Which Oklahoma Sooners wide receiver will step up in Red River Rivalry against Texas Longhorns?
The injuries to Oklahoma's wide receiver room are well-known, as the Sooners are projected to be without their starting five wide receivers Deion Burks, Nic Anderson, Andrel Anthony, Jalil Farooq, and Jayden Gibson for the second game in a row. Despite that, the Sooners found a win against Auburn in a game that I'd argue […]
The injuries to Oklahoma's wide receiver room are well-known, as the Sooners are projected to be without their starting five wide receivers Deion Burks, Nic Anderson, Andrel Anthony, Jalil Farooq, and Jayden Gibson for the second game in a row.
Despite that, the Sooners found a win against Auburn in a game that I'd argue was their best-called offensive game of the season.
However, it doesn't seem likely that the Sooners will be able to beat Texas on Saturday with just 161 yards through the air, which means that Oklahoma will need one of their wide receivers to step up and win.
Who can be that receiver?
JJ Hester
The leading receiver from Oklahoma's last game, Hester is a relative unknown. His 86 yards against Auburn are the most he's had in a season since he put up 225 in 2021 while he was at Missouri.
The redshirt senior was the former number-three recruit out of the state of Oklahoma in the 2020 class. He returned to Oklahoma in 2022 as part of Brent Venables' initial class group of transfers.
Due to the aforementioned injuries, Hester has seen more action this season than prior ones. He dropped two passes on his two targets against Temple but provided a spark against Auburn, catching a 60-yard pass to set up the touchdown that made it 21-16.
That catch was the longest by any Sooner all season and was their most explosive play of the season. Hester also did some good work after the catching, forcing three missed tackles and creating two first downs.
Hester hasn't made much of an impact in his career, but he has the opportunity to produce a legacy game and cap off his Sooner career this week.
Jaquaize Pettaway
Pettaway is the Sooners' slot receiver, with 93.3% of his snaps coming out of the slot this season. He got off to a slow start, even with the injuries to their wide receiver room, but Pettaway showed good chemistry with Michael Hawkins Jr in the Sooners' game against Tennessee in Week 4.
He's a big play threat with his track speed, but the ball didn't find his way often against Auburn with just two targets. Pettaway dropped one pass and ended the game with just one catch for two yards.
SEC analyst details Oklahoma’s gameplan to pull off an upset win in Red River Rivalry game against Texas
There's not a lot of public optimism about the Oklahoma Sooners and their chances to beat the Texas Longhorns this week. However, it's a deep rivalry game, and there is a pathway for the Sooners to win this game. SEC Network analyst Cole Cubelic joined On3's Andy Staples and Ari Wasserman to break down how […]
Texas has given up some plays against slot receivers this season, giving up 25 receptions for 192 yards and one touchdown. Slot receivers have picked up 12 first downs on the Longhorns so far, and the Longhorns haven't played any who are quite as dynamic as Pettaway is.
If he and Hawkins can reconnect like they did against Tennessee, Pettaway could be the secret key to keeping the Sooners' offense on the field and moving the chains.
Brenen Thompson
Brenen Thompson has essentially assumed the X role for the Sooners' offense and each week he's gotten more comfortable. This isn't the ideal role for him, naturally, but the injuries have forced Oklahoma's hand here.
Thompson drew the ire of some Oklahoma fans for an early drop against Houston, but he hasn't dropped a pass since. He's emerged as the Sooners' deep threat, with ADoTs of 18.3, 14.6, and 18.3 in his last three games.
The encouraging part of Thompson's film is that he's generating plenty of separation. His track speed lets him get by defenders with relative ease. If a corner misses a step or his hands in press coverage, Thompson can blow right by him. There were plenty of plays on film against Auburn of Thompson beating his man but Hawkins missed it, either scrambling or finding a different player.
With another two weeks of these plays on film and time to gain rapport with each other over the bye week, those misses could potentially turn into big plays moving forward. This week would be a good week to find those, as Texas can give up big plays through the air with their soft coverage.
The Field
The Sooners do boast other talented players. Zion Ragins has seen some playing time this year with the injuries but didn't get targeted against Auburn. The former four-star freshman has made some tough catches but hasn't made a huge impact statistically.
Oklahoma has some other talented players they can call on as well. Freshman Zion Kearney has the size the Sooners might want outside this week, but hasn't played much outside of 45 snaps against Tulane. This also applies to freshman Ivan Carreon, who stands at a whopping 6'6 223 already.
Don't forget the Sooners also converted talented athlete Jacobe Johnson from cornerback to wide receiver recently as well. Johnson was productive at wide receiver in high school and has reportedly impressed coaches in practice, but his role remains to be seen.
