Oklahoma football: Which Sooner will stand out most among 2020 freshmen?

The Oklahoma football 2020 recruiting class was ranked 10th in the country by ESPN and 15th by Rivals, and one of the big gets in that class was wide receiver Marvin Mims.

Although Mims’ contemporaries at Lone Star High School in Frisco, Texas (in the Dallas metroplex) will be graduating virtually this spring because of the novel coronavirus pandemic, Mims himself is already enrolled at Oklahoma, which under normal conditions would have given him a leg up on other members of OU’s 2020 class with the opportunity to acclimate to the Oklahoma campus and the football program and participate in spring practice.

Only, spring practice lasted just one day in March this year before the Big 12 and the NCAA cancelled all winter and spring sports and suspended all football team activities.

The 6-foot, 173-pound wide receiver out of the talent-rich football breeding ground of Texas is a player to watch as he makes his collegiate debut, when football hopefully returns this fall.

The Sooners are expected to begin the 2020 season short-handed in the receiving corps.

With injuries to wide receivers Jadon Hasselwood and graduate transfer Theo Howard likely to keep them on the sidelines for a few games to start the 2020 season and with Trejan Bridges forced to sit out five games at the beginning of the season as part of a carryover suspension, Mims is likely to see action earlier than he would otherwise.

The book on Mims, according to at least one recruiting analyst, is “a big-play receiver who produces splash plays in the vertical game and screen game” and is capable of putting up big numbers.

I personally saw this kid play a high school game last season in Frisco. His team, Lone Star, was one of the best high school games in its class, Mims stood out on a team that was loaded with talent.

Mims set a Texas high school record for receiving yards in a career (5,485) and in a season (2,629). He caught 117 passes his senior season, including 32 for touchdowns.

I was really impressed with his receiving skills and ability to elude tacklers and pick up yards after the catch. At the time, Mims was committed to Stanford. Later he flipped to Oklahoma, and I couldn’t have been happier to hear that news. He should be a perfect fit in Riley’s Air Raid offense.

Keep a close eye on jersey No. 17. Look for Marvin Mims to be a big part of the Oklahoma offense — if not this coming season, then certainly in the years to come.