Oklahoma 2022 Report Card: Wide Receiver
Oklahoma’s wide receiver room, like the rest of the offense, had bright spots in the midst of inconsistency.
Things got off to a rocky start after wide receivers coach Cale Gundy was dismissed from the team right before the season began. After Gundy's abrupt departure assistant wideouts coach L'Damian Washington stepped in as the interim for the remainder of the season.
2022 OU Report Cards:
- Wednesday, Jan. 4: Defensive Ends
- Thursday, Jan. 5: Offensive Line
- Friday, Jan. 6: Defensive Tackles
- Saturday, Jan. 7: Tight Ends
- Sunday, Jan. 8: Linebackers
- Monday, Jan. 9: Wide Receivers
- Tuesday, Jan. 10: Cornerbacks
- Wednesday, Jan. 11: Running Backs
- Thursday, Jan. 12: Safeties
- Friday, Jan. 13: Quarterbacks
- Saturday, Jan. 14: Special Teams
- Sunday, Jan. 15: Coaching Staff
The midseason injury to Dillon Gabriel affected the Sooners’ pass catchers the most, and from that point on, it was hard to get the unit on the same page for four quarters.
Oklahoma’s leading receiver was, once again, Marvin Mims. The junior from Frisco, TX, crossed the 1,000-yard threshold for the first time in his career, recording 1,083 receiving yards and six touchdowns. His acrobatic catches helped OU’s offense tremendously, and he was one of Oklahoma’s only true big-play threats. Prior to 2023, the most receiving yards Mims had recorded in a single season was 705.
Behind Mims, both Jalil Farooq and Drake Stoops ate away a fair share of targets.
Farooq stepped into a bigger role over the course of his second season in Norman, finishing with 37 catches for 466 yards and five touchdowns. He was also used in other ways as a gadget player, too, rushing for 140 yards on 15 carries.
Not far behind Farooq, Stoops finished the season with 393 yards and three touchdowns. He became one of Gabriel’s favorite targets with his sure-handedness offensively, consistently reeling in tough catches near the sticks.
Theo Wease also got in on the action, recording 378 receiving yards and four touchdowns. Wease’s catch radius was able to get him in the end zone multiple times this season.
Oklahoma’s wide assortment of playmakers really seemed to spread the statistics out, as the Sooners had six players with over 200 receiving yards. Two of the six happened to be tight end Brayden Willis and running back Eric Gray, making the distribution that much harder among the wideouts.
Oklahoma’s collection of young talent, including Jayden Gibson, Nic Anderson, LV Bunkley-Shelton and J.J. Hester, didn’t see much on-field action over the course of the season. The talented playmakers should get more opportunities to shine with the departures of veterans in the room.
The Sooners’ biggest blow of the offseason was losing Mims to the NFL Draft. In addition to his departure, Wease announced his transfer to Missouri, leaving Oklahoma suddenly short handed.
Currently, the receiver room will be spearheaded by Stoops and Farooq, who will both have to reel in more passes this fall. Farooq seems to be next in line as Oklahoma’s breakout receiver, and he’ll have plenty of opportunities in 2023. It seems likely that the Sooners will look into adding a wide receiver or two more through the transfer portal before spring ball starts.
Neither of this year’s true freshmen, Keyon Brown or Jaquaize Pettaway, will be available in the spring as both are enrolling next summer
There’s a lot riding on the development of Oklahoma’s young pass catchers this offseason.
Grading the wide receivers:
- Hoover: B
- Chapman: B-
- Callaway: B+
- Lovelace: B
