Jeff Lebby raves about Oklahoma receiver Jalil Farooq, his 'huge future'

Opportunity is going to be there for young Oklahoma wide receivers this year, especially under offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby. A couple of established names will make an impact for the Sooners but with some departures via the transfer portal, a couple of fresh faces will have to emerge.

One of those will be Jalil Farooq, who is entering his sophomore season with Oklahoma. The wide receiver is somebody Lebby recently raved about, saying Farooq has a “huge future” in the program. Lebby listed out all of the quality traits Farooq has shown since the offensive coordinator arrived in Norman and had quite the lengthy list.

“I think the things what Jalil is that he’s continued to mature,” Lebby said. “Been the same guy in the building every single day. He’s got this huge future and I think he’s just now starting to figure it out. The guy loves competing, he loves to play football.

“To me, he’s showing what we’re all about as a unit, as a team. He’s worked incredibly hard, he’s been the same guy, he’s been accountable, he’s been dependable, he’s been tough. And so, those things have put him in a position to go do some fun things this fall.”

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Farooq made eight appearances last season, with a majority of the work coming on special teams duty. He did make four catches with a total of 69 yards. The Alamo Bowl against Oregon is when Farooq saw most of his production, having three receptions for 64 yards. Against Kansas, it was one catch for five yards.

As a recruit, Farooq was part of Lincoln Riley’s final full class in the 2021 cycle. The On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting services, ranked him a four-star prospect. Farooq was the No. 22 wide receiver and No. 5 in the state of Maryland.

Now, Jeff Lebby will have Farooq at his disposal, waiting to break out against Big 12 defenses. Potential has already been shown in the bowl game last year and that was before Lebby took over. The potential for Farooq is untapped, especially if his offensive coordinator is speaking this highly of him before a season opener.