Oklahoma Sooners

With injuries to Ben Habern and Tyler Evans, and Austin Woods still going through chemo treatments, guard/center Nila Kasitati has become an invaluable piece of the offensive line rotation. But he, too, had a scare this summer.

Since middle school, Kasitati has had episodes where he couldn’t catch his breath and his heart would race. A “heavy chest,” he called it. Sometimes he’d get out of a chair and “it felt like I’d ran a mile.” Finally this summer, it became too much to bear. He woke up for a July workout with a racing heart. It never slowed, and Kasitati had to eventually excuse himself from the workout.

“I wasn’t sure what it was,” he said. "Before, I didn’t think it was anything. I never saw it as anything. But I guess one workout – and the work I was doing wasn’t even hard – it just hit me as I woke up. It bothered me the whole day and I went into workouts and I just couldn’t do it.”

Kasitati met with the training staff, who performed an EKG on him. He was diagnosed with arrhythmia.

“They did this procedure where they actually go through up your groin, the main arteries, and just go up,” he said.

Kasitati had to stay away from football for a couple of weeks, missing the first days of practice. But he has since returned, feels great and is just days away from getting all of his conditioning back.

“I’m fine,” he said. “The surgery was a success so I’m good right now. There’s nothing holding me back from being better or getting a chance to play.”

NORMAN, Okla. -- Oklahoma offensive linemen Austin Woods and Bronson Irwin have been roommates ever since they enrolled early at OU. When Irwin heard his friend was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma in the spring, it shocked him. What hasn’t shocked him is Woods’ mentality during the process.

“That’s the way he has been and that’s the way he will always be,” Irwin said. “It’s a fighter’s mentality. It’s a 12-round prize fight and Austin will be there the whole time.”

Woods, OU's deep snapper on field goals, was diagnosed a week after spring football but hasn’t missed a beat. He only missed two summer workouts and has been cleared to play this season.

Following Tuesday's practice, Woods spoke to the media for the first time since his diagnosis:

SoonerNation: Talking to all your teammates, every single one of them mentions you as an inspiration. What does it mean to you to hear things like that from your teammates?

Austin Woods: It means a lot that they say that about me. We’re all brothers on this team. I knew no matter what I wanted to be there for them. It could always be worse. As bad as you think you are, you’re not as bad as some other people. No matter what you’re going through, we can get through this together.

SN: When did you first notice there might be something wrong?

AW: All spring I had a sore throat and swollen glands. I went to trainer Scott Anderson and showed him and asked if that was normal, he said no, not really. I saw multiple doctors and was finally diagnosed with it. It wasn’t [mononucleosis], wasn’t strep throat but nobody was really talking cancer. Went to an oncologist and thought maybe this is cancer. If that’s the case, (I've) got to let my family know. Got to have my coaches and teammates know and be ready to fight this thing.

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SoonerNation writer Jake Trotter chatted with readers on Monday about Oklahoma football and recruiting. Here's the full transcript. If you didn't get your question answered, send it to the SoonerNation mailbag.

Here are a few highlights from the chat:

Jay (Wichita): What is the word on Jalen Saunders? Why is he getting so many reps, do the coaches have information that he will be cleared to play?

Jake Trotter: Two pretty good sources told us on Sunday that Saunders had NOT yet heard back from the NCAA on his waiver request. The coaches obviously feel decent about his chances, else they wouldn't be playing him on the second team. But no official word yet. Could come any day now.

Billy Joe Bob (Enid): If called into action, will Ty Darlington, Derek Farniok, Nila Kasitati, Kyle Marrs, and Nathan Hughes be able to play at a high level?

Jake Trotter: The second team offensive line is a concern now. Nila Kasitati is practicing, but only a couple weeks from having a heart procedure. OU's other most experienced interior reserve, Austin Woods, is going through chemo. Darlington could emerge as Gabe Ikard's backup at center -- he's gotten some 2nd team reps there. Don't see Farniok, Marrs or Hughes being a factor this season.

Brett (RI): Any word on how the tight ends are looking this year and how they will factor into the offense?

