Oklahoma Position Preview: Wide Receiver
In most cases, one team losing four highly touted wide receivers in one offseason would be cause for panic.
But, the 2022 Oklahoma Sooners aren’t like most cases.
Despite second-leading receiver Mike Woods heading off to the NFL and former 5-stars Mario Williams and Jadon Haselwood along with former 4-star Cody Jackson all transfer out of Norman since the end of last season, there isn’t much concern for OU in the depth of their receiving room.
The Sooners, even with all of the losses, still return loads of talent to their receiving corps and have made several additions to the position for new quarterback Dillon Gabriel to work with.
2022 Oklahoma Position Previews
- Tuesday: Running Back
- Wednesday: Linebacker
- Thursday: Offensive line
- Friday: Defensive line
- Saturday: Wide receiver
- Sunday: Cornerback
- Monday: Tight end
- Tuesday: Safety/Nickel
- Wednesday: Quarterback
No. 1 receiver Marvin Mims is back once again after there was some mild concern he may look to transfer elsewhere. Instead, he opted to return to Norman to play with Gabriel and under new offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby.
Mims caught 32 passes for 705 yards and five touchdowns last year in a season where most would consider him underutilized. If given the targets he should garner with his talent, a big year likely lies ahead for the Texas native.
Also back is former 5-star Theo Wease, who looks to make a huge impact after missing all but one play of the 2021 season due to injury.
When he’s on the field, Wease is dynamic and productive. In 11 games in 2020, he caught 37 passes for 530 yards and four touchdowns as a true sophomore.
Pairing with Mims, Wease looks to create an explosive duo that could wreak havoc on Big 12 secondaries in 2022.
The Sooners also return the production of Drake Stoops and Jalil Farooq, with both expecting to see an uptick in usage this season.
Stoops has proven a reliability that quarterbacks and coaches dream of with Farooq’s upside being arguably as high as any receiver on the team.
Not to be overlooked are budding returning talents Brian Darby and Trevon West, who have both shown an ability, when given the opportunity, to be playmakers.
With the receiver room having immense depth, it may be hard for Darby and West to carve out a lot of snaps in 2022. But the Sooners should have confidence they can get the job done as both have made things happen before.
But, despite having all this returning talent, wide receivers coach Cale Gundy and Oklahoma were not done making the unit one of the deepest on the team.
The Sooners once again raided the transfer portal for key additions, with Missouri transfer Javian Hester and Arizona State transfer LV Bunkley-Shelton.
At 6-foot-3 and 202 pounds, Hester looks like a classic Lebby wide receiver with his lengthy frame and athleticism.
While not having quite the same size as Hester, Bunkley-Shelton’s capabilities will certainly be useful as well as he brings definite production with him to Norman.
As a redshirt freshman with the Sun Devils in 2021, Bunkley-Shelton caught 33 passes for 418 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
LV Bunkley-Shelton
Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports
Rounding out the new crop of wideouts is a dynamic duo of freshmen who look poised to become stars sooner rather than later.
The 4-stars recruits, 6-5 Jayden Gibson and 6-2 Nic Anderson both have the size and natural ability you just can’t teach.
While they won't necessarily be needed to be a big part of the offense in 2022, it wouldn’t surprise anyone if they worked themselves into the fold.
All in all, the wide receiver room looks to be an area of great strength for the Sooners despite losing three of their top four yardage leaders from a year ago in Woods (400), Haselwood (399) and Williams (380) and a budding star in Jackson.
With the return of Mims and a healthy Wease to lead the charge, Oklahoma looks to have a group that could cause nightmares for opposing defenses.
In Lebby’s high-tempo offense, the ability to go deep into the bench to keep guys fresh will be highly useful as they hope to run several plays continuously without subbing and allowing the defense a chance to breathe.
If all goes according to plan in 2022, Oklahoma should be all set in its receiving corps as Gabriel, Lebby and the new-look OU offense hope to make waves across the Big 12 and college football.
