Oklahoma’s depth chart brought the first real jolt of the season Monday: Noah Best was listed alongside Heath Ozaeta as a co-starter at right guard for the opener against UTEP. The Sooners open the 2026 campaign at 7 p.m. Friday at Gaylord Family — Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, and the line chart now puts a true freshman in the middle of the discussion at one of the team’s most watched spots.
The attention around Best did not come out of nowhere. He had already turned heads in preseason camp for his fearlessness and consistency, and now that work has him in position to be part of the first lineup of the year for the 10th-ranked Sooners. If Best is the name that sticks, it would give Oklahoma a young starter at a spot that has to be settled quickly, especially with Jake Maikkula and Ryan Fodje out and Western Kentucky transfer Caleb Nitta stepping in at center.
That is why the depth chart matters beyond the opener itself. Starting Best in Week 1 would give him a chance to settle in at this level without being thrown straight into the hardest stretch of the schedule, with Michigan, New Mexico, Georgia and Texas looming. Under the new five-for-five rules, young players can get on the field faster, and that has made the path to early playing time a little less guarded than it used to be.
There is still a catch. Best is listed as a co-starter, not a locked-in starter, which leaves room for the lineup to change before Friday night. But if the Sooners do line up with him at right guard, Best would become the first true freshman to start the opener on the offensive line for the Sooners since Dru Samia in 2015, a marker that says as much about the trust Oklahoma is willing to place in him as it does about how quickly the season is moving.
For Best, the next step is simple and immediate: turn a Monday listing into a Friday assignment. For Oklahoma, the opener will show whether the staff is ready to put that faith in a freshman from the start or keep the job split one more week.
