Oklahoma
Three Questions on Oklahoma Training Camp: Wide Receivers
Oklahoma opens preseason training camp next week, and the Sooners have some questions to get answered during the month of August.
In this series, Sooners on SI will attempt to provide some answers ahead of camp.
Up next is the Oklahoma wide receiver corps.
Following his huge performance in Oklahoma’s spring game, the answer is likely yes, but the talented transfer will have to prove it on the field this fall.
After three seasons at Purdue, speedy wide receiver Deion Burks elected to enter the transfer portal rather than test the NFL Draft.
The Sooners were able to land Burks out of the portal shortly after the window opened in December, capping off what was already an impressive group of pass catchers. While the Inkster, MI, product is expected to take over as OU’s leading receiver, Burks has never served as a true No. 1 option in a high-powered offense.
As a redshirt sophomore in 2023, Burks was Purdue’s leading receiver with 629 yards and seven touchdowns, but the Boilermakers went 4-8 and were outside of the top 85 teams in the country in points per game.
Now in Norman, Burks has to show that he is able to handle enough volume as a pass catcher to serve as the primary option for an SEC team with big expectations.
After tallying five catches for 174 yards and two touchdowns in the Sooners’ spring game, it seems that Burks has already developed a good connection with starting quarterback Jackson Arnold and is well ingrained in Seth Littrell’s offense.
SEC media seems to have high hopes for Burks this year as well, with the speedster earning Third Team preseason All-SEC honors.
Read More Oklahoma Training Camp Questions
As the saying goes, “the cream will rise to the top.”
In addition to bringing in Burks, Emmett Jones returns Nic Anderson, who racked up 798 yards and 10 touchdowns as a redshirt freshman last year and could become one of the best pass catchers in the nation with good speed at 6-4 and 219 pounds.
Jalil Farooq is also back in Norman for his fourth season with the Sooners.
Even after the addition of Burks, Farooq is the most experienced player in the team’s receiving corps with 23 career starts. Last season, the Lanham, MD, product hauled in 45 passes for 694 yards and two touchdowns.
Farooq missed the spring game with a broken foot and is still recovering but should be back in time for the Sooners’ opener against Temple, according to Brent Venables.
Jayden Gibson and Brenen Thompson will also factor into Jones’ receiver rotation after stepping onto the scene in a major way last year.
Gibson tallied 375 yards and five touchdowns on just 14 receptions in 2023, repeatedly coming up with highlight-reel plays. With impressive speed and the ability to pluck the ball out of the air at 6-5 and 197 pounds, Gibson has the potential to develop into a lethal option alongside some of the aforementioned players.
Thompson played sparingly last season due to injury, but continuously made big plays during his time on the field. The Spearman, TX, product caught seven passes for 241 yards and two touchdowns in 2023 and could see an increase in both categories this year.
With 10.19 speed in the 100-meter dash, Thompson could have had even better stats last season, but outran Dillon Gabriel’s range and had to slow down or come back to the ball on deep routes multiple times.
Additionally, the Sooners should get Andrel Anthony back from injury at some point in the 2024 season. Prior to an ACL tear that ended the Michigan transfer’s season in 2023, Anthony was OU’s leading receiver with 429 yards and a touchdown.
Between Burks, Anderson, Farooq, Gibson, Thompson and Anthony, Jones’ wide receiver group has at least six players who have already proven to be solid options who can challenge opposing defenses.
While this depth is good for Arnold and Oklahoma’s offense, it will be difficult for each of the aforementioned players to get as many targets as they likely deserve. Still, with a strong-armed quarterback and a play caller who is not afraid to be aggressive, the Sooners’ wideouts should get plenty of opportunity to set themselves apart.
With Farooq and Anthony both sidelined due to injuries, there will be an opportunity for one of the Sooners’ young wide receivers to take on a bigger role during training camp.
Jaquaize Pettaway seems to be the most likely candidate outside of the aforementioned six players to secure a spot in Jones’ rotation.
A former 4-star recruit and one of the top 10 wide receivers in the 2023 class, according to 247Sports, Pettaway played sparingly as a true freshman but led the team in receptions Week 1 against Arkansas State.
With blazing speed out of the slot, Pettaway could find his way onto the field early in the season.
True freshmen and former 4-star prospects Zion Kearney and Ivan Carreon also have a chance to emerge after coming to Norman in January as early enrollees.
