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Why Oklahoma Expects to Play 6-7 WRs on Saturday – And Maybe More

Sooners offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby said training camp has revealed the leaders, but said the numbers could grow over time.
John E. Hoover|
Why Oklahoma Expects to Play 6-7 WRs on Saturday – And Maybe More
Why Oklahoma Expects to Play 6-7 WRs on Saturday – And Maybe More

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Oklahoma Sooners

NORMAN — Jeff Lebby thinks Oklahoma will play six or seven wide receivers in the run of play on Saturday when the Sooners host Arkansas State.

But No. 20-ranked OU’s second-year offensive coordinator also said that number could certainly grow over the course of the season — possibly to as many as eight or nine.

That’s not counting players coming in to mop up lopsided fourth quarter, particularly Saturday, when the Sooners are a 34 1/2-point favorite. That’s frontline snaps, getting reps with quarterback Dillon Gabriel.

“I think that’s one of the things that I’m incredibly excited about — we’re excited about,” Lebby said Monday at his weekly press conference at the Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Club. “We really got a chance to play multiple guys which was not the case as we stood here a year ago.”

How to Watch Oklahoma vs. Arkansas State

After nearly a month of training camp, returning starters Drake Stoops and Jalil Farooq are in the opening trio, and all indications are that Michigan transfer Andrel Anthony has landed the other starting spot.

Former walk-on Gavin Freeman, who was put on scholarship last week, has drawn the highest praise in camp and figures to be the first receiver off the bench.

After that, sophomores Nic Anderson and Jayden Gibson have had a productive camp, performed well in the scrimmages and have been talked about the most.

Would true freshman Jaquaize Pettaway be Lebby’s seventh? Or would that spot go to veteran and former Arizona State transfer LV Bunkley-Shelton? Or would that be speedster and Texas transfer Brenen Thompson? What about converted corner D.J. Graham, or former Missouri transfer J.J. Hester?

“As we move forward and continue to get guys back, again, we’ve got some young guys in the room that are incredibly capable,” Lebby said, “but they are young guys that haven’t played a ton of ball. Their reps from a game standpoint might be 5-10, where that’s got a chance to grow as long as they get on the field and do what we think they’re gonna do. So we want to be able to roll multiple guys at those positions and be able to go play fast and guys be able to be really fresh and fast in the fourth quarter. I think that’d be a huge advantage.”

Emmett Jones has been lauded for his recruiting successes, but his first offseason and fall camp as OU’s wide receivers coach has taken the Sooners receivers to another level.

“There’s great connection in that room,” Lebby said. “For a room that has a whole bunch of talent but does not have a ton of production, this room fights like heck for each other. We’ve got teammates in that group. We’ve got guys that are accountable every single day. They’ve become dependable, and a bunch of guys that are incredibly unselfish, which to me, it’s hard to find in that room all the time. We do. We’ve got guys that root for each other, pull for each other. That understand regardless of who’s on the field, the expectation is to play really dang well. And it’s been fun to watch that group come together, as Coach Jones led ‘em.”

Sometimes who gets to play wide receiver will hinge on how the quarterback feels about his corps. In this case, Lebby said Gabriel’s rapport with the Sooner wideouts has blossomed since his first year.

“Just another year in it,” Lebby said. “All the throwing, catching through the spring. All the throwing and catching this summer and also into fall camp, these guys have spent a ton of time. And I think that’s been a huge part of why we’ve had success in fall camp, pitching and catching. There’s a ton of trust there.

“Excited about these guys getting an opportunity. Now they gotta go do it. They’ve had great summers. They had great springs. They’ve had really good fall camps from multiple (guys). So now going and making a play on Saturday morning is huge.”

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John E. Hoover
JOHN E. HOOVER

John is an award-winning journalist whose work spans five decades in Oklahoma, with multiple state, regional and national awards as a sportswriter at various newspapers. During his newspaper career, John covered the Dallas Cowboys, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Arkansas Razorbacks and much more. In 2016, John changed careers, migrating into radio and launching a YouTube channel, and has built a successful independent media company, DanCam Media. From there, John has written under the banners of Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Fan Nation and a handful of local and national magazines while hosting daily sports talk radio shows in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and statewide. John has also spoken on Capitol Hill in Oklahoma City in a successful effort to put more certified athletic trainers in Oklahoma public high schools. Among the dozens of awards he has won, John most cherishes his national "Beat Writer of the Year" from the Associated Press Sports Editors, Oklahoma's "Best Sports Column" from the Society of Professional Journalists, and Two "Excellence in Sports Medicine Reporting" Awards from the National Athletic Trainers Association. John holds a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from East Central University in Ada, OK. Born and raised in North Pole, Alaska, John played football and wrote for the school paper at Ada High School in Ada, OK. He enjoys books, movies and travel, and lives in Broken Arrow, OK, with his wife and two kids.

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