10 OU players invited to NFL Combine
OU will be well represented at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis this year.
There will be 10 former Sooners participating in the NFL scouting drills, which will take place from February 23 through March 2. Here are the invitees for OU:
OU in the Combine
- WR Deion Burks
- TE Jaren Kanak
- OL Febechi Nwaiwu
- DL Gracen Halton
- DL Marvin Jones Jr.
- DL R Mason Thomas
- DL Damonic Williams
- LB Kendal Daniels
- LB Owen Heinecke
- S Robert Spears-Jennings
This is the most OU players invited to the combine since 2022, when it had 11 invitees. In the Brent Venables era, the program has had 23 total players invited — seven in 2023, three in 2024, three in 2025 and 10 in 2026.
The group is headlined by four defensive linemen earning invites. Defensive end R Mason Thomas is expected to be Oklahoma’s highest draft pick this year. He is coming off a season in which he totaled 6.5 sacks and 9.5 tackles for loss in 10 games. Right behind him is defensive tackle Gracen Halton, who was a standout at the Senior Bowl.
But then there are guys like Burks. Even though he wasn’t always able to show what he could do, that type of speed is going to be sought after.
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Heinecke continues to be a story to monitor. Invited and participated in the Senior Bowl, while still not knowing if he could return to Norman for the 2026 season. Just a bizarre situation.
You could tell by the invites for OU from the East-West Shrine Bowl and Senior Bowl that the Combine was going to be pretty OU-heavy.
It also gives you an idea of what Brent Venables has been able to do defensively in getting seven guys from that group to get the invitation. That would have felt unheard of as little as five seasons ago. That attitude is back in Norman again.
