Which Oklahoma Players Could Just Be Late Bloomers?

It has become almost a trend in college football circles for fans and media — and in the age of the transfer portal, sometimes even coaches — to discard players who don’t immediately bloom.

Patience, it seems, is no longer much of a virtue in the sport.

That’s a mistake, of course.

Not every Sooner gets a quarterback sack on his first snap, like Tommie Harris, or runs for 100 yards in his college debut, like Adrian Peterson.

This is still, as Oklahoma coach Brent Venables says often, a developmental game. Not every 18-year-old is ready for the rigors of college football.

“We all want the guys who are ready-made,” Venables said. “Those guys are few and far between. Who are those guys? Tommie Harris. Adrian Peterson,” he confirmed. “I think Sam Bradford redshirted. Baker (Mayfield) walked on. Kyler (Murray) went a few years before he ever found a starting position.” 

At Oklahoma, the list goes on. Brian Bosworth redshirted. So did Gerald McCoy. (Back then, redshirts played zero snaps and never got into a game.) Tony Casillas was buried on the depth chart, got discouraged, quit the team, drove up the turnpike back home to Tulsa and sat in his bedroom before Merv Johnson came and changed his mind. 

Jason White played as a freshman but redshirted as a sophomore. Mark Clayton redshirted. Curtis Lofton played special teams, then was a backup, then broke out as an All-American. Billy Sims got into one game as a freshman, then spent most of the next two years injured. Ryan Broyles and Joe Mixon got into legal trouble as freshmen and were suspended, but then broke out the following season and became record-setters.

From just that tiny group are five Heisman Trophies, 21 All-America seasons and countless school, conference and even NCAA records.

Plenty of talented players do break out as true freshmen. But not everyone has the same opportunities or develops at the same pace.

“Some of the best players, it’s Year 3, Year 4, Year 5,” Venables said. “I can run out of fingers and toes of guys that were first-round draft picks that redshirted and didn’t start a college football game until their third or four year. There’s a lot of guys like that.”

Which brings us to 2025.

Venables’ examples above were an answer in response to a question about third-year sophomore defensive end Taylor Wein. 

But they could be about any number of current Sooners who might experience a breakout season this fall after not playing much at all yet during their time in Norman. The list of candidates is long.

On offense, wide receiver Zion Kearney is already making impressive strides in preseason camp. He played in 11 of the 13 games as a true freshman last season, but only caught eight passes for 128 yards and one touchdown.

Tight end Kaden Helms has been running almost exclusively with the No. 1 offense despite playing just 102 total snaps across his first three seasons. Helms has had as many serious injuries as he’s had career catches (three) but if he’s healthy, this could be the year he becomes a household name for Sooner Nation.

Offensive tackle Jake Taylor played in eight games as a true freshman in 2022, then got into just four games each of the next two season. After playing just 257 career snaps, is this the year that Taylor finally stays healthy and locks down the right tackle spot?

On defense, senior Kobie McKinzie has gotten plenty of action in three seasons — almost exclusively as Danny Stutsman’s backup. He’s played in 30 career games, but has just two starts and 52 tackles. Anyone who followed Bosworth’s exploits remember Donte Jones filling in for The Boz, then replacing him, then eventually have a much longer NFL career. Maybe something like that happens for McKinzie starting in 2025.

In addition to Wein, P.J. Adebawore could be set up for a breakout season at defensive end. The former 5-star prospect has played in 23 games in his first two seasons but hasn’t started a game yet and has just 10 career tackles. He’s always had the raw talent, but perhaps this is the year his football production catches up to his athletic ability.

And cornerback Gentry Williams has SEC speed and NFL talent, but a recurring and frustrating shoulder injury has limited him. He played in 12 games but got just 60 snaps in 2022, then won the starting job but went down with the injury late in 2023. Williams played in just two games (17 snaps) in 2024 and took a redshirt. If Williams can stay healthy, he’ll have a bright and productive football career.

Sometimes a guy just needs to catch a break and stay healthy. Sometimes coaches need to exercise a little more patience. Sometimes a guy’s career takes off after an unfortunate injury to someone ahead of him on the depth chart. And sometimes a young player just needs to gain maturity or experience.

But there’s one trait that almost all the truly elite players have, Venables said. 

“Same mindset, same hunger, same work ethic, same output,” he said. “And that’s the best players and best teams you’ve ever been on. They’re consistent, they stay at a really high level. Maybe not the elite level, but they’re not gonna get down here very often, down in the valley, either.”