Emmett Jones 'can't wait' for Javonnie Gibson to return from injury
NORMAN — Oklahoma receivers coach Emmett Jones had a tall task last winter.
After dealing with an injury-plagued 2024 campaign for his wide receiver corps, six of those players left via the transfer portal. That included big names like Nic Anderson, Andrel Anthony, Jalil Farooq and Jaquaize Pettaway — forcing Jones and the Sooners to retool the receiver room via the portal.
Jones was able to land a stable of guys, including Isaiah Sategna (Arkansas), Jer’Michael Carter (McNeese State), Josiah Martin (California) and Keontez Lewis (Southern Illinois). But the most-coveted player on the board was Javonnie Gibson from Arkansas Pine-Bluff.
Gibson was emerging as the Sooners’ top wideout during the spring before he suffered a broken leg in April.
“Tough, man,” Jones said of Gibson’s injury. “He was the top guy I had on my board. Anybody in this program will tell you that. He was the top guy I had on the board because I knew what we needed. I knew where he was from. I knew who coached him. I knew which system he ran. I knew what (OU offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle’s) going to do here, and I thought it would be an easy transition.
“Overall, it was just his natural toughness — the upbringing with mom and dad down in the Opelousas area, just a perfect fit. Like I said, if you think about (the SEC) and think about everybody we play in this conference, the schedule we have when it comes to selecting them and guys that are far from divas, and blue-collar guys that are going to battle for you and play the position.”
The injury has kept Gibson from being a full participant in fall camp, but there remains optimism that he can return early in the season. He’s been on the field and dressed out — without pads — for most of practices. When healthy, the expectation is for Gibson to be a starter and a difference-maker for OU’s offense.
“Myself, Venables, Arbuckle, the sports medicine department, the sports science department, we’re like one big team when it comes to Javonnie,” Jones said. “… Me, personally, I look at him like he’s not injured. He’s still required to do everything that all the rest of the guys have to do. He still gets questions in the room. We still call him out in the room. He still has to present. He’s still right there with us in the huddle.
“He’s helping the younger guys that are out there on the field at the same time, too, and we’re putting him in situations to make sure he’s staying up to speed. That’s one dude, man, that’s just a natural specimen. I can’t wait until he comes back with the rest of the guys that we have. All of them have different types of skillsets and bring different type of DNA to the room and to the program.”
Jayden Gibson’s status remains unclear
The return date for Javonnie’s teammate, Jayden Gibson, remains uncertain. Jayden Gibson suffered a season-ending injury last fall and has yet to return to a full practice.
While Javonnie Gibson seems on track to return soon — maybe as soon as non-conference play — there’s no such timetable for Jayden Gibson, who caught 14 passes for 375 yards and five touchdowns in 2023.
“He’s getting more engaged by the week,” Jones said. “More engaged by the week. Just like Javonnie, he gets called out too. But it’s a beautiful thing to see him run up and down that field and fully dressed in that uniform. I’ll look to my left sometimes, and I’ll see (numbers) 11 and 1 running together, and I just think about everybody — all we got to do is get ourselves in position for when those guys come back and finish this thing the right way so we can position ourselves to play down in Atlanta (for the SEC championship game) when it’s time to.”
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