NORMAN — The Oklahoma football team was inside at Everest Training Center for its first 2026 spring practice on Wednesday, working out for just over two hours.

“It was a high-energy day and a good carryover from the offseason,” said head coach Brent Venables. “The new guys plugged right in, and we’ve got a really competitive and tough-minded team. Looks like a lot of the new players and some other guys are going to have first-time roles for us this year. It’s critical we raise the play of the bottom half of our team and take the top half to another level. That’s our focus this spring.”

Forty of the 106 players are new to OU this season, including 22 high school mid-year enrollees and 18 transfers. Of the 40 newcomers, 23 play on offense, 16 on defense and one on special teams.

OU’s 13 offensive transfers have combined for 260 games played and 122 starts, while its five defensive transfers total 89 games played and 22 starts.

All told, Oklahoma boasts 265 career starts by offensive players and 129 by defensive players. The Sooners also return their primary placekicker (Lou Groza Award winner Tate Sandell), punter (Grayson Miller), long snapper (Ben Anderson) and holder (Jacob Ulrich).

Ahead of spring ball opening, OU released an updated roster that reflects the changes made since the 2025 season came to a close.

The Sooners have seen a lot of roster movement since December, with the transfer portal, high school recruiting, and the NFL draft all changing the roster over the past few months. OU lost key players, but the team also gained players who should play pivotal roles. Oklahoma also returned plenty of familiar faces from a season ago.

OU is coming off a 10-3 season that saw it go 6-2 in the SEC and reach the College Football Playoff for the first time since 2019.

After a trip to the College Football Playoff in 2025, Oklahoma has put a focus on going from “really good” to “great” in 2026. They’ll look to get back to the CFP this year and maybe make a run at a championship if things fall right. With spring in the air and spring football underway, OU feels like this roster has improved in many ways from last year’s playoff squad. The work the Sooners do over the next few weeks will show up in the fall, when Oklahoma will take the field for real games again.

Oklahoma’s spring game will be held April 18 at noon at Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.