Isaiah Sategna quietly became Oklahoma’s most important offseason priority

This time last year, the Oklahoma Sooners convinced wide receiver Isaiah Sategna III that Norman was where he needed to be, and now, it's just as vital to keep Sategna in crimson and cream.

There's been no worthy reports to signify Sategna's future plans, but as a redshirt junior in 2025, he has more options than ever between staying at OU for his final season, entering the Transfer Portal or heading to the NFL early, and two of the three options involving Sategna leaving OU has fans anxious about losing maybe the most important player the Sooners need back for another successful season in 2026.

Sooners can’t afford to lose Isaiah Sategna after breakout season

Sategna flashed potential in his three years at Arkansas but never really broke out, so he became a steal out of the portal last year for the Sooners as one of the fastest players in college football. He ended up leading the Sooners in every receiving stat this season with 67 receptions for 965 yards and eight touchdowns in 13 games. He notched at least 100 receiving yards in four games.

He was also the Sooners' punt returner and had a key 42-yard return in OU's win over Alabama during the regular season. After the regular season concluded, Sategna was named Second-Team All-SEC as a receiver and all-purpose player.

Digging into Sategna's team-leading stats only further prove his importance to the Sooners. OU, once again, struggled to make big plays downfield in the passing game. However, without Sategna, those type of plays would have basically been nonexistent. The Sooners this season had 25 receptions of more than 15 yards downfield. Sategna was on the receiving end of 13 of them.

Of the Sooners' 3,066 receiving yards this season, Sategna accounted for 31.4% of the total. With Deion Burks, Keontez Lewis and Jaren Kanak already leaving because of exhausted eligibility, if the Sooners can't keep Sategna for 2026, they would return only 20% of their receiving production from 2025 if everyone else stays. That would also mean the Sooners' top four receivers from this season would all be gone, including No. 1 target Sategna.

Recruiting an elite wide receiver from the portal, like Auburn's Cam Coleman, should be high on the Sooners' priority list this winter, but first, OU general manager Jim Nagy needs to get his own home in order and assure Sategna isn't going anywhere.