The Oklahoma football program is looking for their first dominant year under third-year head coach Brent Venables, but the 2024 season may not be the year that the Sooners return to the glory days of Bob Stoops, Barry Switzer and Bud Wilkinson. Not only is Oklahoma entering their first season in the SEC — and boy oh boy, they have a capital-B Brutal schedule to contend with — but the Sooners are already being bit by the injury bug and the season hasn't even begun.
“We got one player that won’t be back, and we know that is Jayden Gibson,” Brent Venables told a group of reporters on Tuesday afternoon, according to John E. Hoover of SI.com. “You hate that for anybody, the season comes to an end prematurely. But that’s a group that we feel really good about who’s in that group.”
Brent Venables may be confident in this promising group of pass-catchers who will be looking to make life easy for first-year starting quarterback Jackson Arnold, but losing someone with the size and potential of Jayden Gibson to a season-ending knee injury will be a blow for the Sooners offense. In limited playing time last season, the 6'5″ Gibson was an electric presence, averaging a staggering 26.8 yards per reception and taking 6 of his 14 catches to the house.
“Jayden Gibson was going to have a big season,” Oklahoma wide receiver JJ Hester said this week (h/t Gracie Rawlings of OU Daily). “Just to see somebody go down like that with such high character is a travesty.”
Jackson Arnold, Oklahoma Sooners still have plenty of talent to work with
Jayden Gibson will redshirt this season and hope to come back better than ever in 2025. Until then, the Oklahoma Sooners wide receivers room will be led by a trio of returnees — Jalil Farooq, Nic Anderson and Andrew Anthony — who combined for 110 catches for 1,919 yards and 13 touchdowns. The Sooners also welcome in talented Purdue transfer Deion Burks, who led the Boilermakers last season with 47 receptions, 629 yards and 7 touchdowns.
But just as big of a question mark as the receivers is the quarterback. Jackson Arnold comes in with a lot of fanfare but limited experience. In just one start last season, Oklahoma's 38-24 loss in the Alamo Bowl to Arizona, Arnold went 26-for-45 for 361 yards, 2 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. A full offseason getting reps with the one's, and not having to sit behind Dillon Gabriel, puts Arnold in a much better position now to lead the Sooners than he was back in December.
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