Oklahoma football: WR Marvin Mims poised for breakout season

Marvin Mims Jr. broke onto the scene within the Oklahoma football program in 2020 with a freshman season that saw him catch 37 passes for 610 yards and rack up nine touchdowns en route to being named an FWAA Freshman All-American.

In 2021, Mims was expected to improve on those numbers and improve upon his chemistry with incumbent starter and preseason Heisman Trophy favorite Spencer Rattler.

Sooner fans know what happened next. The offense never really clicked with Rattler at the controls in 2021, and even when Caleb Williams took over at the quarterback position, the unit still struggled at times to put points on the board in the fashion one would typically expect out of a Lincoln Riley-led offense.

Now with Riley and Williams together again at Southern California, and Rattler leading the charge in Columbia, South Carolina, Mims is one of a handful of weapons on the offensive end that chose to stay in Norman and will now play under new offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby and with new starting quarterback Dillon Gabriel.

The goal will be to figure out how to improve on MIms’ 2021 season that saw him haul in 32 catches for 705 yards and five touchdowns. These stats aren’t a far cry from his freshman numbers until you realize he played in two more games in 2021.

Mims stayed with the Sooners and looks to be the one established receiver on the team that can be a true gamebreaker. He’s shown flashes of superstardom that none of OU’s other weapons has. His speed and route-running ability should make him a favorite downfield target for Gabriel (an adept thrower of the deep ball), while his ability to make defenders miss in space should have Lebby salivating.

Lebby’s system is all about getting the football into the hands of playmakers in space and using quick runs and passes to set up the deep ball. This should play perfectly into Mims’ skillset much like it did Corey Coleman’s at Baylor, where Lebby was a longtime assistant.

Sooner fans should expect more quick screens out to the shifty playmaker and even more deep shots to him, which is where Mims has made his hay in his first two seasons.

Much has changed on offense for the Sooners since late November and the pressure will be on Lebby and Gabriel right away to make Mims punish defenses. On the bright side, Mims’ reward for sticking around could be a dynamic junior season that makes NFL scouts take notice.