NORMAN — There appears to be good news and bad news surrounding Oklahoma's offensive line heading into their battle of the blue bloods matchup against Michigan on Saturday.

First, the bad news. Per a Sooners On SI source, it appears Michael Fasusi did not fully participate in Monday's practice after playing only 17 snaps against UTEP. His status is up in the air for Michigan, but it seems Fasusi may not be ready to return to the field.

Now the good news. Ryan Fodje has returned to practice and will likely be the Sooners' second option at left tackle should Fasusi be out. Also returning to full-speed at practice is center Jake Maikkula, and Oklahoma couldn't be more excited about getting their starter back on the field.

"You can't put a value on what Jake Maikkula means to this football team," Ben Arbuckle said on Tuesday. "What he means to the offense, what he means to the confidence of Bill Bedenbaugh, what he means to the confidence of his teammates that line up next to him."

Getting Maikkula back for OU's first big test of 2026 means Noah Best, who started in Maikkula's absence, will return to right guard. Best and Heath Ozaeta provide Oklahoma stability along the interior of their offensive line.

It also means the Sooners' offense will its assignment captain in place as they try to hand the Wolverines their first loss of the season in front of 115,000 fans.

"I don’t think you can put a value on it, just the teammate he is, the person he is and the player that he is. Jake Maikkula’s awesome," Arbuckle said.

It also seems like Maikkula has had a steady build-up in his return to play on the practice field. Arbuckle shared that Maikkula has been just as engaged in his limited state, but began running full speed over a week ago.

"This was about a week and a half ago," Arbuckle said. "It was actually fun during special teams periods, he’s over there trying to get some full speed stuff.

"I was getting under center snaps with (Maikkula), trying to work different cadences on him, just trying to get him to mess up. And he was so laser locked-in, and he’s firing it back there and coming off the ball and hitting the pad, and it made me excited," he added.

Arbuckle credited Maikkula's mentality during his recovery process. The timing couldn't be more forutnate considering the recent situation with Fasusi. Maikkula's return potentially syncing up with Fodje sets Oklahoma up for a strong showing in Ann Arbor.

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