FORT WORTH, Texas — During Thursday’s press conference, Brent Venables established the theme for this year’s Armed Forces Bowl.
There’s going to be a lot of young guys on the field for the Sooners.
With more than 20 players either entering the portal or opting out of the bowl game against Navy (11 a.m. Friday, ESPN), .the Sooners’ roster is a bit depleted. Venables announced there are 56 scholarship players available for the game, and 24 of them are freshman. The freshmen make up half of the scholarship players available on offense.
Playing freshmen isn’t unfamiliar for the Sooners. Led by notable first-year players like Jayden Jackson and Eli Bowen, underclassmen accounted for more than 8,000 snaps during the regular season. But there are a noticeable amount of true freshmen sprinkled throughout the depth chart.
“I’ve watched these guys grow up through their opportunity,” Venables said. “I’ve watched them fail and learn from it, bounce right back. I’ve really appreciated some of our veterans on our team that …