Oklahoma Spring Depth Chart Preview: WRs Have Promising Talent

Oklahoma opens spring practice March 6, and Year 4 under Brent Venables needs to be a good one.

After going 6-7 in two of his first three seasons, Venables’ tenure as the Sooners’ head coach is in the spotlight more than ever. The Sooners’ spring game on April 12 could be quite revealing.

In this series, Sooners On SI previews OU’s 2025 spring by breaking down the depth chart at each position. Next up: wide receivers:

There’s an incalculable degree of unknowns about the Oklahoma wide receivers going into spring practice this season.

And yet, it’s guaranteed things won’t be as bad as they were last year.

They couldn’t possibly sink that level of despair again.

For almost the entirety of the 2024 season, OU’s top four pass catchers from the year before — Nic Anderson, Jayden Gibson, Andrel Anthony and Jalil Farooq — were injured and couldn’t play. That dynamic, experienced, explosive quartet combined for played in an aggregate total of just four games and combined for a mere four receptions for 62 yards. That includes Farooq’s 47-yard grab on the second play of the season, on which he was injured.

And Deion Burks, the Sooners’ best transfer portal target who had two long touchdowns in the 2024 spring game, battled an abdominal tear and a concussion to play in just five games all season. He finished with 31 receptions for just 245 yards and scored three touchdowns — all of his scores coming in the season opener.

That left it to young, inexperienced or supporting players like J.J. Hester, Brenen Thompson, Jaquaize Pettaway, Zion Kearney, Zion Ragins, Ivan Carreon and Jacob Jordan to bolster an Oklahoma passing game already severely diminished with a first-year starting quarterback and an offensive line that led the nation in sacks allowed.

No way the Oklahoma wide receivers will be less productive in 2025. It would impossible.

Most of last year’s walking wounded have left via the transfer portal. Burks, the former Purdue star, came back for his senior season. Carreon and both Zions are in tow. And Jordan — the precocious true freshman walk-on who for a stretch somehow emerged as the team’s most reliable receiving threat — is back.

Oklahoma Sooners Deion Burks — Oklahoma wide receiver Deion Burks | BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK

So receivers coach Emmett Jones went to work in the portal and landed an intriguing foursome to compete for immediate playing time.

Javonnie Gibson began his career at Division II Arkansas-Monticello, then transferred last year to FCS program Arkansas-Pine Bluff. In a breakout season with the Lions in 2024, Gibson caught 70 passes for 1,215 yards and nine touchdowns, second all-time in UAPB’s single-season record books in yards and catches.

OU ranked at the bottom of the NCAA statistics last year in yards per play and yards per pass, so Gibson should help that under new offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle and new quarterback John Mateer. Of his 70 catches at UAPB, 15 were targeted 20 yards downfield or more, according to Pro Football Focus, and his average target depth on those throws was 31.4 yards. He graded out at 97.8 on deep balls (that ranked 37th in FBS) and 96.1 on intermediate routes.

Keontez Lewis spent his freshman year at UCLA, then transferred to Wisconsin, where he played as a sophomore but then hit the portal early in his junior season. Last year Lewis played at FCS program Southern Illinois. As a Saluki, Lewis hauled in 49 receptions for 813 yards and five touchdowns.

Like Gibson, Lewis should help Oklahoma’s offense stretch the field this season. Last season he caught passes of 65, 60, 50, 44 and 42 yards, and he averaged 12.1 yards per rushing attempt. Lewis posted a PFF grade of 79.3 overall and 80.4 on pass plays. On deep balls (20+ yards), Lewis graded out at 96.7 (58th in FBS). On intermediate routes, he graded out at 97.4.

Lewis and Gibson are both big: Lewis is 6-2, 185, Gibson is 6-3, 205.

Gibson and Lewis committed to OU on Dec. 18. On Dec. 19, Jones added a wideout from the SEC.

Isaiah Sategna played three seasons at Arkansas, where he caught 54 passes for 632 yards and three touchdowns, including 37 catches for 491 yards and one score for the Razorbacks in 2024 as QB Taylen Green’s No. 2 option (behind Andrew Armstrong, who caught 78 passes for 1,140 yards).

Sategna also contributed on special teams, with 180 yards and a touchdown on punt returns and 500 yards on kickoff returns in 2023. On offense, Sategna graded out at 93.7 on deep balls, with an average depth of target of 31.2 yards on 13 targets, and 94.9 on intermediate throws, according to PFF. Of Sategna’s 54 targets last year, 33 (61 percent) were 10 yards or less, so most of his contributions at OU should be at or near the line of scrimmage.

Josiah Martin joins the OU receiver room after getting moderate playing time last year as a true freshman at Cal. He played in nine games and finished with 12 catches for 112 yards, with 78 snaps in the slot, 55 out wide and three from the backfield.

Both Sategna and Martin are 5-foot-11 and likely slot receivers, although they've played both inside and outside.

Arkansas Razorbacks Isaiah Sategna Oklahoma Sooners — Former Arkansas wide receiver Isaiah Sategna | Jake Crandall/ Advertiser / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Among OU’s returners behind Burks from 2024, Jordan remains intriguing as he finished third on the team with 27 catches for 234 yards and a touchdown despite playing in just seven games. His attention to detail with route-running and instinctive ability to find seams in defensive zones was a boost to OU quarterbacks.

Sophomore Ivan Carreon played in 11 games and finished with 10 catches for 89 yards — including seven receptions for 72 yards against Navy in the Armed Forces Bowl. At 6-6 and 223 pounds, Carreon also is able to exploit his size as a physical blocker, evidenced by his springing block on Gavin Sawchuk’s TD run in Fort Worth.

Kearney and Ragins both made contributions last season but as true freshman struggled to find consistency. Ragins caught 10 passes for 68 yards, and Kearney caught eight for 128, including a 56-yard touchdown on Michael Hawkins’ scramble against Navy.

The real x-factor for Arbuckle, Mateer and the OU passing game in 2025 could be the return to full health of Gibson.

More Oklahoma Projected Spring Depth Charts

(Follow these links to catch up)
Feb. 26: Defensive Back
Feb. 27: Wide Receiver
Feb. 28: Linebacker
March 1: Running Back
March 2: Defensive Line
March 3: Offensive Line
March 4: Tight End
March 5: Special Teams
March 6: Quarterback

The 6-5, 196-pound Gibson caught just 14 passes in 2023, but gained 375 yards — 28.8 yards per catch, a figure that would have led the nation with more receptions to qualify for the NCAA minimum.

Gibson suffered a knee injury in preseason practice last year, however, and was unable to play. Teammates had lauded his preseason practices, and he went into detail about how much he’d grown and matured as a football player. If Gibson can return to that path or even get back to where he was in ’23, the OU passing game could be devastating this fall. Gibson will need reps, but it seems unlikely he’ll get many this spring.

Similarly, Burks will want to get time with Mateer, but his action this spring figure to be limited.

Three youngsters may be hoping to break into the rotation next fall and should get plenty of action to prove themselves this spring.

Speedy K.J. Daniels didn’t play last year as a true freshman, but as a high school prospect, ESPN rated him as a 4-star after running 10.94 in the 100 meters in track.

And incoming freshmen Elijah Thomas and Emmanuel Choice show plenty of promise.

The 6-1, 183-pound Thomas, from Checotah, OK, chose OU over offers from Alabama, Texas A&M, Arkansas, Oklahoma State and others. The 6-4, 202-pound Choice comes from Lancaster, TX, and picked the Sooners over Arizona State, Arkansas, Baylor, Cal, Colorado, Florida, Ole Miss, Missouri, Texas, Texas A&M and USC.