Deion Burks injury update: Brent Venables provides latest on status of Oklahoma WR

Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables said wide receiver Deion Burks is trying to “defy all odds” and play against South Carolina on Saturday, per SoonerScoop’s George Stoia III. Venables reportedly said Burks is up to 80% healthy during Tuesday’s press conference.

Burks suffered a “soft tissue” injury in Oklahoma’s Week 4 loss against Tennessee and hasn’t played since, missing Oklahoma’s matchups against Auburn and Texas.

Before suffering the injury, Burks was having an excellent season, boasting 26 catches for 201 receiving yards and three touchdowns. He also has recorded five carries for 32 yards this season. Now, Deion Burks will hope to return to the field and resume his fantastic campaign.

Oklahoma could certainly use his talents. In the Sooners’ 34-3 loss to Texas this past weekend, they only recorded 148 passing yards and converted just four of their 15 third-down attempts.

On Saturday, Oklahoma will look to bounce back as it squares off against South Carolina at 12:45 p.m. ET. The game will air live on the SEC Network.

Oklahoma legend Baker Mayfield claps back at Texas players

Baker Mayfield had a response for Texas players after they celebrated Saturday’s Red River Rivalry win by planting a school flag through his Oklahoma jersey. Pictures emerged on social media after the 34-3 Longhorns win of linebacker Anthony Hill posing with the jersey, which had a tear through the back. 

Mayfield played the final three seasons of his college career with the Sooners and went 2-1 against Texas, including winning each of his final two games. Now a quarterback for the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he had a clear message for the Longhorns about the jersey incident. 

“It’s just a kid from Austin, Texas, that went to Oklahoma and won his last two Red River games and has been rent free in their heads for almost a decade now,” he said Sunday after a 51-27 win against the Saints. “So, yeah.”

Mayfield led the Sooners to Big 12 titles in all three seasons he played in Norman in addition to the two Red River wins. He also won the Heisman Trophy as a senior in 2017 after throwing for 4,627 yards and 43 touchdowns compared to only six interceptions. 

From 2016-21, Oklahoma was 6-1 against Texas. However, the Sooners have now lost two of the last three against their bitter rival. It’s clear things are heading in a different direction than they were when Mayfield was the QB, but he still isn’t going to take this trash talk quietly and had to remind everybody involved of his past results.

On3’s Chandler Vessels also contributed to this article.