For many years it was extremely rare for a player at Oklahoma -- as well as many other top teams -- to see the field during his freshman season. There were, of course, exceptions for especially talented first-year players or other unforeseen circumstances that necessitated going deep in the depth chart.
That is clearly not the case in today's college game. A little more than half of Oklahoma's listed 2024 105-man roster was made up of true freshmen (36) and redshirt freshmen (20), and a good number of those true freshmen saw action during the season.
For 2025, the Sooners have 66 players returning from the 2024 season, and they have added 45 newcomers by way of high school recruiting or the Transfer Portal.