Stormin in Norman
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Oklahoma Football: 2023 Spring Game preview – Five things to watch

By Brandon Self

NORMAN, OK - APRIL 23: Head coach Brent Venables of the Oklahoma Sooners stands with his team for the alma mater during their spring game at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium on April 23, 2022 in Norman, Oklahoma. (Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images)
NORMAN, OK - APRIL 23: Head coach Brent Venables of the Oklahoma Sooners stands with his team for the alma mater during their spring game at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium on April 23, 2022 in Norman, Oklahoma. (Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images) /
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The ball goes past Oklahoma’s Jayden Gibson (1) as Kendall Dennis (21) defwnds during the University of Oklahoma’s annual spring football game at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Okla., Saturday, April 23, 2022.Ou Sooners Spring Football Game
The ball goes past Oklahoma’s Jayden Gibson (1) as Kendall Dennis (21) defwnds during the University of Oklahoma’s annual spring football game at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Okla., Saturday, April 23, 2022.Ou Sooners Spring Football Game /

The wide receivers

Which Sooner wide receiver will step up and claim the vacated WR1 role from Marvin Mims’s departure? Drake Stoops, Jalil Farooq, Austin Stogner, and Gavin Freeman all return to the field this Spring and are good college wide receivers. But are they WR1 guys? Possibly, but I am particularly interested in WR1 wearing #1 this year.

The one I’m most excited about is sophomore Jayden Gibson. The 6-foot, 5-inch wideout has the physical attributes to become an All-Big 12 receiver. In 2022, Gibson came to Norman after a high school career in Winter Garden, Florida (West Orange), that saw him average over 24 yards a catch in high school.

Jayden’s enormous catch radius and his jump ball skills could have him hooping’ in Lloyd Noble Center. He ended 2022 with just one catch for 12 yards against TCU. Jayden was mainly a contributor to special teams. 2023 will be different, and the difference starts on April 22. We need to see Jayden Gibson make some big catches in the spring game, and more importantly, we need to see QB Dillon Gabriel look to him often as a sign of trust. Jayden has been having a productive Spring, according to all reports thus far. Sooner Nation is excited to see the Sophomore Jayden Gibson have a coming-out party at the Red-White game this April.

Outside of Gibson, and the aforementioned Stoops, Farooq, and Stogner, the Sooners have a wealth of depth in the wide receivers’ room, including Gavin Freeman, J.J. Hester, D.J. Graham, LV Bunkley-Shelton, Nic Anderson, and Andrel Anthony. Freshman burners Jaquaize Pettaway and Keyon Brown are also expected to be productive once they arrive in Norman after completing their high school track careers.

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