Oklahoma 2024 Report Cards: Battered and Bruised, the Wide Receivers Failed to Make an Impact

Injuries decimated Oklahoma's wide receivers in 2024, forcing an inexperienced unit to learn on the fly.

Oklahoma wide receiver Zion Kearney / BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Last summer, Oklahoam’s wide receivers looked like one of the deepest units on the team on paper. 

Nic Anderson was set to build on a sensational 2023 season, Andrel Anthony was working back from an ACL injury, Jayden Gibson seemed primed to take a step forward, Jalil Farooq brought plenty of experience and Emmett Jones added Purdue transfer Deion Burks to take the top off of opposing defenses. 

Unfortunately, the season didn’t play out on paper. 

Gibson went down with a season-ending injury during fall camp, which foreshadowed how the rest of the year would go. 

Anderson, Anthony, and Farooq combined to play just 35 of the 1,477 receiving snaps (2.4 percent) for the group this season, per Pro Football Focus. 

Burks, who the Sooners forced the football to plenty over the first three weeks, missed most of the season after sustaining an injury against Tennessee and another against Missouri. 

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Read More Oklahoma 2024 Report Cards

• Dec. 30: Special teams
• Dec. 31: Defensive tackle
• Jan. 1: Running back
• Jan. 2: Offensive line
• Jan. 3: Defensive end
• Jan. 4: Linebacker
• Jan. 5: Tight end
• Jan. 6: Cornerback
• Jan. 7: Wide receiver
• Jan. 8: Safety
• Jan. 9: Quarterback
• Jan. 10: Coaches

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The injuries ravaged the group, thrusting true freshmen Zion Ragins, Zion Kearney, Jacob Jordan and Ivan Carreon into roles they didn’t expect to play this year, and making veterans Brenen Thompson and J.J. Hester the focal points of the group. 

And while the reasons behind OU’s receiver struggles are known, the pieces that played all year struggled to make a major impact. 

Tight end Bauer Sharp led the team in both yards (324) and receptions (42), but Hester finished second on the team with 315 yards. 

Burks still finished second in receptions (31) and third in yards (245) despite missing so much time, which summed up the hardships that were on full display for the offense. 

Regardless of whether Jackson Arnold or Michael Hawkins Jr. was throwing the football, OU’s passing game was often stuck in the mud.

The offensive line added to the difficulties, but outside of Hester’s deep shot against Auburn and a nice moment against Maine, defenses weren’t too bothered by the downfield passing game. 

Jordan’s emergence against South Carolina was a nice surprise, but it just underlined the issues OU’s other young receivers had, such as getting open. 

Jordan finished with 234 yards, more than Kearney’s 128 yards and Ragins’ 68 despite the two Zions getting plenty of chances throughout the entire season.

Early in the Armed Forces Bowl, Kearney appeared to turn a corner. 

He worked on a scramble drill to link up with Hawkins for a 56-yard touchdown, but he dropped a pair of balls later in the game, as did Ragins, which prevented Hawkins from getting into a real rhythm against Navy. 

Even with the snaps that were freed up due to the injuries, a young veteran like Jaquaize Pettaway failed to make any kind of impact either, catching just five balls for 87 yards. 

The room will look entirely different in 2025, which isn’t the worst thing in the world after the 2024 receiving corps never was able to get on the field to produce for Brent Venables’ team. 

Sooners on SI Grade: D