Hype continues to build around key offensive transfer portal addition for Oklahoma Sooners

Much was made about the state of the Oklahoma Sooners' wide receiver corps after a dismal 2024 season, with multiple injuries and poor play. The Sooners saw a mass exodus out of the room in the offseason and brought in a slew of transfers to help replenish it.  One of those additions was wide receiver […]

AJ Schulte College Football Trending News Writer
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Jackson State Tigers' defensive back KJ Chisholm (17) misses Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions' wide receiver Javonnie Gibson (11) during the game in Jackson, Miss., on Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024.
Lauren Witte/Clarion Ledger / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Much was made about the state of the Oklahoma Sooners' wide receiver corps after a dismal 2024 season, with multiple injuries and poor play. The Sooners saw a mass exodus out of the room in the offseason and brought in a slew of transfers to help replenish it. 

One of those additions was wide receiver Javonnie Gibson out of Arkansas Pine-Bluff, one of the first additions Oklahoma landed out of the transfer portal. All spring long, the buzz has built all around Gibson and doesn't show any signs of slowing down.

I thought Gibson had the talent to be a key player for the Sooners this season, but by all accounts, he has firmly taken the reigns to be a starter for Oklahoma in 2025 as one of their leading wide receivers.

Obviously, Deion Burks is the unquestioned leader of the room and is a first-round caliber talent to keep in mind for the 2026 NFL Draft. However, his role is primarily in the slot, leaving the outside positions wide open for opportunities. Something that Gibson has apparently seized. 

The Sooners need a vertical outside threat to emerge to help threaten defenses and open up the offense for Deion Burks to work. Last year, Oklahoma was one of the least-explosive passing offenses in college football, and defenses did not respect their vertical passing game in the slightest bit, allowing them to tee off on the run game and play Deion Burks close, limiting his impact. 

However, new offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle led the most explosive offense in college football last season, with a 99th percentile explosive pass rate and 98th percentile explosive play rate. Arbuckle brought quarterback John Mateer with him, who has already developed a rapport with Javonnie Gibson. 

If Gibson can step up and be an outside threat similar to what the Sooners have had in similar molds like CeeDee Lamb, Marvin Mims, and Nic Anderson recently, that would vastly open up what the Sooners can do offensively.