A strength of the Sooners in 2023 was their wide receiver core, which returns almost all of its major players in 2024.
klahoma’s pass catchers made life easy for Dillon Gabriel in 2023. The Sooners had one of the deepest wide receiver rooms in the country and, oddly enough, it was one of the biggest question marks heading into the season. Both Nic Anderson and Jayden Gibson were highly recruited but relatively unproven, and Andrel Anthony was a Michigan transfer who hadn’t played much. Jalil Farooq had shown flashes but had certainly never had the volume of a WR1. It was also Emmett Jones’ first year as Oklahoma’s wide receivers coach.
Oklahoma’s receivers ranked first in the Big 12 at 321.8 yards per game. The Sooners had five different receivers record over 300 yards on the season and seven different receivers hauled in touchdowns.
Drake Stoops stepped up in a big way, surprising everyone by taking over the No. 1 spot of the unit. He hauled in 84 catches for 962 yards and 10 touchdowns, likely playing his way into a job at the next level. Stoops was the perfect leader for this group and helped the young guys grow tremendously.
The injury to Anthony’s ACL against Texas, who appeared to be a rising star in Jeff Lebby’s offense, was a major setback to Oklahoma’s potential as a deep threat. He missed the entire second half of the season, but while healthy, he still gained 429 yards and averaged 71.5 yards per game.
Pro Football Focus rated Stoops and Anthony as Oklahoma’s top two receivers in qualifying snaps, scoring 81.5 and 78.6 offensively.
One of the main narratives of Oklahoma’s season was Anderson. In addition to setting an OU freshman record with 10 touchdowns, the redshirt freshman hauled in 38 passes for 798 yards. In addition, he made the largest catch of the year to help Red River defeat Texas. Anderson led the FBS in yards per reception (25.7), according to PFF.
It was a deep room, and all six receivers from Oklahoma (despite a few having limited snap counts) graded above 70 on PFF at some point during the season. Anderson’s fellow redshirt freshman, Gibson, had some timely catches and was excellent in traffic, finishing with 375 yards and five touchdo
Farooq behind Stoops and Anderson in the receiving department this season, despite expectations that he would ascend to the #1 slot. Still, with 788 snaps, he played more than any other wide receiver for Oklahoma. His true value came from his run blocking, as he was rated as the second-best blocker among receivers, only inferior to Anthony.
Lastly, Oklahoma’s speedster, Brenen Thompson, showed promise when healthy, totaling 158 yards and a touchdown in the regular season and 83 yards and a touchdown in the Alamo Bowl, forming an immediate rapport with freshman quarterback Jackson Arnold. All things considered, the wideouts made a strong case for best position on the roster throughout the season, helping Gabriel throw for 3,660 yards and 30 touchdowns, and the Sooners enjoyed significant success on the offensive side of the ball. What’s exciting is that every player save Stoops is expected to return for 2024, and Oklahoma added perhaps the most dynamic pass catcher in the
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