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Newcomer Profile: Freshman WR Ivan Carreon Looking to Build 'Connection' in Norman
Coming to Norman from Odessa, TX, Sooners' early enrollee Ivan Carreon is learning from OU's veteran wide receivers during his first semester on campus.
After originally committing to Texas Tech, former 4-star wide receiver Ivan Carreon flipped his pledge to Oklahoma ahead of the 2023 football season.
Carreon's decision came just a few months after Emmett Jones left the Red Raiders to take over as the Sooners' wide receivers coach. Carreon, who had committed to Jones when the position coach was still in Lubbock, attended a camp in Norman over the summer and picked up an offer from Jones' new school.
A few weeks later, the Odessa (TX) standout backed off of his committment to TTU and announced his pledge to OU, joining the Sooners' 2024 recruiting class.
"Mainly the coaches. I like coach Jones a lot. Coach (Brent) Venables, he seems like a very down-to-earth guy, like honest, so I like that about him," Carreon said when asked in late August about what motivated his decision.
"Coach Venables, the way he is, talking to him. Knowing coach Jones since he was at Tech, just all the coaches (at OU), they're all really good."
Now, Carreon has been in Norman since January, eager to learn and build connections with his new teammates in spring practice. The Lone Star State product is roommates with fellow early enrollee wide receiver Zion Kearney.
WATCH: WR Ivan Carreon Interview
Kearney and Carreon are joined by Southlake Carroll alum Jacob Jordan as the three January arrivals in Jones' position group. Since moving to Norman, Carreon said he has become good friends with both Kearney and Jordan.
“If we ever have questions about anything, we can always just talk about it. We’re always hanging around in the living room or in the kitchen, just building that connection,” Carreon said of his roommate.
“Jacob Jordan, I’ve been building (a relationship) with him. We’ve been playing golf together, just in the players lounge. Just hanging around, talking whenever I see him.”
Listed at 6-foot-6 and 219 pounds, the former Bronchos' standout is a similar mold to other OU wide receivers like JJ Hester, who is listed at 6-foot-4 and 201 pounds, and Jayden Gibson, who is 6-foot-5 and 200 pounds.
Like both Gibson and Hester, Carreon also has good speed and length to go with his height. At Odessa High School, the now-true freshman competed in the 110 and 300-meter hurdles, finishing sixth in the state of Texas as a junior in the latter.
In addition to having a massive catch radius, Carreon's speed makes him dangerous with the ball in run-after-catch situations.
With a similar playing style to Gibson, Carreon pointed to the junior wideout as one of the veterans who has taken the true freshman under his wing. After tallying 375 receiving yards and five touchdowns while averaging over 26 yards per catch in his second year with the program, Gibson is a good player for Carreon to learn from.
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“The whole (receiver) room in general has just been there for all the young guys, to coach us up on everything, but I feel like Nic (Anderson) and Jayden Gibson have all been there for me personally," Carreon said in March. "I’m always in their line, so they’re always there coaching me up and telling me what I’m doing wrong.”
In addition to learning from talented veterans like Anderson and Gibson, Carreon also said that Jones has helped him get acclimated to college football since arriving on campus. Rated the No. 206 overall prospect in the 2024 recruiting class, Carreon has the potential to develop into a big-time playmaker under Jones' tutelage.
In his first year with the Sooners, many of the players in Jones' position group had impressive seasons. Not only did Drake Stoops have the best season of his career, tallying 962 yards and 10 touchdowns through the air, but Anderson also had a monster season as a redshirt freshman, recording 798 yards and 10 touchdown catches of his own while averaging 21 yards per reception. Additionally, Michigan transfer Andrel Anthony was on the brink of a breakout season before a season-ending knee injury sidelined the speedster for the remainder of the season.
“It’s been good, (Jones) coaching me, pushing us through all the drills, him teaching me a bunch of new stuff,” Carreon said. “It’s been pretty good to get closer to him and to everybody here.”
Playing with well-established offensive weapons like Anthony, Anderson, Sharp and Purdue transfer Deion Burks, Carreon will have to fight for playing time early in his career at OU. Still, being able to learn from the talented receiver corps and Jones should pay dividends later in his career.
With his height, speed and catch radius, Carreon has the potential to be a true playmaker in the Sooners' offense if he is able to develop under Jones over the next few seasons.
