NORMAN - Isaiah Sategna III had a decision to make when the 2025 season ended, and the Oklahoma receiver didn’t rush it.
He had already done enough to put the NFL in play, but he also knew the Sooners had a strong reason for him to stay. In the end, Sategna chose one more year in Norman.
“A lot went into that decision,” Sategna said last week as the Sooners opened training camp. “First, I had to pray to God and ask what He wanted out of me.
He kept telling me loyalty and to stay where I'm at. I have more to give and I felt like OU was the right place to be.”
That return matters. Sategna enters camp as Oklahoma’s top receiver, the SEC’s leading returning receiver and a preseason second-team All-SEC selection. The Sooners made bringing him back a priority, and they got it done.
Last season, the 5-foot-10 receiver was the centerpiece of the offense and one of the team’s most dependable players. He started all 13 games, handled kickoff and punt returns, and finished with team highs in catches, receiving yards and touchdown receptions - 67 receptions for 965 yards and eight scores.
Now the challenge is bigger than production alone. Sategna is trying to grow into a louder kind of leader.
He’s never been the most outspoken guy in the room. His style used to be simple: perform, prepare, repeat. This year, he’s pushing himself to say more, to guide more, to be heard as well as seen.
“Naturally, I'm a leader that likes to go out there and play and let everybody see what I can do,” Sategna said. “Now, I'm more of a vocal leader this year. There have been some growing pains with that but I feel like I've been a lot better with that this year.”
That shift has not gone unnoticed inside the program. Quarterback John Mateer said the receivers have responded to Sategna’s presence and voice.
“We've all challenged him and he has come up really well as a leader,” Mateer said. “We've seen it. And I've been in that position before and it's weird, but he and the receivers are out there all the time catching, and obviously it makes my heart full to see them working.
“Isaiah Sategna is really picking up the whole room.”
OU receivers coach Emmett Jones pointed to the details that make Sategna valuable beyond the stat sheet. He’s talking to younger players, reinforcing habits, and making sure the room stays locked in on the work that happens away from the field.
“He's been a huge influence,” Jones said. “He’s always reminding guys to meet him in the training room and meet him at the jug machines. To make sure they’re in nutrition and doing what they’re supposed to do, checking and sitting down and eating, having a good relationship with the nutritionists.
“And then guys, see him getting better as far as what he showed last year. To understand the nuances of the position that allow him to be even more deadly than he was last year. So just that - sharing ideas, information, talking through route-running and through everyday approaches with the younger guys.”
That kind of leadership is especially important now, with a receivers group that includes Virginia transfer Trell Harris, Texas transfer Parker Livingstone, Washington State transfer Mackenzie Alleyne and a freshman quartet.
Harris had a minor setback over the summer and entered camp in “wait and see mode,” though he was a full participant in drills. Jones said just over two weeks ago that the All-ACC receiver was “ really close ” to being back. Harris had 59 catches for 847 yards and five touchdowns in 2025 after arriving at Oklahoma while nursing an injury with the Cavaliers and later undergoing a cleanup procedure.
Another name drawing attention is sophomore Manny Choice. After mostly working on special teams and as a reserve in 10 games last season, the 6-foot-4 receiver turned heads during spring ball and carried that momentum into the summer. The coaching staff expects big things from him, and some around the program think he could end up starting.
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