate Anderson as part of that center competition.
It’s a vital part of our offense. It always has been. One we put a lot on that position mentally. We really rely upon that position to have us in the right calls. And to be able to handle all that we do. We do a lot offensively. I mean compared to most places, we’re pretty demanding there. I don’t think it’s a coincidence when you look back, just about every center that’s played for us has either played in the NFL or coached for us. It’s a big position, we’re going to look at several guys… We’re going to look at several of those guys there and see where we stand. It’s interesting because we’ve got four guys there that have played and done it. – Riley
And while the head coach loves to create competition on his team, even to the point of trying to convince us that Tanner Mordecai was competing for the starting quarterback job with Spencer Rattler last summer, Offensive Line Coach Bill Bedenbaugh sounds like he knows who his starting center is going to be.
#Sooners offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh on what he likes about Andrew Raym so far in the center competition: "Everything, I mean really, and I don’t say that a lot, and probably shouldn’t say…But really he’s got every tool. He’s got every trait to be an elite center."
— Joey Helmer (@joeyhelmer247) August 10, 2021
Coach Bedenbaugh heaped high praise on his young center, creating even higher expectations for the favorite to take over for Humphrey. Although there are still a few weeks left of fall camp to prepare for the 2021 season, Raym may already have the center competition wrapped up.
You don’t often hear the word elite thrown around by coaches at any level when talking about their players. They don’t want to give their player any incentive not to work to improve. The fact that Coach Bedenbaugh threw the term out there with little regard for how it might affect Andrew Raym’s motivation says a lot about the player the Sooners are getting to take over at center.