The Oklahoma Sooners have been battling the injury bug at wide receiver during fall camp. [autotag]Jayden Gibson[/autotag] was lost for the season, and [autotag]Jalil Farooq[/autotag] missed time with a toe injury, though he is now said to be ready to go.
But one healthy wide receiver who has made substantial progress this fall is [autotag]Andrel Anthony[/autotag].
Anthony, who transferred in from Michigan in 2023, had a tremendous start to the season before going down with an ACL tear in the Red River Showdown. Through five and a half games, Anthony recorded 27 catches for 429 yards and one touchdown. He became [autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag]’s go-to guy in the early going. He had three games over 75 yards receiving and was on his way to a big day against Texas, with five catches for 42 yards.
The injury put a damper on what could have been a big year. As the 2024 season approaches, however, Anthony sounds like he’s ready to roll.
“He’s doing good,” Brent Venables shared with the media on Tuesday evening. “He won’t be required to wear (the brace). We’re obviously trying to be careful with him. He doesn’t have any limits.”
Venables shared it would be up to Anthony whether he would continue with the knee brace, but the senior wide receiver is off and running.
It has been nearly 10 months since his injury, and he has made tremendous progress this offseason to get back. With Gibson out for the year, Oklahoma’s wide receiver rotation will need the speedy Anthony. It’s unlikely he’ll start right away, but the Sooners will make sure to ramp him up through the first three games of the season to get him game-ready when [autotag]SEC[/autotag] play hits.
If he can recapture his early season success from a year ago, the Sooners have a nice rotation of wide receivers for Jackson Arnold to rely on.
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