Updated Sept. 2, 2026, 2:36 p.m. CT
The Oklahoma Sooners received some good news on Tuesday regarding injured offensive linemen Ryan Fodje and Jake Maikkula.
According to a story by John Hoover of Sooners on SI that cited a source close to the program, both players were suited out at practice yesterday. Maikkula was a “full go,” according to Hoover’s source, while Fodje was limited. Fodje’s MRI on Tuesday morning was negative. Both players are still expected to miss the UTEP game as a precaution to have them fully healthy for the Sooners’ trip to Ann Arbor, Michigan, to take on the No.
16 Michigan Wolverines in Week 2. As it stands, the offensive line will start Caleb Nitta at center. Heath Ozaeta and Noah Best continue to battle at guard for first-team snaps. Ozaeta and Best were listed as costarters on the team’s Week 1 depth chart released on Monday. Nitta, a transfer from Western Kentucky, has played 715 snaps in his career during stops at Virginia Tech and Western Kentucky.
He started nine games for the Hilltoppers in 2025, including a late-season nonconference road game at LSU. Ozaeta signed with the Sooners as a three-star prospect out of Washington in the 2023 recruiting class. He started seven games last season. He has 15 career starts and more than 1,000 career snaps at guard for Oklahoma.
He was part of the unit that ran for over 200 yards against Alabama in the Sooners’ upset win in Norman back in 2024. The expectation is Maikkula and Fodje will be back for the Michigan game, but we’ll have to see how things look during Week 2. But this is encouraging news for an offensive line that’s been bit by the injury bug each of the last two seasons. Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X (formerly known as Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes and opinions.
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