With no meaningful college football action until Week Zero and spring ball behind us, the college football world will be looking ahead to what next year can potentially bring us. Looking for next year’s biggest stars and newest draft hopefuls is always a task that gets people going in the offseason as we not so patiently wait for meaningful action on our televisions.
The Oklahoma Sooners will be looking to bounce back from a lackluster season by their lofty standards in all phases and they’ll attempt to do so under the leadership of new head coach Brent Venables. Venables has brought some new energy to Norman and also brought along with him a new offensive coordinator and a new offensive system.
This new offensive system is different from Lincoln Riley’s and Lebby’s biggest hurdle to overcome is how to establish dominance upfront from the Sooners’ offensive line. One player with notable preseason draft hype starting to brew may end up being the biggest key to a bounceback performance for Bill Bedenbaugh’s offensive line. Left tackle Anton Harrison is as physically well put together as you could want out of a left tackle. He stands six-foot-five and over 300 pounds and is extremely agile and comfortable moving in space. For that reason, it makes sense why Pro Football Focus listed him on their 2023 NFL Draft Watch List. Here’s what they had to say about him:
Harrison moves like a jumbo tight end and is built like one, too. As a sophomore last season, he earned an 85.6 pass-blocking grade. The Sooner has the movement skills to come off the board early.
Harrison, a junior, was extremely reliable in protecting Spencer Rattler and Caleb Williams all through the season. His pass protection was one of the few constants on an otherwise inconsistent and largely lackluster offensive line. Harrison has the eyes of the NFL already as mock drafts have honed in on him as a potential first-round hopeful assuming he takes another seismic leap from his sophomore year to his junior year and continues to develop and show consistency as well as improving as a run blocker which could very well be helped by a new offseason workout plan spearheaded by new Strength and Conditioning coach Jerry Schmidt.
The pieces are there for Harrison to be great. If he puts them together, he can solve a lot of puzzles for Oklahoma’s offense but also unlock a lot of personal success for himself come next April.