Why does John Mateer love Oklahoma’s WR room? “It’s so deep”
It’s no secret that Oklahoma’s wide receiver play in 2024 was less than stellar.
And to an extent, it simply couldn’t be helped. The Sooners dealt with a litany of injuries at the position, and several reserves and true freshmen were pressed into much larger roles than anticipated.
But that nightmarish 2024 campaign is seven months in the rearview mirror, and Oklahoma has a fresh start coming in the fall of 2025. Things will look radically different on the offensive side of the ball, at least with regard to personnel. Quarterback John Mateer and running back Jaydn Ott were two of the most coveted transfers of the entire offseason in college football. Oklahoma landed both.
But there’s also a new-look receiver room, rife with portal pickups and budding young phenoms. The Sooners picked up Isaiah Sategna from Arkansas and Javonnie Gibson from Arkansas-Pine Bluff. They snagged Keontez Lewis from Southern Illinois and brought in Josiah Martin from Cal. They rounded out their transfer haul with ex-McNeese wideout Jer’Michael Carter, and also signed a pair of gifted high school recruits in Elijah Thomas and Emmanuel Choice.
Add to the equation the likes of talented incumbents such as Jacob Jordan, Ivan Carreon, Zion Kearney and a fully healthy Deion Burks, and there’s good reason to believe in Oklahoma’s stable of horses at wideout. Mateer certainly does, and he made that clear at OU’s SEC media day Wednesday.
“There’s a lot of them, and I think it’s important to note it’s so deep,” Mateer said of the receiver room. “Our room is so deep, and I trust all those guys. One-on-one matchups are going to be huge, and we’re going to continue to find out who can win consistently. We’ve got a lot of guys that can do it… It’s been a lot of fun. They’re great dudes, and we’re so like-minded. They love football, and so do I. Just going on the field, then talking after we’re off the field and what we thought, it’s been great.”
Notable newcomers
One subject of constant buzz throughout the offseason has been Thomas, a homegrown Checotah (Okla.) product. Coaches, players and staffers alike have marveled at the true freshman’s athleticism from the moment he enrolled in January.
Oklahoma hasn’t received a truly substantial contribution from a true freshman receiver since Marvin Mims in 2020. But early indications are that Thomas could be on track for plenty of snaps this fall.
“He’s doing a great job,” Mateer said of Thomas. “He’s an athletic freak, as you can see by his weight room lifts and his running times. And then on the field, he’s picking up the offense and the game real well. It’s not all the time that a freshman receiver can feel the game the way he does, but he feels the game real well.”
Meanwhile, Carter was the last portal addition of the offseason for Oklahoma, as he signed with the Sooners late in the spring window. At 6-foot-4, he’s a hefty target who gives Oklahoma another outside mismatch, particularly in the red zone. He’s made a strong impression on Mateer already, despite having joined the program mere weeks ago.
“J-Mike, man, he’s great,” said Mateer of Oklahoma’s freshest newcomer. “You can tell he loves being around the guys. He loves being here. He loves the work. It’s been fun getting to know him, and we literally live in the same neighborhood, so we’ve been around. And just watching him play football is a lot of fun.”
The Gibson factor
In the coming weeks, the Sooners should be at full health within the wide receiver room. But for the moment, one of the key offseason storylines is the recovery timetable for Javonnie Gibson (foot) and Jayden Gibson (knee). Javonnie had arguably generated more hype than any other member of the Oklahoma roster throughout spring ball, but suffered an injury on the practice field in April and underwent surgery. Meanwhile, Jayden is still working his way back to full strength after a catastrophic knee injury last August. He came close to resuming padded activities in the spring, but had to shut his rehab down after re-injuring the knee.
Both Gibsons are expected back before the midseason mark, and it appears a distinct possibility that Javonnie in particular could be ready for the season opener. And in the meantime, they’re both taking plenty of mental reps and staying close to the action.
“I think it’s important,” Mateer said of the Gibsons’ continued engagement. “You can’t do stuff with them on the field, so you do stuff with them off the field. I think that’s the same with everybody… It sucks. Javonnie got to stay at my house for a little bit right when it happened, and that was one of the best things that’s happened to me all year. I love being around him. I love being able to serve, just cook for him and help him. That really brought me a lot of joy and made that relationship real strong.
“But they’ve been around and they’re helping,” Mateer continued. “They’re out there at practice hyping everybody up and asking questions, and they’re still really involved. And I applaud them for that because it’s not easy, and both of them went through it around the same time. I’m so proud of them, and they’re progressing pretty well.”
Mateer led the FBS with 44 total touchdowns at Washington State in 2024. If he can even approach that level of production in his first season at Oklahoma, the Sooners should contend in the upper tier of the SEC. But it won’t happen without strong wideout play.
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