Oklahoma’s wide receiver room is getting help from the guys who were already in it, and Isaiah Sategna likes what he’s seeing.
Sategna made clear Tuesday that the Sooners can’t lean on one player to carry the passing game. He put up strong numbers last season, but he knows the position has to come with more answers than just him.
“I can’t do it all by myself,” Sategna said. “I need help.
Those guys know that and they’ve been stepping up. They’ve been helping me out.”
Some of that support is expected to arrive through the transfer portal, with Virginia transfer Trell Harris and Texas transfer Parker Livingstone both projected to give the group a boost. But Oklahoma is also counting on internal growth, especially from Elijah Thomas and Manny Choice.
The two freshmen spent most of last season on special teams. Between them, they appeared in 23 games and finished with just one catch - a 5-yard reception. This fall, though, both are in line for bigger roles, and Sategna said they’ve been showing it in preseason camp as the Sooners move toward their Sept. 4 opener against UTEP.
“Shoot, John (Mateer) thinks, ‘I don’t have to just look at Isaiah,’” Sategna said Tuesday as the Sooners finished practice. “‘This guy’s going to be open, this guy’s going to be open, this guy’s going to execute.’ So that really takes some off my plate but that makes me execute at a high level.”
Depth at receiver has been a point of emphasis for Oklahoma all offseason, and Sategna said the message is simple: talent alone won’t get it done.
“Everybody’s got the talent,” Sategna said. “Everybody can do this, do that.
But really just be detailed receivers. That’s what we’ve been preaching to everybody.
Not just them, but everybody as a whole.”
Thomas has drawn especially strong praise. He played 13 games last season, almost entirely on special teams, but Sategna said the young receiver has been flashing the kind of speed and physical tools that can change the room.
“He’s made in a lab,” Sategna said. “Yoked up.
Super fast. Like I said with the young guys, we just gotta work the details.
That’s something I preach to him. Just try to overcommunicate with him.
‘If there’s anything you ever need, just come to me. I’ve been in your position and stuff.’
So I know how he feels.”
Thomas was also a name that came up during last preseason camp, though Sategna said the jump from Checotah High School required an adjustment.
“He came from a small school in Oklahoma, so he probably wasn’t seeing - definitely wasn’t seeing - the types of looks BV (Brent Venables)’s giving us,” Sategna said. “But it’s all clicking for him. He’s playing super fast.”
Choice brings a different kind of challenge at 6-foot-4, making him one of the tallest receivers in the room behind only 6-6 Ivan Carreon and 6-5 Xavier Okwufulueze. Jayden Petit is also listed at 6-4, and Sategna said the message for Choice is about playing to that size.
“Just using your strength every single play,” Sategna said. “‘You’re a big-body receiver. Go show that every single play.’”
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