New beginning: Moving to Oklahoma Was a “no-brainer” for the immigrant
The former offensive tackle for USC and Florida looks to be adjusting well to his new position on Oklahoma’s offensive line’s left side.
NORMAN — This past winter, Oklahoma needed firsthand experience.
Michael Tarquin desired a new beginning.
From many angles, the former offensive lineman from Florida and USC was a perfect fit for the Sooners.
Tarquin started 20 games in his career for Florida, 10 at left guard and 10 at left tackle. In 2023, he moved to the west coast to play for USC.
Tarquin was moved to the other side of the line to play right tackle for the Trojans, but before he entered his senior year in 2024, he required yet another change of scenery.
His head shifted as a former contact from his high school recruitment days picked up the phone and called: OU offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh. He understood he wanted to make a decision immediately and get rolling.
Tarquin said last month that “he was recruiting me out of high school.” His résumé, in my opinion, speaks for itself. clearly an excellent coach. He’s made a lot of guys look good. Really looking forward to the chance to play for him. .. Great relationship. It has been wonderful to be able to pick that up again and play for him.
Tarquin seems to have found a home again on the left side of the offensive line, however Bedenbaugh is known for switching around players on his offensive line in an attempt to have the best five players on the field.
In Saturday’s Red/White Game, he began at left tackle for the starting offensive line, giving quarterback Jackson Arnold plenty of time to throw deep to Deion Burks.
Last week, Arnold said of his offensive line, “I’ve been proud of those guys.” “This spring, they’ve really stepped up. They’ve been competing fiercely for the past few weeks, and for that I’m really proud of them.
Tarquin contributes a significant amount of snaps to the team, something that the rest of the lineup badly needed as Bedenbaugh sought to rebuild his offensive line.
“From the time he arrived to his current position, Mike Tarquin has improved tremendously,” OU coach Brent Venables said on Saturday. “.. We don’t have a lot of experience overall wearing an Oklahoma outfit, so that adds a lot to the group.
Tarquin’s decision to depart USC this past offseason was made possible by his experience, both on the field and from his previous experience navigating the transfer portal process.
“I was able to make a decision really quickly because I kind of knew what I wanted,” Tarquin remarked. Limit the situation and enter the university as soon as possible.
Talking with Bedenbaugh, many positive aspects of Oklahoma came to light right away.
He called the program “very historic.” Many national titles as well as conference titles. Additionally, it is evident that Coach B has a really outstanding capacity to develop players and place them in the NFL.
Tarquin is aware of Bedenbaugh’s accomplishments in assimilating transfers and guiding them into the NFL. In Thursday’s NFL Draft, Tyler Guyton, a former transfer from TCU, is expected to be selected in the first round. This weekend, Walter Rouse, a former Stanford transfer, is anticipated to be selected as well. Wanya Morris, a former Tennessee transfer, was selected in the third round of 2023.
Almost every position on the field is up for grabs this spring due to the infusion of freshmen and a sizable offensive line class that came through the transfer portal.
Even while Tarquin is happy with how fast he aligned himself with the offensive line unit and the team as a whole, those battles will last far into fall camp.
“It seems like the team has a great chance to have a successful season,” he stated. “That was definitely very appealing. The guys present in the room have been excellent. A group of gifted men who are diligent workers. It’s been fantastic.
The scrimmage on Saturday marked the end of spring ball, but the work is far from over. Every position group will continue to practice alone without the coaches until fall camp begins as summer conditioning approaches.
Outside of the field, Tarquin is content with his new location.
He declared, “Norman’s a great college town.” It’s more convenient to navigate and peaceful. That’s been pretty enjoyable.
However, nobody should be duped by the summer semester’s calmer tempo on campus. Tarquin is ready to maximize his last college season by up the ante at fall camp.
Tarquin stated, “Since this is my final year, I wanted to make sure I made the right choice.” “But it was obvious to me as soon as I spoke with (Oklahoma).”
