After Tough Injury, Oklahoma WR Theo Wease Says He's an 11 on a Scale of 1 to 10

Wease missed all of last year with a foot injury that he says allowed him to reveal something about himself; now he'll be counted on as a key player in the OU offense.

One year ago, Oklahoma wide receiver Theo Wease sustained a bad foot injury in spring practice.

After hurting it again last year in training camp, Wease spent the entire 2021 season — his third in Norman — injured, watching games from the sideline rather than changing them from the wideout position.

Now, the former 5-star prospect is healthy. He’s tested the transfer portal back, he’s at spring practice, and he’s eager to step up as one of the Sooners’ most dynamic offensive threats.

“I’m 100 percent confident going into this season,” Wease said this week. “I'll give you a scale from 1 to 10, I'd probably say 11.”

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The 6-foot-2, 201-pound fourth-year junior from Allen, TX, said his mindset has been to keep working and let everything else take care of itself.

It wasn’t always easy, though.

Pool photo / Josh Gateley

“It was hard,” he said. “I went through the injury, missed the whole season, and then the coaching change. It was hard, but my family stayed with me. They uplifted me and everything, and my teammates still talk to me about everything. It was hard, but at the end of the day it was a pretty easy decision (to come back).”

Wease came in as a freshman ready to set the world on fire alongside fellow 5-stars Trejan Bridges and Jadon Haselwood. It was billed as arguably one of the single-greatest hauls of receiver talent in college football recruiting history.

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But, coupled with Wease’s injury, Haselwood’s devastating knee injury in 2020 and Bridges’ dismissal from the team in 2021 after an arrest for an alleged felony burglary wrecked the trio's grand plans and underscores the tenuous nature of college football greatness.

Wease caught just eight passes for 136 yards and two touchdowns from Jalen Hurts as a true freshman in 2019 but was an integral part of the biggest comeback victory in program history at Baylor. As a sophomore in 2020, he emerged as Spencer Rattler’s most trusted third-down resource, catching a team-high 37 passes for 530 yards and four touchdowns.

Now, after a year in the training room, Wease is making an impression on OU’s young receiver corps.

“Theo Wease has always been a guy I looked up to,” said sophomore Jalil Farooq. “Since day one, I always thought his route-running, the way he ran routes, the way he is after the catch. I always love what he does. When I was sitting back, I always watched Theo. Unfortunately, he didn't get to play. I was very excited for him to play last year so I'm very excited for this year.”

Offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby also said he’s “excited” to see how Wease can contribute in his scheme, but added it’s been gratifying to watch him progress off the field as well.

“Guy is operating at a high level as far as just being a human,” Lebby said. “Being a guy that’s done things right every single day. He’s been incredibly competitive. He’s been incredibly bought-in. He’s worked his butt off in getting to this point. We’re two days into spring ball, so excited about where he’s at and proud of him, because of his work ethic and how he’s led in that room. I think he can fit in in a great way.”

For his part, Wease is older now and looks at life through a different lens than he did three years ago.

“I’m grateful for the injury because it brought something out of myself,” Wease said. “I knew I had it in me, but being injured and being off the field made me dig deeper and actually find that and put it to work.”