Former Oklahoma WR Jaquaize Pettaway Finds New Destination

Oklahoma’s first transfer portal defection finally has a home.
Jaquaize Pettaway, a 4-star wide receiver and high school All-American from Houston, has reportedly landed at East Carolina.
That’s according to a tweet Friday from 247 Sports’ ESPN’s Pete Thamel.
Former Oklahoma WR Jaquaize Pettaway has committed to East Carolina, he tells ESPN. He's a former Top 50 recruit in the ESPN rankings and caught 16 passes for 157 yards at OU. He'll have two years of eligibility remaining. https://t.co/KgktMsWq35
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) December 20, 2024
Pettaway first announced he would enter the NCAA Transfer Portal back on Dec. 1 — the first of a list of defections from Norman that has now grown to 25.
Pettaway was an Under Armour All-American and a top 100 recruit, but his career never got going in Norman. He leaves with 16 career receptions for 157 yards and zero touchdowns. Pettaway also had one rushing attempt for 10 yards.
The 5-foot-10, 194-pound Pettaway was the Sooners’ only wide receiver in the 2023 recruiting class. His career actually got off to a nice start in 2023 as he led the Sooners with nine catches for 56 yards in the blowout win over Arkansas State. But he caught just two more passes the rest of the year.
This year, as Emmett Jones’ receiver room suffered injury after injury, Pettaway was only called on once as a replacement: a career-high 79 yards on three catches against Tennessee.
He seemed to have developed a rapport with backup QB Michael Hawkins, who came in to rally the Sooners to two fourth quarter touchdowns, but Pettaway’s playing time diminished and he eventually fell out of the rotation completely.
Pettaway played 127 snaps this season, but only 91 on offense. As a true freshman, he played just 92 total snaps, including 64 on offense.
Oklahoma has lost 25 players to the transfer portal, including six wide receivers. In return, OU has added seven players so far, including three receivers from the portal: Javonnie Gibson, Keontez Lewis and Isaiah Sategna.
This year’s transfer portal window opened Dec. 9 and closes on Dec. 28. The spring window is open April 16-25.