Brent Venables Expects Oklahoma to be Healthier at WR 'In a Few Weeks'

The Sooners could get receivers Deion Burks, Jalil Farooq and Andrel Anthony back soon, according to Brent Venables.

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

For once this season, the Sooners seem to be getting healthier rather than suffering more injuries. 

Oklahoma coach Brent Venables on Monday during his coach’s show said that he expects OU to start getting some receivers back in action soon; however, it might not be in time for the Red River Showdown against top-ranked Texas at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas.

Venables specifically mentioned Deion Burks, Jalil Farooq and Andrel Anthony. 

“I feel good, for sure, from a receiver standpoint, we'll have some guys back in a few weeks,” Venables said. “Jalil and Burks, you know, we'll see where Burks is here in the next couple of days.”

Burks seems to be the only receiver the Sooners could get back for their matchup against the Longhorns, but he also might be the biggest addition. He missed OU’s last game against Auburn after getting injured in the loss to Tennessee. 

Even after sitting out a game, Burks is still the Sooners’ leading receiver this season. He has 26 receptions for 201 yards and three touchdowns in four games. He hasn’t caught a TD since catching all three in Week 1 against Temple, though. 

Burks transferred from Purdue this past offseason. He led the Boilermakers with 47 receptions, 629 receiving yards and seven touchdowns. 

Farooq has been sidelined since breaking his foot in OU’s season opener. Venables announced after that game Farooq would miss 6-8 weeks. It will be exactly six weeks from then on Friday. Venables also noted that Farooq will be out of a boot in “a couple of days” and can start getting back into shape after that. 

Last season, Farooq caught 45 passes for 694 yards and a pair of TDs while starting all 133 games for the Sooners. 

Anthony also hasn’t caught a pass since that season-opener against Temple in late August, but also like Farooq, could return soon. After transferring from Michigan, Farooq suffered a season-ending injury last season during his first year in Norman. 

“We'll get a couple of those guys back pending there’s no setbacks along the way,” Venables said. “And that's great, you know? And they're excited. It's good to have those guys back around. Andrel had another little clean-up surgery. He feels really, really good. He had that sometime here recently, and he feels really good, but so we'll see where that is here in the few weeks, as well. 

“We’ve had some other guys that have been banged up. They’ve just kind of been fighting through it, so that helped these guys get your normal bumps and bruises – that's going to happen. But hard to believe that here, in just a few days, we'll be halfway through the regular season just like that. But it’s exciting.”

All these receiver injuries came as sophomore Jackson Arnold struggled at quarterback, ultimately leading freshman Michael Hawkins Jr. to make his first career start against Auburn in OU’s last outing. Hawkins is also expected to start against Texas on Saturday. 

Even of the three updates Venables gave, he didn’t mention Nic Anderson, who put together one of the best seasons ever by an OU freshman receiver last year. Anderson finally made his season debut against Tennessee in Week 4, but was then immediately injured again and hasn’t been on the field since. 

The Sooners also lost wideout Jayden Gibson for the season because of a knee injury suffered during fall camp.