Oklahoma’s New Weapon: How Trell Harris Can Elevate the Sooners’ Offense

One of the central questions for Oklahoma entering the 2026 season is simple: who will make John Mateer's life easier?

That's a question shared by the consensus college football mind — whether they be media members, Sooner fans, or, perhaps more importantly, the OU front office. Few questions will influence the 2026 season more than general manager Jim Nagy finding talent to make his quarterback’s life easier.

Like any astute general manager, Nagy saw the major splash outgoing ACC pass catchers made in their new destinations in 2025 — names like KC Concepcion, Eric Singleton and Isaiah Horton — and went and found one himself in the form of former Virginia Cavalier Quentrell "Trell" Harris.

Now that he has committed to the Sooners, the question of who will surround Mateer morphs into, "What exactly does OU get in Harris?"

Trell Harris, Oklahoma Sooner — Virginia Cavaliers wide receiver Trell Harris | Jamie Rhodes-Imagn Images

The easy answer is a Deion Burks replacement.

Fortune did not smile on Burks during his two-year stint with the Sooners. Minor injuries and one of the worst offenses in modern OU history derailed his 2024 campaign, while Mateer's hand surgery recovery negatively affected the offense, particularly Burks. When Mateer was at his healthiest — pre-Auburn and post-Missouri — Burks was able to show his talents with explosive plays and consistent playmaking.

Harris is a bit larger than Burks. At 6-foot-0 and 200 pounds, Harris provides the ability to run through arm tackles — something that Burks, despite his talents, had trouble with at his 5-11, 185-pound frame. Virginia used Harris in the screen game, much like Ben Arbuckle used Burks to mixed bag results.

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A more nuanced answer may be that Harris provides a Burks replacement, but one who can potentially pair with Isaiah Sategna III to make both players thrive.

There's no question that Sategna — should he return to the Sooners for 2026 — has Harris beat in the speed department. Sategna is one of the fastest players in the country and showed off that speed in a majority of OU's College Football Playoff-bound season.

But Harris also possesses big-play ability by stretching the field. His size and speed combination allowed Virginia, and former Sooner, quarterback Chandler Morris to heave passes downfield in an effort to have Harris make a play. To UVA's credit, that philosophy worked out quite a bit.

Harris' 59 catches for 847 yards and five touchdowns helped earn him Third Team All-ACC in 2025, but it also showed that he isn't a one-trick pony. The La Grange, IL product can beat you with his speed and his strength; he can turn short-yardage throws into big-YAC opportunities, or he can take the top off the defense.

Going back to the original question, does Harris make Mateer's life easier?

It never hurts to add proven Power Four talent, let alone one who earned an All-Conference nod. Can Harris be an upgrade from Burks, or can Harris help accent Sategna better than Burks was able to — resulting in a better offense overall for Mateer to lead?

According to production, it appears Nagy hit it out of the park with Harris. But it's on Harris and Mateer to make it work. Everyone applauded a certain transfer portal signing last spring only for the resulting production to match the player's jersey number.