Jadon Haselwood, Motivated by 'OU Fans,' Should Draw New Inspiration from Fresh Start

Circumstances at Oklahoma never allowed the former 5-star recruit to reach his potential, and after transferring to Arkansas he recently expressed his frustrations.

COMMENTARY

Whether it’s real or imagined, former Oklahoma receiver Jadon Haselwood felt he needed a new start.

Earlier this week, Haselwood called out “OU fans” on social media because he’d felt slighted.

Never understood how the OU fans call me soft when I literally joined the hardest conference in football 🤣🤣 and the toughest side tbh #SEC sorry not sorry

— Not Jadon 👾 (@jadon_haselwood) February 22, 2022

No doubts there, a quick scroll through Haselwood’s Twitter mentions reveals the usual assortment of self-styled fans who are long on opinion and snark but short on substance and fact. OU is just one of a million or so fan bases with that kind of fans. They’re everywhere.

If the former 5-star high school prospect from Ellenwood, GA, gets motivated by what he thinks are slights from social media trolls within the fan base for whom he used to play, that’s fine. Nothing new or original there. Michael Jordan, you’ll recall, made a cottage industry of being motivated by the meaningless actions of others. Each athlete must find what motivates him.

But it’s also apparent — again, a quick scroll through the timeline reveals all — that the overwhelming sentiment from Sooner Nation toward Haselwood has been positive and even supportive since he entered the transfer portal and announced his transfer to Arkansas.

If OU fans are still agitated by Haselwood’s social media habits, they needn’t be. He was one of those can’t-miss prospects who, for a variety of profound reasons, just never quite hit.

Over the course of his career, Haselwood played with three different starting quarterbacks. The first of those was Jalen Hurts, whose many strengths didn’t include patience in the pocket. The second was Spencer Rattler, a 5-star who fought his own battles with inconsistency — to the point where he was benched not once but twice. And the third was Caleb Williams, another 5-star who, for all his prodigious gifts, frequently played like a true freshman.

Haselwood’s freshman season, he was a bit player behind CeeDee Lamb. Haselwood’s sophomore year was ruined by a knee injury in the spring and, of course, the scourge of COVID. His junior year was disrupted by a midseason change in quarterbacks and a head coach/offensive coordinator who had all but checked out by October.

Haselwood was like a finely tuned race car that was first sent out on a dirt track, then busted a wheel, and was was ultimately driven by the wrong driver. None of the challenges he faced were placed there by him.

Statistically, Haselwood’s three seasons in Norman amounted to 62 catches, 736 yards and seven touchdowns in 25 games. He’ll always have the big moments — three touchdowns last year against TCU, that outrageous grab against Iowa State in the 2020 Big 12 title game, his first career TD against South Dakota in 2019, even the ridiculous one-handed grab in last year’s spring game — and those will push him at Arkansas.

He'll also be remembered by OU fans as a fearsome and relentless blocker. That's the opposite of soft.

Haselwood now will play with his fourth quarterback, his second school, another head coach, a different offensive coordinator, in a new stadium with new teammates in a conference, as he pointed out, that’s harder than ever.

He might not catch 80 passes or pile up 1,000 yards or score 12 touchdowns in 2022. But at least this time, whatever Haselwood gets in Fayetteville — real or imagined — will be of his own making.