Manny Choice doesn’t sound like a receiver still trying to find his footing. He sounds like a player who knows exactly where he’s trying to go.
Less than three weeks before Oklahoma opens its 2026 season, Choice is pushing toward a bigger role in the Sooners’ passing game after a quiet freshman year. He enrolled in Norman as a true freshman in 2025, played in 10 of OU’s 13 games, and logged just five offensive snaps - all in lopsided games.
That’s the kind of first year that can disappear fast if a player doesn’t keep building. Choice has done the opposite.
“That’s always the goal, just getting better every day,” Choice said. “Whether it’s my stance to start, attacking the ball, just trying to work on something every day.”
The physical change jumps out immediately. The 6-4 receiver was listed at 194 pounds on OU’s 2025 spring roster.
He enters 2026 at 211 pounds. But Choice believes the bigger leap has come between the ears.
After a full year in offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle’s system, he says the offense feels far more natural now.
“If we look at last spring, I’d just say I’m more comfortable with the offense because this is my second year around,” Choice said. “Just getting comfortable with it, that would probably be one of the top things.”
That comfort hasn’t come in a vacuum. Choice has been around veteran receivers who have helped shape the room.
Isaiah Sategna led Oklahoma with 965 yards and eight touchdowns on 67 catches last season, while Parker Livingstone and Trell Harris arrive in Norman after transfers from Texas and Virginia, respectively. Choice sees that experience as a force multiplier for everyone in the group.
“We have Trell, a vet. Zay, a vet.
Parker, vet. Just bringing guys up collectively,” Choice said.
“So, they’ve been dragging guys along, bringing them up. That’s enhancing the whole room with those playmaking ability skills, sharpening their minds - just anything they can to help those guys out.”
Sategna, Livingstone and Harris are expected to take the biggest share of the snaps among OU’s receivers in 2026, but there’s still a lane for others to carve out roles. Choice, Elijah Thomas, Mackenzie Alleyne and the rest of the depth chart have a chance to matter, and Brent Venables has made it clear that he wants more than just depth from Choice and Thomas.
The Oklahoma coach said both receivers need to be “dudes” if the offense is going to hit its 2026 goals.
Quarterback John Mateer sees the same thing from Choice. For him, the growth is obvious, and the traits are already there.
“I’ve seen a lot of growth,” Mateer said. “His physical presence is huge, but he loves to learn. I think that's so important, him and a lot of the receivers, they love to learn.”
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