FORT WORTH, Texas – During Thursday’s press conference Brent Venables set the theme for this year’s Armed Forces Bowl.

There will be a lot of young guys on the field for the Sooners.

With more than 20 players either entering the portal or opting out of the bowl game against Navy (11 a.m. Friday, ESPN), the Sooners’ roster is somewhat depleted. Venables announced that there are 56 scholarship players available for the game, 24 of which are freshmen. Freshmen make up half of the scholarship players available on offense.

The Sooners are no stranger to playing as freshmen. Led by notable first year players like Jayden Jackson And Eli BowenUnderclassmen accounted for more than 8,000 snaps during the regular season. But there are a noticeable number of true freshmen scattered across the depth chart.

“I saw these guys take advantage of their opportunity,” Venables said. “I’ve seen them fail and learn from it and bounce right back. I really appreciated some of our veterans on our team who helped these guys grow up and understand what the standards are, what the expectations are and how we do what we do.

“It’s really going to be huge from that standpoint for next year, but over the last few weeks you can see the growth in where these guys started the year, where they got their different opportunities individually and where they are.”

On offense, the Sooners will have two redshirt freshmen Heath Ozeta And Logan Howland Start on the attack line. There will be a lot of first year players at the skill positions – Zion Ragins, Ivan Carreon And Jacob Jordan will all play a ton of snaps at wide receiver while Xavier Robinson And Taylor Tatum There should be some snaps at running back. With the departure of Farmer Sharptrue freshman tight end From that Mitchell was able to see his first snaps of the season.

But the most obvious thing is Michael Hawkinswho will be making his fourth collegiate start with the departure of Jackson Arnold to Auburn.

“I think it’s going to be great,” OU said Troy Everett said of Hawkins. “Right now he has to make some things happen. We obviously don’t have the team we had at the start of the year. So it’s a great opportunity for him to go out there and really show what he stands for. Everything.” The eyes are on him.

In defense, the new faces will be clearly visible, especially in the secondary, particularly with the absence of Billy Bowman, Dec Malone And Kani Walker. Of the nine players listed as either safety or cornerback, five are true freshmen.

Eli Bowen proved to be a cornerstone at the start of the season. But other young players like it Michael Boganowski, Jaydan Hardy And Devon Jordan should see real chances against Navy.

“(We have) a few more weeks for (Michael Boganowski) and (Jaydan Hardy), who we believe will be outstanding players. Or look outside.” Jeremiah Newcombe and (Jordan), these guys have really benefited from not just watching them do reps at practice, but actually going out there and living and dying in all the moments over the last few weeks.”

There should be more opportunities for true freshmen on defense David Stonewho played a small role off the bench this season. Venables even mentioned that there might be opportunities for such players Danny Okoye And Taylor winewho hasn’t been seen much on the field this season.

Veterand Kobie McKinzie And Kip Lewis will run things at linebacker Danny Stutsman Opt out and Dasan McCullough on the way to Nebraska. But there should be opportunities for underclassmen Lewis Carter And Sammy Omosighowho had roles during the season but should see their snap totals increase significantly.

“Lewis and Sammy will forever be my boys,” McKinzie said. “They ended up in the same situation as me and Kip. They came in together. They had the growing pains together. Sammy has a few more reps, a few more starts. He is able to support Lewis better. “Lewis will be able to cope with this better than a guy like me. I love these guys. They just continued to grow.

It hasn’t been the ideal season for the Sooners (6-6), who are looking to earn their seventh win and avoid their second losing season in three years. And while winning is the focus, the bowl game should represent a real opportunity for the young players on the roster.

It could also be a glimpse of what the future has to offer.

“A great opportunity across the board, really (for any) freshmen that are thrown in,” Venables said. “So training was great. I think because a few guys are no longer here, it has created a greater sense of urgency, requiring more attention and the details that go into playing at a really high level.”

“There’s no question that the last couple of weeks and all the reps that these guys have been able to get will be huge not only for this game but especially for next year.”

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