Andrel Anthony will undergo season-ending surgery, Brent Venables says

Oklahoma wide receiver Andrel Anthony will have season-ending surgery, per Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables.

Anthony, a junior transfer out of Michigan, has been a key piece of the Sooners’ offense this year. Through five games, he leads the Sooners’ receiving room with 429 receiving yards coming in to go with a touchdown reception.

The injury occured after Anthony hit the turf after a Dillon Gabriel scrambled and was subsequently helped toward the locker room. Prior to his departure, Andrel Anthony had five receptions for 42 yards to help Oklahoma get out to a 27-20 lead over Texas in the third quarter.

Despite losing him early, Oklahoma eventually won the 2023 Red River Rivalry 34-30 in what turned out to be a thrilling finish. Gabriel combined 398 total yards of Oklahoma’s offense on Saturday and was the team’s leading rusher on the afternoon. He went 4 of 4 passing for 56 yards and threw the game-winning touchdown to Nic Anderson with 15 seconds to go.

Venables also gave an injury update for the rest of his roster, labeling offensive lineman McKade Mettauer as being back, “sooner rather than later,” while saying S Gentry Williams and OL Troy Everett will be good to go for Week 7.

While the loss of Anthony is a huge blow for the OU offense, junior wideout Jalil Farooq tails right behind him in receiving yards with 415 on 20 receptions to go with two touchdowns on the season. He stepped up in a major way against Texas, as it took him just five receptions to amass 130 yards. Despite being the team’s leading receive on the day, he failed to find the end zone against the Longhorns.

Venables is happy to know he has players to rely on when their number is called, and it all starts with the culture in the Sooners’ locker room.

“This is a team that’s close. There’s a lot of trust and respect. That’s genuine,” Venables said postgame. “I think we have a very selfless football team. They have a blue-collar mindset, and that’s showing up every day with the same attitude and to be an example of consistency. That’s what the great programs are, and we’re striving to be that as we build it one day at a time.”

As the Sooners look to move on with life wihtout Anthony, they’ll have an entire extra week of game preparation before they take on new Big-12 foe UCF at home for their Week 8 matchup.