NORMAN — We’re nearly a week away from Oklahoma’s season opener against Arkansas State on Sept. 2.

Game week officially begins on Monday. Coordinators Jeff Lebby and Ted Roof will hold press conferences on Monday morning, while head coach Brent Venables will speak on late Tuesday morning.

Likely on one of those two days, we will also get what fans look forward to every year — the official depth chart.

While some coaches like to keep things close to the vest, there was a lot to gleam and take away from the Sooners' depth chart last year. This year should be no different.

While some aspects of the depth chart will be predictable — Dillon Gabriel as the starting quarterback, Danny Stutsman at one of the starting linebacker spots, for example — there will be plenty of interesting things, too. How many true freshmen make the depth chart? Are there any surprising players that make the cut?

With the release of the depth chart just a few days away, here’s a look at every position group along with some predictions for how things will shake out:

Two of the starting spots are easily set in stone with Jalil Farooq and Drake Stoops. But the question before training camp centered around the third starting wide receiver, and there’s a few viable candidates for that spot.

Redshirt freshman Nic Anderson has been one of the brightest spots in training camp, regularly taking first-string reps in individual drills and scrimmages. The former four-star prospect, listed at 6-foot-4, gives the Sooners much-needed size on the perimeter. Former Michigan transfer Andrel Anthony has been right there with him, and his experience and explosiveness have been fully on display during the preseason.

Gavin Freeman continues to impress teammates and the coaching staff. Jayden Gibson and Jaquaize Pettaway have been bright spots, too. Though only one player can be listed as the starter, Lebby has already stated that the Sooners will rotate 6-to-7 wide receivers early in the season. But whoever is listed as the third starter has the best chance of making an early impression on the coaching staff.

Prediction for starters: Farooq, Stoops, Anderson

This might be the hardest group to predict.

Not only do the Sooners have more options than they did a year ago, the Sooners are likely to rotate a lot of players. Two players will get the first snaps in Week 1, but the playing time will likely be dispersed pretty evenly amongst the tackles.

Jordan Kelley and Isaiah Coe are both redshirt seniors and rank at the top in terms of institutional knowledge. They both saw more than 340 snaps in 2022 — only Jonah Laulu saw more snaps of any returning players, but he mostly played defensive end last year.

But Da’Jon Terry has been a standout in preseason practices, and his size (6-foot-3, 321 pounds) is much-needed on a defensive line that struggled last year. Laulu is fully playing tackle now, and he’s gained nearly 30 pounds since last year. Kelvin Gilliam, Gracen Halton and Davon Sears are sure to see snaps, too. Maybe Phil Paea makes an impact, provided he can stay healthy.

It’s a tough position group to sort out, but the non-conference slate should provide opportunities for the coaching staff to see what it has. Defensive tackle could be the position that changes the most from Week 1 to Week 12.

Predictions for starters: Kelley, Coe

It’s slightly cheating to combine these two positions, but there’s a lot of overlap in the players who are getting reps at both spots.

Billy Bowman is a surefire lock to get one of the starting safety spots, leaving that other one up for grabs. But given that Robert Spears-Jennings has been pretty limited since the spring, it basically comes down to two players — sixth-year veteran Reggie Pearson and true freshman Peyton Bowen. However, Venables confirmed that both players have also seen time at Cheetah, indicating that there’s a lot of moving around between the two positions.

Regardless of where they're listed, Pearson and Bowen are going to see the field a lot.

Sophomore Dasan McCullough has long been predicted as the starting cheetah, but fifth-year senior Justin Harrington has been really impressive in fall camp. He also has experience in Venables’ system, though McCullough offers more size. Harrington’s certainly done enough to warrant significant playing time in 2023. Has he pushed for a starting spot?

Regardless, it wouldn’t be surprising to see “OR” on several lines of the depth chart at both safety and cheetah, indicating that a firm starter or backup hasn't been fully decided. It also wouldn’t be shocking to see one or two players listed at both safety and cheetah.

For the sake of simplicity, here’s a stab at predicting the Week 1 starters for both position groups:

Safety: Bowman, Pearson

Cheetah: McCullough