Jake Trotter: They're going to really on Brannon Green to be this year's Brody Eldridge. He's not going to be a big factor in the passing game, but they'll ask him to run block a lot. I expect Trey Millard to get time at tight end in one-back sets. Taylor McNamara could add a catch here or there.

Dig (Doug): How big of a game is the Texas Tech game this year?

Jake Trotter: Big in the sense that's it a dangerous game. OU has never played well in Lubbock, and Tech has to feel confident coming of its win last season. It's also the week before Texas. I would like Tech's chances a lot more, though, if they hadn't beaten OU last season. Sooners should be focused for this one.

John Michael McGee's tenure at Oklahoma appears to be over. The true freshman guard tweeted Monday afternoon that he was leaving the team.

“Goodluck to OU on the field I'll be watching,” McGee posted on his Twitter account. “It's just not for me.”

Bob Stoops said he gave McGee the day away from the team to contemplate whether he wanted to go ahead and leave.

His departure is another blow to an offensive line that’s been ravaged by injuries this season. Monday, Stoops confirmed that three-year starting guard Tyler Evans has suffered a knee injury and was undergoing an MRI. Stoops feared that it could be a torn ligament. Last week, Stoops announced that veteran center Ben Habern was giving up football because of a bad neck and back.

OU is also without guard/center Nila Kasitati, who underwent a procedure on his heart last week. The ailment is believed to be non-life threatening and offensive line coach James Patton said he’s hoping to get Kasitati back on the practice field in the next few days. Reserve center Austin Woods is still undergoing chemotherapy treatments even as he practices with the team. Woods was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma in the spring.

McGee was the No. 12 guard in the country coming out of Texarkana, Texas, according to ESPN. He signed with the Sooners despite having offers from Michigan, Notre Dame and Alabama, among others.

“John Michael McGee is a freak athletically,” Patton said of him in the spring. “He’s not as big as (former OU All-American) Trent Williams, but in terms of a linemen who can move and bend and has quickness and agility – we saw him on tape and they threw a tackle screen to him and he walked in for a touchdown. In terms of his athleticism, he can do a lot of different things for us.”

Nothing could keep deep snapper and center Austin Woods out of workouts this summer. Not even chemotherapy.

"Woods went through all of summer workouts with cancer which is very admirable and kind of ridiculous if you think about it,” center Gabe Ikard said during OU media day. "Every workout. The only times he missed is when he had chemo treatments. Honestly, it was one of those things where we're going through a workout and you look to your left and you look at Austin and he's going through it and you're like, 'Man it's not that bad'. There's worse things in life than breathing hard on a Wednesday."

Ikard said he’s relieved that Woods, who was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma in the spring, has been able to overcome his ailment to be with the team. Especially after the news that center Ben Habern had given up football because of a bad back and neck.

"I was just dreading two-a-days and I knew Ben was iffy because he shared some of his feelings with me; I was ending up a center with no backup,” Ikard said. “I was going to play every play all the time. [Woods] told me (the doctor's cleared him) and I was happy. I was really happy.

"He's got a great fighter's mentality and it's unbelievable the stuff he's doing for us. He's practicing with a (chemotherapy) port in his chest. He puts a pad over it, doesn't say anything about it and he's just one of those guys that's got the right attitude. He's one of my best friends so it's good to have him out there."

Offensive linemen Nila Kasitati and Austin Woods, two Sooners who have dealt with scary circumstances this offseason, should be on the field this season, Bob Stoops said Saturday during OU media day.

Kasitati, projected to be one of OU’s top reserves on the interior of the line, has been dealing with a heart condition that Stoops termed as not life threatening. Kasitati underwent a procedure earlier in the week.

“He'll be able to continue to play,” Stoops said. “He's had it for a long time and no one ever knew it. He never knew it and it just would flare up at times. I couldn't tell you exactly the terms of it, but this procedure, I think he's only going to be out maybe a week. This should correct the problem and he should be fine going forward.”

Woods, OU’s field-goal snapper in 2011, is back to man the same role, despite being diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma in April. Woods underwent chemotherapy during the summer, but has since been cleared to play.

“Austin has done a tremendous job fighting through all these chemo treatments and cancer treatments and continues to be out there every day, enthusiastic,” Stoops said. “It’s been remarkable to watch him.”