Which of Oklahoma’s Offensive Position Groups has Improved the Most?

Oklahoma’s offense must improve significantly to make it back to the College Football Playoff.

And the Sooners did plenty during the offseason to ensure that happens.

OU added transfer portal reinforcement to every offensive position except for quarterback. The Sooners also signed several offensive pieces — like quarterback Bowe Bentley, running backs DeZephen Walker and Jonathan Hatton Jr. and wide receivers Jayden Petit, Xavier Okwufulueze, Jahsiear Rogers and Daniel Odom — who could see playing time in Year 1.

John Mateer is back for his senior year and, barring any unforeseen circumstances, he’ll be OU’s starting quarterback throughout the 2026 season. But every other position saw great retooling during the offseason.

So which position group improved the most?

Well, there isn’t any evidence for these improvements yet, and there won’t be any until OU kicks off the season against UTEP on Sept. 4.

But from an “on-paper” standpoint, Oklahoma’s wide receiver room looks like it will be in an entirely better spot than it was last year.

Wideout Isaiah Sategna was Oklahoma’s most consistent offensive weapon after transferring in from Arkansas. He ended his first year at OU with 965 yards and eight touchdowns on 67 catches, and his sprinter speed created chaos for opposing defensive backs.

Deion Burks had the second most receiving yards — 620 — in 2025, but he played his final collegiate game on Dec. 19, when the Sooners lost to Alabama in the College Football Playoff. Burks put up a stellar game against the Crimson Tide despite the loss, but he struggled to produce consistently, as opponents held him below 50 yards in eight of the Sooners’ 13 games.

No other receivers on OU’s roster logged more than 250 yards last year. And with Burks now in the NFL, the Sooners had to bolster the position to put more weapons at Mateer’s disposal.

Oklahoma added three wide receivers from the transfer portal to its roster: Trell Harris (Virginia), Parker Livingstone (Texas) and Mackenzie Alleyne (Washington State).

Harris was an All-ACC selection for the Cavaliers last year after logging 847 yards and five touchdowns, and he’ll have one year of eligibility remaining. Livingstone was a key target of Arch Manning’s at Texas last year, and he ended 2025 with 516 yards and six touchdowns.

Alleyne is more unproven than those two, as he finished his redshirt freshman season at WSU with only 72 yards and a touchdown. Alleyne, though, overlapped with Mateer and OU offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle for one year in Pullman, and both of them raved about the transfer wideout’s adjustment in Norman.

More likely than not, Sategna, Harris and Livingstone will dominate the target shares. But Alleyne is a valuable backup option, as well as Jer’Michael Carter, who logged a handful of promising outings in 2025.

It’s also possible that the Sooners’ receiving corps has improved in other ways than addition.

Elijah Thomas and Manny Choice both got extensive work in special teams formations last year, but their roles on offense were limited. OU coach Brent Venables praised the development of both players during spring ball, and that could mean that they see more offensive snaps in 2026.

It remains to be seen whether or not any of the true freshman wide receivers will play much in the fall. But Rogers sure looked ready to contribute in the spring game, when he registered 70 yards on five receptions.

There are arguments that other offensive position groups improved just as much.

The Sooners added three players — Hayden Hansen, Jack Van Dorselaer and Rocky Beers — to their tight end room while also hiring Jason Witten as their new position coach. Oklahoma’s offensive line has high expectations for the fall, too, as youngsters Michael Fasusi, Ryan Fodje and Eddy Pierre-Louis have one more year of experience under their belts.

But between Sategna’s outstanding 2025 season and proven production at different schools from Livingstone and Harris, wide receiver seems like the safest bet of any of the offensive positions to take a major step forward.

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