Observations from Oklahoma's Open Practice Tuesday

NORMAN — Oklahoma is back at spring practice this week, and the Sooners opened the first 40 minutes of Tuesday’s drills to media.

Here are a few observations:

- Wide receiver Deion Burks is back, working out, no boot — but was more off to the side doing some half-speed type stuff. He wasn’t running full routes, but was practicing coming out of breaks, turning and finding the football. While the rest of the wide receiver corps was going through the usual individual drills, Burks was catching balls from QB John Mateer and the other OU quarterbacks.

- Another wideout who was dressed but was off by himself was sophomore Ivan Carreon, who was doing some non-contact footwork drills alongside safety Peyton Bowen and running back Jovantae Barnes.

- Transfer wideout Javonnie Gibson is big, explosive and dynamic in and out of cuts, and transfer wideout Isaiah Sategna is unnaturally quick as he transitions within the route.

Oklahoma Sooners Isaiah Sategna — Oklahoma wide receiver Isaiah Sategna | John E. Hoover / Sooners On SI

- There wasn’t a lot of contact going on during the open session, as it seemed coaches were spending most of their time and instruction talking to younger players. (When the media session broke, however, it did sound like the team ramped up the collisions just a bit.)

- Former Dallas Cowboys All-Pro tight end Jason Witten was at practice, as his soon Cooper, a prized safety recruit, was back in town for a visit.

- With Jayden Jackson out this spring and Damonic Williams and Gracen Halton not really needing a ton of practice reps, defensive line coach Todd Bates was making sure David Stone got plenty of reps in individual drills.

Oklahoma Sooners Damonic Williams, David Stone, Gracen Halton — Oklahoma defensive linemen Damonic Williams, David Stone and Gracen Halton | John E. Hoover / Sooners On SI

- Freshman offensive lineman Darius Afalava was on crutches after his offseason surgery.

- They’re young — should still be in high school — but freshman offensive linemen Ryan Fodje and Michael Fasusi look the part. They were getting plenty of reps in the early low-contact portion of practice, Fasusi at left tackle behind Jacob Sexton and Fodje rotating at left guard with Eddy Pierre-Louis and Daniel Akinkumni.

- As expected, redshirt freshman Josh Aisosa is working as the backup center to Troy Everett.

Oklahoma Sooners Nate Dreiling — Oklahoma linebackers coach Nate Dreiling | John E. Hoover / Sooners On SI

- Kobie McKinzie in absolute control of his position at middle linebacker. Looks confident and assertive, even though he’s now being coached by first-year LB coach Nate Dreiling.