Why Brent Venables Believes Oklahoma's Wide Receiver Signees are Ready for the SEC

Brent Venables beamed as he declared the Sooners signed "two of the best athletes in the country" in Elijah Thomas and Emmanuel Choice.

Elijah Thomas /

NORMAN — Oklahoma only signed two wide receivers despite having five wideouts verbally committed this time last week, but the Sooners still brought in plenty of quality. 

Brent Venables and wide receivers coach Emmett Jones brought in one of Oklahoma’s most talented players in Checotah pass catcher Elijah Thomas, as well as a physical, big bodied receiver in Lancaster, TX, product Emmanuel Choice. 

“(We) got two of the best athletes in the country,” Venables said. 

As a senior, Thomas caught 72 passes for 1,803 yards and 26 scores while adding 10 more touchdowns and 406 yards on 63 carries on the ground, cementing his status as one of the most gifted athletes in the Sooner State. 

“Elijah can do a lot,” Venables said during his Signing Day press conference on Wednesday. “He can play on either side of the ball. He sends Coach (Brandon) Hall and I, we’ve got a little three man group text, he sends us his weekly defensive highlights as a safety. As a tackling, intercepting — and he’s just one of the most low maintenance players that I’ve ever been part of recruiting.”

The 6-0, 185-pound receiver didn’t wait long to make his intentions know throughout the recruiting process, and he never wavered from his pledge to the Sooners. 

“He was our first commitment in July of 2023 and everybody in the country, when they found out about Elijah, came after him,” Venables said. “And he had no interest whatsoever. He’s truly Sooner born and Sooner bred.”

As twitchy as Thomas is, Choice has a chance to be a massive target to hurt SEC defenses. 

At 6-4 and 195 pounds, he’s a mismatch for most defensive backs. 

But it’s his explosiveness that is really lethal, said Venables. 

“One of the most freakish, longest receivers in the country. He plays like a slot (receiver) with length,” Venables said. “Sometimes they’re long striders and it doesn’t look like they’re going as fast because it they take longer strides and he actually plays like a slot with his length. He’s tough. 

“He’s super explosive. He’s great catch and a runner. What he can do after the catch is pretty special and he has a tremendous, tremendous catch radius.”

Last year, Choice caught 57 passes for 869 yards and nine scores. 

And just like Thomas, Choice knew early where he wanted to continue his football career. 

“Wonderful family,” Venables said. “Same thing, they’ve known for a long time they wanted to be Sooners and really thankful for them as well.”

Oklahoma’s receiver room will get a face lift this offseason as the Sooners are likely to take a handful of players out of the portal under new offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle. 

Injuries hamstrung Jones’ unit in 2024, and while he signed plenty of young pass catchers a year ago, they struggled to make an impact against the physical secondaries in the SEC. 

The size of both Thomas and Choice should help OU’s 2025 receiver duo get acclimated quickly in Norman, but Venables is most excited about their potential to do damage after the catch. 

“Big guys that can move that, at times, can play like a small guy. I think that's really important,” Venables said. “I’ve seen plenty of guys that are maybe smaller in dimension but they play big.

“… But it's important that we get size with speed and athletic ability, guys that can make plays and not just big, not just small, not just fast, but guys that can make competitive, tough plays and that's what these two guys have shown in high school and think that they'll probably bring that as well coming to Oklahoma.”