Jadon Haselwood eager to make plays in loaded Oklahoma offense: "Iron sharpens iron"
Jadon Haselwood is back, and Sooner Nation is no doubt salivating at the prospect of another elite pass-catcher in Lincoln Riley's offense.
After several months of rehabilitation from offseason surgery, the sophomore wide receiver made his season debut Saturday, marking the culmination of a recovery process for which Lincoln Riley offered the utmost praise.
"You kind of lay out your dream scenario of how you want a young man to handle an injury like this and this is the blueprint for how you do it," Riley said in October. "He's been completely engaged. A ton of energy. I think it's helped our team and it's certainly helped him through the recovery of a very tough injury."
Perhaps no one is more excited to see Haselwood back on the gridiron than Spencer Rattler, who can now count the Georgia product among his seemingly endless array of weapons.
"Getting him the ball is definitely going to be something that I need to do," said the Sooners' redshirt freshman quarterback. "It's great to have him back. Him with all the other receivers, it's a great combo out there."
“I’m thrilled for him to be back," said Drake Stoops. "He’s just like me in terms of character and mentality. I mean, he was starving to get back out there on the field."
And after six games on the sideline in sweats, to say Haselwood was "starving" might be an understatement. The young wideout tallied 19 catches for 272 yards and one touchdown last season as a freshman, but was expected to take on a much larger role in the Oklahoma offense in 2020.
“It gets kinda emotional just thinking about it, actually. Those times were tough,” Haselwood acknowledged. “Being back is a great thing.”
After suffering the injury while working out at home in May, Haselwood underwent surgery, leading many to believe that he would miss the entire year. However, Riley and the rest of the staff remained optimistic that he would see the field by season's end. Riley cited Haselwood's devotion to film study and mental preparation as one of the main reasons he was ready to return so soon.
“It wasn’t a football injury," said Haselwood. "I didn’t do anything football when I did hurt it. But the hardest part was keeping a positive [mentality]. I’m always gonna work hard and grind. So it made me respect the game more and become more of a student.”
Haselwood's rehab lasted about six months, and though the exact nature of the injury hasn't been publicly revealed, Riley was duly impressed with the way that his former five-star recruit attacked the process.
"It's a test," said Riley. "And you either respond or you pout. And he certainly did [respond]. ... That's why he's ready to play six months after getting hurt. A lot of guys aren't."
Some were surprised to see Haselwood in action against Kansas, especially in what figured to be a one-sided contest with an open date on deck. However, Haselwood indicated that his return was all according to plan.
“We kind of made an agreement to let me come back the week before [the bye]," he said. "I was in the training room with the coaches, like, I’m ready.”
Lincoln Riley noted that Haselwood was "a little rusty" in Saturday's 62-9 win over the Jayhawks, but that it was "to be expected" as he gets back to game speed. Haselwood notched one catch for 33 yards on the afternoon, and though he wasn't thrilled with the output, he's keeping faith in the process.
“I’m an athlete, I’m a playmaker, so I was a little frustrated," he admitted. "But I know Spencer’s got me, because we do it every day in practice.”
Haselwood's chemistry with Rattler will no doubt make him a featured target in the offense right away, but in his absence, Marvin Mims emerged from relative obscurity to become one of Oklahoma's most reliable contributors in the passing game. Though he ached to get back to action while recovering from surgery, Haselwood remarked that he was encouraged to see the Sooner offense thriving early in the season.
“I genuinely love seeing my teammates win and make plays. That’s the best feeling," he said. "You want to be able to spread it out, spread the love, and everybody making plays just makes it easier to win.”
And as the Sooners hit the home stretch of the Big 12 slate, they've got plenty of pass-catchers making plays. Mims has already tied a program record for touchdown catches by a freshman (7), Theo Wease leads the team in receptions (26), and Austin Stogner has proven a viable threat on third down and in the red zone.
Now, with Haselwood back in the mix, there are a myriad of mouths for Rattler to feed. But it's a tremendous encouragement that the Sooners' biggest issue on offense is a surplus of playmakers.
“The inside receivers push the outside receivers," Haselwood said. "We all push each other. Iron sharpens iron.”
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