Oklahoma has had its fair share of talented wide receivers over the years. CeeDee Lamb, Sterling Shephard, Ryan Broyles, Mark Clayton, Malcolm Kelly, Dede Westbrook, and Tommy McDonald were all stars for the Crimson & Cream. They came in different shapes and sizes, but one thing remained true: They produced year after year. They showed up and showed out for the Sooners and earned the right to be considered one of the best wide receivers in Sooners history.
The Sooners have never really had a mold for what makes a wide receiver great, which is unique.
CeeDee Lamb was a skinny rail-thin kid from Foster, Texas, that was explosive and would catch almost anything in his radius. He’d go up and get jump balls but also take a drag route to the house after 65 yards. Broyles was highly effective in the intermediate areas as a first-down conversion machine, while Dede Westbrook could take the top off any defense with his speed. Malcolm Kelly made acrobatic catch after acrobatic catch.
As we look at this current group of Sooners, we see many different types of receivers. Those are all receivers brought in and recruited by Lincoln Riley, who had no set type of build he liked at receiver. Riley was reasonably simple in evaluating his receivers. He wanted guys who could simply play. It’s hard to fault him considering what his offenses did in his time at Oklahoma, but things have changed, and he’s left the prairies for the fast life of L.A., where he coaches the Trojans of USC.
Jeff Lebby, a Sooner alum and an up-and-coming offensive coordinator in his own right, has now assumed the offensive duties of the Crimson and Cream. With him, he brings an entirely new outlook on offense and personnel.
His offense doesn’t mirror Riley’s, but the biggest contrast comes with how Lebby has attacked personnel so far.
Upon his arrival as the Sooners’ new OC, Lebby offered wide receiver, Jayden Gibson. Gibson was at the time a Florida commit, and eventually, he’d flip from Florida to Oklahoma. Gibson stands at 6-foot-4. He’s enrolled and working out as an early enrollee.
That started a significant and noticeable trend of offers being shipped out to other wide receivers of the 2023 and 2024 classes. Lebby primarily likes his receivers big with long frames.
Here’s where we can draw this conclusion: Jaden Greathouse (6-foot-2), Jalen Hale (6-foot-2), and Aidan Mizell (6-foot-3) have taken precedent over guys like DeAndre Moore Jr, who recently decommitted from the Sooners.
There’s speculation that they weren’t impressed with Moore’s junior year tape and a knee injury also played a part. While both things could be true, Moore is a top 50 talent, and they still could’ve had him in the class if they wanted due to his relationship with DeMarco Murray.
The recruitment isn’t over but casting Moore while pursuing guys like Greathouse, Ashton Cozart, and Hale signals they are content moving in a different direction.
2023 Top100 recruit Jacobe Johnson from Mustang, Okla. has also been targeted by the Sooners. Johnson stands 6-foot-3.
Lebby wants big athletes out wide and will likely get those with the pool of talent he can recruit from while at Oklahoma.
The Sooners will still recruit smaller receivers, and Lebby will use them. Just look at former Ole Miss star turned early second-rounder for the New York Jets, Elijah Moore. He was a monster for them and was no bigger than Drake Stoops. Under Lebby, Moore posted 86 catches for 1,193 receiving yards and eight touchdowns. The reception yards were the most by an SEC player through the first eight games of a season.
However, it remains painfully apparent that Lebby will recruit outside receivers with length, long speed, and big frames and fill the slot with smaller, shiftier guys.
In a way, the Sooners could resemble the Clemson teams that Venables was a part of. Lately, on offense, they had big receivers like Tee Higgins, Justyn Ross and had smaller guys like Hunter Renfrow and Armani Rodgers in the slot.
It’s a fascinating change from seeing receivers of all sizes playing all over the field for the Sooners. Still, if the recent offers are any indication, the Sooners are heading toward a “big” shift at wide receiver.
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