How Does Isaiah Sategna’s Return Impact Oklahoma’s Receiver Room?

Isaiah Sategna led the Sooners with 965 receiving yards in 2025, and he provides a foundation for what should be an improved receiver room.

Oklahoma wide receiver Isaiah Sategna | Carson Field, Sooners on SI

NORMAN — In the wake of the Sooners’ additions and subtractions at wide receiver, Isaiah Sategna will be a constant in 2026.

Sategna, who logged 965 yards and eight touchdowns on 67 catches in 2025, announced on Friday that he will return to Oklahoma on Friday.

What does Sategna’s return mean for Oklahoma’s wide receiver room?

A look at his 2025

Oklahoma wide receiver Isaiah Sategna catches a pass against Temple. | Carson Field, Sooners on SI

Sategna was once the No. 5-rated track and field recruit in the United States, and his sprinter speed shined time and time again.

After transferring to OU from Arkansas ahead of the 2025 season, he had three touchdown receptions longer than 50 yards. 

The most notable of those three came in Oklahoma’s regular-season finale against LSU, when quarterback John Mateer hit a wide-open Sategna in stride on a go route for a 58-yard touchdown. Sategna’s touchdown gave OU a 17-13 lead in the fourth quarter and ended up being the play that sent the Sooners to their first College Football Playoff since 2019.

In addition to his highlight-reel plays, Sategna was also a safety net for Mateer.

Mateer’s accuracy wasn’t the same after he underwent surgery on his right hand in late September — the quarterback completed just 59.4 percent of his passes in OU’s final eight games after completing 67.4 percent in the Sooners’ first four contests.

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According to Pro Football Focus (PFF), 50 of Sategna’s 67 receptions came from nine yards and in. 

Sategna’s speed, though, often turned those short receptions into big plays. He averaged 9.2 yards after catch on receptions behind the line of scrimmage and 6.2 yards after catch on receptions from zero to nine yards, per PFF.

This displays Sategna’s versatility and his ability to make key plays on both short and deep passes.

Building on 2025

Oklahoma wide receiver Isaiah Sategna celebrates after scoring a touchdown against Alabama in the CFP. | Carson Field, Sooners On SI

OU’s wide receiver room should be better in 2026.

The Sooners added wideouts Trell Harris, Parker Livingstone and Mackenzie Alleyne from the transfer portal. Harris and Livingstone are both proven producers at power programs — Virginia and Texas, respectively — while Alleyne had a reserve role at Washington State.

Oklahoma will also return Jer’Michael Carter (barring a last-minute entry into the portal, which closes Friday at midnight). Carter, who stands 6-foot-2 and weighs 199 pounds, saw his role increase late in 2025, and he caught three passes for 46 yards in the Sooners’ CFP loss to Alabama.

Largely, the position group should be deeper in 2026, which could mean that Sategna’s stats aren’t as flashy.

But it’s hard to imagine that he won’t be similarly impactful.

Livingstone, at 6-3, is a bigger target, along with Carter. Those two have the ability to win 50-50 balls, something that is necessary against the SEC’s stout secondaries.

Harris’ catch ability shined throughout the 2025 season for UVA, as he finished the year with 847 yards and five touchdowns.

There will be more for opposing defenses to protect in 2026. And that means it’s very likely that Sategna will see fewer double teams, leaving him open for massive plays when it’s least expected.