Oklahoma Freshmen: Getting a Jump on College Football — WR Jayden Gibson

`There should be plenty of opportunities for a big-bodied, explosive wide receiver to get ample playing time in Oklahoma's new offense.

John E. Hoover | Jan 26, 2022

Editor’s Note: Oklahoma welcomes 17 freshmen (so far) in the 2022 recruiting class. This is Part 4 of a 10-part series introducing Oklahoma’s early enrollees in the 2022 recruiting class.

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WR Jayden Gibson

6-5, 185
West Orange HS, Winter Garden, FL
247 Sports: 4-star, No. 174 overall, No. 26 WR
Rivals: 4-star, No. 49 overall, No. 7 WR
Background: Like QB Nick Evers, Gibson was previously committed to Florida. He’s a three-sport athlete (basketball and track) who caught 88 passes for 1,601 yards and 22 touchdowns over his last two seasons in high school. He chose OU over offers from Florida, Baylor, Miami, Arkansas and others.
2022 Projection: A 6-foot-5 wide receiver who’s good enough to be a priority recruit for an upper-level SEC school should project to early playing time at Oklahoma. Gibson is good. He’s explosive off the line but is still learning the nuances of route-running. He’s powerful at the football and has long arms and big hands, but he will continue to get bigger and stronger. There are certainly opportunities for early playing time in the OU receiver corps, and with this kind of frame, Gibson gives offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby a new kind of tool in the toolbox.

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Meet Oklahoma's 2022 Early Enrolees

Sunday, Jan. 23: WR Nicholas Anderson
Monday, Jan. 24: RB Jovantae Barnes
Tuesday, Jan. 25: QB Nick Evers
Wednesday, Jan. 26: WR JAYDEN GIBSON
Thursday, Jan. 27: TE Kaden Helms
Friday, Jan. 28: LB Jaren Kanak
Saturday, Jan. 29: LB Kip Lewis
Sunday, Jan. 30: TE Jason Llewellyn
Monday, Jan. 31: LB Kobie McKinzie
Tuesday, Feb. 1: DB Robert Spears-Jennings

Published Jan 26, 2022

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.