Freshman WR Cody Jackson Could Play a Factor for OU Early On

Wide receiver talent is always going to flock to a place like Oklahoma.

Two years ago, Jadon Haselwood flashed his high-end potential in limited action as he earned playing time in a crowded wide receivers room.

In 2020, Marvin Mims stepped in and had arguably one of the best years by a freshman wide receiver ever at Oklahoma.

And though Mario Williams has caught the imagination with his speed ahead of OU’s 2021 campaign, it appears Cody Jackson is going to have a role to play as well.

Jackson signed with OU as a consensus 4-star recruit, and he found himself just outside of Sports Illustrated’s SI99 for the 2021 class after being rated the No. 91-overall recruit in the country headed into his senior high school season.

An early enrollee this past spring, outside receivers coach Dennis Simmons said he’s been pleased with how Jackson has gotten acclimated to the program.

“Cody (Jackson) was a little bit not as assertive when he first got here,” Simmons said on Tuesday during a press conference with the local media. “But since the spring and throughout the summer he has really stepped his game up.”

Now that he’s getting closer to being up to speed, the Sooners can utilize his athletic upside which Lincoln Riley said attracted the coaching staff to Jackson during the recruiting process.

“Cody is a very explosive young man,” Riley said during a Zoom press conference all the way back in February ahead of spring practice. “He’s definitely fast enough. So we’ll have some more speed out there to stretch the field vertically.

“The sky’s the limit for Cody as far as his future here and what he can achieve.”

Jackson hasn’t just left an impression on the coaching staff. Quarterback Spencer Rattler has been impressed with Jackson’s improvement just over fall camp alone.

“Cody’s probably taken the biggest jump of any receiver just from getting better and making more plays,” Rattler said during a Zoom press conference on Wednesday. “He was a young guy coming in. He came in in the spring and he was feeling everything out.

“In fall camp he looked super comfortable. He was making a lot of big time plays, big time catches, big time runs, all of that stuff. His confidence is getting better and better and I’m happy to see him doing well.”

Though there is competition up and down OU’s team this year, the wide receivers were singled out by Riley during the spring as a position group which he felt underperformed last year. Riley has insisted multiple times that every spot is open, and plenty of guys will get an opportunity to earn a couple of snaps and show the coaching staff why they belong on the field come Saturday’s.

The returning Mims figures to play a major role in the passing game, as well as the now healthy Haselwood and Austin Stogner, but Simmons said on Tuesday he’d ideally like to be able to play six to eight guys every Saturday, and Jackson could play a role in that rotation as soon as Tulane.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if you see him on the field at some point earlier on in the season,” Simmons said.

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