OU notepad: Keontez Lewis will return when he's 'ready'
NORMAN — It was a scary moment last Saturday when Keontez Lewis went down.
The Oklahoma receiver collided with the brick wall a few yards away from the end zone as he attempted to catch a pass from Michael Hawkins Jr. Lewis was down for several minutes before he was eventually placed on a stretcher and escorted out on a medical cart.
The initial tests were “promising” for Lewis, who was taken off site for further evaluation. In a bit of good news, Lewis seemed to avoid significant injuries and was back at the OU facility on Sunday.
“Thank goodness, right?” OU offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle said. “That was a scary situation, I think, for everyone in that stadium. It kind of made my heart stop for a little bit just because of how much I enjoy being around Keontez, how much I enjoy love Keontez and the type of kid that he is and thinking about everything that he has in his personal life, too. That was a really scary situation.”
It’s unclear if Lewis will be available this weekend against Texas. If he’s absent, the Sooners will likely rely on Javonnie Gibson, who made his OU debut against Kent State after missing the first four games.
“It was great to see him walk into the building the next day,” Arbuckle said. “He had a smile on his face. I think he has to do the proper protocols with the training staff and everything. But Keontez Lewis, what a great kid. Thank goodness that he’s all right and whenever he’s ready to play, he’ll be ready to play. I don’t know when that is.”
OU coach Brent Venables also said that there are plans to put padding on the brick wall to avoid similar situations in the future.
Venables on Monday’s indoor practice
The Sooners practiced indoors at Everest Training Center on Monday — notable, given there wasn’t inclement weather and the questions surrounding quarterback John Mateer’s availability for this Saturday.
Venables, however, said the team practiced indoors due to the heat.
“Well, it was almost 90 degrees yesterday, so the strain of a season is real,” Venables said. “And up until here recently, we’re the only team in the SEC that didn’t have an indoor with an AC, so we got AC finally a couple months ago. So, just trying to be smart about — there’s only so much tread on the tire, and practicing in 71-degree weather is a little different than 90 degrees. So, just trying to be mindful of that.”
Ben Arbuckle on Javonnie Gibson
The OU receiver made his OU debut against Kent State, catching one pass for five yards.
He didn’t fill the stat sheet, but it was a big moment for Gibson and the offense. Gibson played 23 snaps, per Pro Football Focus, and it’s a game that he can build on moving forward.
“In the recovery process, (he was) really focused, taking care of his body and understanding what he had to be able to do to get back and be able to play,” Arbuckle said. “Then within the game, it was great to be able to give him about 20 to 25 reps. Ended up being what kind of his rep count was. He was able to make a pretty tough catch on a little hitch throw. But it was good to see. It was good to see him catch the ball, make a tough contested catch, get hit and then be ready to go back in the game.
“There’s some things that show up in a game that just naturally occur from not playing ball for a long time, but it happened early. We were able to address it on the sidelines and got it fixed the next time we did the same thing. So I think that speaks to his awareness, his coachability, and it’s good. It’s good to continually work him back to what a full load of the game feels like. He’s been doing great with it.”
Venables on Texas, Steve Sarkisian
“Our guys are really looking forward to the challenge this week. Coaches and the staff, players, recognize the challenge and the opportunity both, to be able to go to Dallas and compete against a preseason No. 1 team in the country that’s lost two really tough games that’ve come down to a conversion, a couple conversions that has kept ’em from being undefeated. Had opportunities to win both games right down to the last play of each one.
“So, expect a really talented, dominant, explosive defense. An offense that, again, has all the weapons. Bot up front, in the backfield, outside. At tight end, quarterback. Really excellent football team. Coach Sark and his staff have done a fantastic job. They’ve been the model of consistency the last several years since he’s taken over, and kind of got the roots of the program in place.”
OU takes on Texas at 2:30 p.m. Saturday (ABC) in Dallas.