A drop-off at the wide receiver position was inevitable in 2020 for the Sooners. It has to be expected when you lose someone of the caliber of CeeDee Lamb. However, when you add the loss of two potential starters due to injury and suspension that tugs at your depth. But, Oklahoma was able to manage the storm and clearly got better as the season went on. Conversely, Oklahoma comes into 2021 in a much better position than they were a year ago. We’ll take a look holistically at the H, X, Y, and Z receiver positions. Now, we’re off on our third positional preview as we take a look at the wide receivers in our Oklahoma Sooners spring preview.
Oklahoma Sooners Spring Preview: Wide Receivers
Key Losses
Unlike the quarterback and the running back positions, Oklahoma doesn’t take a huge hit in losses here. But, the one player gone is a big name in Charleston Rambo. Rambo was asked to take the reigns to be the leading receiver in 2020, which did not end up materializing the way everyone anticipated. His numbers were down and went from 743 yards receiving in 2019 to 312 in 2020. For this and other reasons, Rambo elected to hit the transfer portal. Miami has been a popular landing place for transfers over the last couple of years and they have another deep threat to add to their arsenal.
Key Additions
Oklahoma has three additions through the recruiting cycle that has an opportunity to fight for playing time early. That is Billy Bowman, Mario Williams, and Cody Jackson. Bowman and Williams will be hard-pressed to keep off the field in some capacity. While Jackson may need to work a little harder. Additionally, you almost have to place Jadon Haselwood and Trejan Bridges in the category of a newcomer due to the lack of amount of time they had in 2020. Haselwood and Bridges would appear to be the leaders in the clubhouse right now as your X and Y starting receivers.
As we continue looking at the Oklahoma wide receivers preview, let’s look at some of the depth at each spot. Starting at the H receiver or the prototypical Tight End split out wide, this should be Austin Stogner’s position. Stogner showed great skills in his redshirt freshman season but needs to continue to be consistent in catching the ball. Brayden Willis will provide a dependable backup target. We previously touched on the X receiver, but this will be a hotly contested spot between Haselwood and Theo Wease with both playing a lot.
The Y and Z positions could be where we see some of the youth rise up. Bridges, Drake Stoops, and Mario Williams will all battle for that spot. Stoops probably has the best hands and is the purest route runner, Bridges is the most gifted athletically among the three, while Bowman is the best deep threat in the trio. The Z position is locked down with Marvin Mims holding steady there. Should Bridges lose the battle at the Y position, he could provide some depth here with Williams being a big home run threat with his breakaway speed.
The Starters
It will be important for the three Freshmen to come in and challenge early. If so, the competition will be steady heading into the Fall. Staying healthy will also be a big part of the progression of the receivers this year. If that happens, Oklahoma can get back to the overall production that they have become accustomed to over the years.
Projected Depth Chart
H
- Austin Stogner
- Brayden Willis
X
- Jadon Haselwood
- Theo Wease
- Cody Jackson
Y
- Trejan Bridges
- Billy Bowman
- Drake Stoops
Z
- Marvin Mims
- Trejan Bridges
- Mario Williams
In case you missed it
We will be previewing each and every positional unit on offense and defense over the coming weeks. If you missed anything, we will reference it here.
