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Brent Venables details Sooners who will miss time to start spring
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- Brent Venables details Sooners who will miss time to start spring
The Oklahoma Sooners have several key players battling a variety of ailments as spring ball ramps up. Brent Venables shared on Thursday evening that a number of players will be missing time this spring.
Perhaps the most notable is that running back Tory Blaylock will be out for the duration of spring. Venables didn't detail the specific injury the former four-star running back was dealing with.
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Blaylock battled through his true freshman season, showing physicality and burst to be a difference-maker in a run game that struggled to find consistency. Blaylock led the Sooners in rushing yards last season with 480 yards and four touchdowns, making six starts for a team that won 10 games. The true freshman was selected to the SEC All-Freshman team for 2025 after posting 100-yard rushing efforts against Temple and South Carolina.
But throughout the season, he battled a shoulder injury that limited him to just 11 carries in a four-game stretch against Ole Miss , Tennessee, Alabama, and Missouri. He returned to a normal workload with 11 carries in the Sooners' final two games against LSU and Alabama in the playoff.
The rest of the running back depth chart appears available for the Sooners, led by Xavier Robinson, Jonathan Hatton, Lloyd Avant, and Dezephen Walker.
Also on offense, wide receiver Trell Harris will be out for a couple of weeks, recovering from a clean-up procedure. Jer'Michael Carter, Elijah Thomas, and Manny Choice will get the opportunity to earn some first-team reps in the early going of spring ball.
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Defensively, the Sooners will be missing projected starters at defensive tackle, David Stone and Jayden Jackson. Venables said Stone is recovering from some injuries and won't be doing much this spring. Like Harris, Jackson is recovering from an offseason surgical procedure.
With Stone and Jackson out, look for transfer defensive tackle Bishop Thomas and former four-star signee Nigel Smith to get significant work with the first-team defense. Venables also praised the work redshirt freshman Trent Wilson and true freshman James Carrington have done so far.
Along with Stone and Jackson, defensive end Adepoju Adebawore is still recovering from offseason foot surgery. Adebawore is set to compete for a role in the starting lineup with Danny Okoye as the Sooners look to retool following the departures of R Mason Thomas and Marvin Jones, Jr. to the NFL.
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This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: Tory Blaylock to miss spring football, other Sooners limited
