The Oklahoma Sooners’ injury report is in midseason form, and the season hasn’t even started yet.
In the midst of breaking the news on Tuesday that replacement starting center Ryan Fodje suffered a knee injury that will sideline him at least for Friday’s season opener against UTEP, Sooners On SI also reported that projected starting wide receiver Parker Livingstone is in concussion protocol.
According to Sooners on SI, Livingstone’s status for Friday is still unknown after entering concussion protocol last week, but his OU debut could be prolonged even further than that because of the injury.
Parker Livingstone joins Ryan Fodje on growing injured list
It was a surprise on Monday when Livingstone was listed as a co-starter with sophomore Elijah Thomas on the initial depth chart. Livingstone was expected to immediately be a starter for the Sooners after transferring from Texas over the offseason. Fans hoped Thomas had just been that impressive during fall camp, but now it’s clear why he was listed beside Livingstone with an "OR" between the names.
Livingstone, listed at 6-4, posted 516 receiving yards and six touchdowns last season as a redshirt freshman while catching passes from Arch Manning. Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian then confirmed at SEC Media Days that the Longhorns cut ties with Livingstone over the offseason to make room for transfer portal additions. That gifted the Sooners a needed talented receiver for quarterback John Mateer, with extra motivation for the Red River Rivalry, as Livingstone wanted to join the closest playoff contender to his hometown of Lucas, Texas.
Now, it looks like we’ll have to wait even longer to see just how great of an addition Livingstone was.
Fans are rightfully frustrated with the early injuries now that two centers have suffered knee injuries, plus Livingstone. First, starting center Jake Maikkula strained his MCL and will be back Week 2 against Michigan at the earliest. Then, on the same day he was confirmed as Maikkula’s replacement at center, Fodje also injured his knee and will miss at least the season opener.
Knee injuries can be freak accidents, though, but it’s worth questioning why the heck a starting receiver like Livingstone is getting a concussion during practice right before the first game of the season. A long injury list has also been a common issue for the Sooners during Brent Venables’ entire tenure at OU.
The Sooners have yet to take the field and are already dealing with injury challenges, and with such a talented roster with loads of experience, that could be the biggest obstacle between Oklahoma and returning to the College Football Playoff, so fans have every right to question if there needs to be a change with how Venables operates practice to erase this constant headache.
Add us as a preferred source on Google