How Oklahoma WR Isaiah Sategna’s Track Background Has Led to Football Success

Isaiah Sategna comes from a track and field bloodline, and that has allowed him to be a key offensive piece for the Sooners.

Oklahoma wide receiver Isaiah Sategna | Kyle Ross-Imagn Images

NORMAN — Track and field runs in Isaiah Sategna’s DNA, and that has allowed him to be a football standout at Oklahoma.

Sategna, a transfer wide receiver from Arkansas, has been a threat in his first three games as a Sooner, thanks largely to his down-field speed. 

His mother, Dahlia, competed in the 4x100 relay for Jamaica in the 1992 Olympic Games. His father, Mario, was an All-American decathlete at LSU and currently serves as an assistant track coach at Texas A&M. Sategna also said that both sets of his grandparents also competed in track and field.

“Track was always in my blood,” Sategna said. “That’s what I thought I was going to end up doing.”

Early on, Sategna planned on being a sprinter. He lettered in track and field at Fayetteville High School in Arkansas and was ranked the No. 4 track and field prospect in the Class of 2022 by MileSplit.

But during high school, Sategna fell in love with football. He began to take the sport more seriously and pursue opportunities to play college football, eventually committing to Arkansas.

“Whenever I started playing football, I was like, ‘Ooh, I kind of like football. I kind of like catching passes,’” Sategna said. “My dad, he let me do what I wanted to do. He realized that I liked football more than I liked track.”

Sategna played three seasons with the Razorbacks, regularly flashing his speed.

His best season as a receiver came in 2024, when Sategna compiled 491 receiving yards and a touchdown on 37 receptions. He was a key return man for Arkansas in 2023, logging 180 yards and a touchdown on punts and 500 yards on kickoffs.

After his third season at Arkansas, Sategna decided to transfer to OU, largely because of the additions of quarterback John Mateer and offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle.

Sategna’s offensive production has increased in each of his first three games with the Sooners.

He had a quiet, 16-yard outing in the Sooners’ season opener against Illinois State. He followed that with four catches for 44 yards in OU’s 24-13 win over Michigan. Most recently, Sategna led Oklahoma in receiving with 97 yards in its 42-3 win over Temple.

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The wide receiver has been instrumental to OU’s hot offensive start, as the Sooners have scored 101 points in three games. 

“We just have to keep that going. Right now, I feel like the only people that can hurt us are ourselves,” Sategna said.

In addition to his genetic speed, Sategna believes that he inherited his parents’ competitiveness.

The transfer wideout has now played four seasons in the SEC, arguably the most physical conference from top to bottom in college football. To be successful in the SEC, a player must possess a certain level of competitiveness.

Sategna realizes how athletically successful his parents were and sees that there are always ways that he can improve as an athlete.

“Relative to women, I would say my mom was faster… I’ll give her props,” Sategna said. “I’m faster than my dad, but he was a decathlete, so he was more of an athlete. He was good at everything.”

Sategna set a career-high in receiving yards against Temple. But his next-highest yards total came last year against Auburn when he caught three passes for 85 yards and a touchdown.

The Sooners host the Tigers, currently ranked No. 22 in the AP Top 25, on Saturday. 

Sategna will look to be similarly stellar in this year’s outing against Auburn. He believes that his speed and twitchiness will add another layer of difficulty for the Tigers’ defense.

“I’ve always been the same person, an explosive playmaker,” Sategna said. “I’m expected to do that. That’s what’s going to keep happening moving forward.”