Persistence Helps Oklahoma Land "Freakazoid" Wide Receiver

NORMAN — In the middle of his signing day press conference Wednesday, Oklahoma coach Brent Venables got word that wide receiver Jayden Petit had signed with the Sooners.

Venables called Petit a “freakazoid.”

“Big, strong, athletic, amazing, not only in catch radius but his strain at the top of the route, again, for a guy in high school is just a little bit different,” Venables said.

The 6-foot-3, 220-pound Petit’s recruitment was emblematic of the Sooners’ recruiting approach under Venables and general manager Jim Nagy.

Venables and wide receivers coach Emmett Jones stayed in contact with Petit even after the Naples, Florida, product committed to Wisconsin in June, less than three weeks after taking an official visit to Norman.

Petit flipped to the Sooners on Thanksgiving and signed Wednesday.

“They stayed with it,” Venables said of his staff’s approach to Petit. “And where a lot of people would grow weary, they didn’t. And again, same things they sold in recruiting, I think, came to fruition. And Jayden’s a really spiritual guy and I think he just had a peace about coming to Oklahoma.”

Read More Oklahoma Football

Of course, the product Venables and co. are selling now is a bit different from the vision they were trying to sell over the summer.

After a 6-7 season last season where no wide receiver had more than 315 yards receiving, the Sooners surged this season, finishing the regular season 10-2 and likely heading to the College Football Playoff.

And instead of having tight end Bauer Sharp as the leading receiver, wide receiver Isaiah Sategna leads the Sooners with 65 catches for 948 yards and seven touchdowns.

So while the offense isn’t fully fixed, it’s still a much better product than it was back when Petit made his original decision.

When Nagy arrived in March, he began looking through the players that were already on Oklahoma’s radar.

It didn’t take him long to notice Petit.

“He was one of my favorite players when I got here in March that was currently on the board,” Nagy said.

With Deion Burks and Keontez Lewis seniors among the wide receiver group, there will be some playing time up for grabs at the position.

Petit was one of four wide receivers the Sooners signed Wednesday, joining Jahsier Rogers from Delaware, Daniel Odom from California and Zizi Okwufulueze of Owasso’s Rejoice Christian.

But Venables singled out Petit as a player who had an opportunity to play right away.

“He’s gonna jump into a great group, and really feel like he’s — from a physical standpoint and a mental standpoint — he’s gonna be able to jump in right away and help make that position immediately better.”