Brent Venables assesses where Oklahoma's wide receiver room stands after transfers

One position Oklahoma struggled with throughout its entire season was wide receiver. Nobody on the Sooners could stay healthy, not giving Jackson Arnold or Michael Hawkins much help. A few guys emerged as options but not to the level anyone in Norman hoped for in preseason.

The issues have now carried into the offseason, where the Sooners have seen the position get decimated by the NCAA transfer portal. Six have decided to leave and all of them have found new homes already.

Head coach Brent Venables assessed where the wide receiver room stands now, specifically heading into Friday’s bowl game against Navy.

“We’re going forward,” Venables said. “We’re getting ready for Navy. Most of the guys that helped us all year are going to be the same guys that are going to be out there for the bowl game. So, we had a lot of receivers, we were actually over our number most of the year. Thankfully, we were able to play with guys this year.”

Of the three wide receiver positions on Oklahoma’s bowl game depth chart, two listed starters are freshmen. Deion Burks and Jordan James are both considered slot guys and played a major role in the OU offense this year. Burks did have some injuries of his own to deal with after transferring in from Purdue but is thought to be the team’s best receiver.

Those two will lead the group but Venables sees an opportunity for the young bucks to get some game time against Navy in Fort Worth. It’s a positive spin on the situation, something playing in a bowl game can certainly create.

“I see a great opportunity for a great foundation of young players there to continue to grow and develop,” Venables said. “We recruited them for a reason, all well-thought-of guys… Just creates an opportunity for the next guy.”

While the portal takes away from Oklahoma, Venables has been active in adding wide receiver talent of his own for the future. Three takes for the Sooners are going to be catching passes from John Mateer during the 2025 season. A big quarterback get for the program has certainly helped reload the depleted receiver room.

And as Venables said, some younger guys can play well on Friday and jump-start next year.