Kamden Mantooth caps wild week by leading Mustang to 6A baseball title
It was a wild week for Kamden Mantooth, who helped Mustang beat Edmond Santa Fe 5-4 for the 6A baseball title. After being forced to sit in the semifinals due to an ejection in the quarterfinals, he pitched 5 2/3 innings Saturday.
Joe Patterson was hoping it would be different this time.
The Mustang baseball coach is no stranger to state championship games.
But as Mustang headed into its Class 6A title matchup against Edmond Santa Fe in May, a state championship victory remained a goal that hadn’t been fulfilled for Patterson as a player or head coach.
“That was all together — playing and coaching — my (sixth) state championship game, and I was 0-5,” Patterson said.
Patterson can now revise that record to 1-5 as the Broncos beat defending champion Edmond Santa Fe 5-4 at ONEOK Field in Tulsa.
An unforgettable day for Patterson.
An unforgettable season.
After leading Mustang to its third title and a 39-6 record while playing a brutally difficult schedule, Patterson is The Oklahoman’s 2026 All-State Coach of the Year.
“It was one of those years where it felt like I wasn’t working the whole year,” Patterson said. “Just a special group and everybody involved did such an amazing job and the players got along and the senior leadership was just unbelievable.”
A year after going 19-16 and falling at regionals, this season was vastly different for Patterson as Mustang dominated from beginning to end.
The Broncos won 11 of their first 12 games and ended the season the exact same way, claiming victories in 11 of their last 12 matchups.
They thrived in tight games, going 12-3 in matchups decided by two or fewer runs.
“We lost a bunch of close games last year,” Patterson said. “We didn’t have as great a season as we wanted, so we talked about trying to change the team morale and change the culture just a little bit in the fall, and we really focused on that. Just trying to make the place a more positive place for the kids and emphasize them having a little bit more fun but still working.”
Born and raised in Duncan, Patterson’s love of baseball and sports in general go back to those days.
His dad, Bill, was Duncan’s head football coach from 1997-2003 before accepting an assistant position at Owasso and serving as the Rams’ head coach from 2007-2016.
A standout in football and baseball in high school, Joe Patterson was at Duncan as a freshman and sophomore before spending his final two years at Owasso and then playing college baseball from 2007-2010. He went to Oral Roberts for one year, Seminole State for a season and Texas A&M for his final two.
Patterson was named the national junior college player of the year at Seminole State and had a successful stint at Texas A&M, hitting .362 with 21 homers and 100 RBIs with the Aggies.
He’s been at Mustang since the summer of 2019 after coaching at Westmoore.
Former OU shortstop Brandon Zaragoza played for Patterson during his senior year at Westmoore and was a Mustang assistant for the last four seasons before recently being named Westmoore’s new head coach.
Patterson has had a huge impact on Zaragoza, who will take what he’s learned from his former coach into his new gig.
“He just brought pure joy to the game for me, especially with just his ability to, one, obviously coach the game, but two, to allow his players to go out there and perform,” Zaragoza said. “The coolest thing about Pat was his ability to just pick up on player knowledge. Just kind of knowing what he has in terms of personnel and then of course his ability to just game plan, strategize, just get his guys ready to play.”
Patterson always wanted to coach at a one-high school town like Mustang.
He has his wish now, and Zaragoza says it’s a well-oiled machine.
“That’s kind of how I describe it a lot to people,” Zaragoza said. “Just a well-oiled machine in terms of just the coaches that are over there and the attention to detail and the preparation. There’s no loose ends at Mustang. And given how big the school is, you can always get kind of lost in personnel or all that stuff, but just the way that Mustang operates, it’s top tier.”
Mustang didn’t necessarily have big names this season like some teams in the state, but the Broncos had several guys who shined.
Outfielder and Northern Oklahoma College-Enid signee Nate Sutton hit .449 with 15 homers and 70 RBIs.
Fellow senior Kamden Mantooth was second on the team with a .442 batting average. A shortstop, Mantooth started at pitcher in the title game and held Edmond Santa Fe to eight hits and four runs — three earned — over 5 2/3 innings.
“It means everything for us,” Mantooth said after the championship win. “We’ve been working for this since we were in seventh grade. We’ve been working for this, and we finally achieved our goal that we wanted.”
For Patterson, it’ll forever be a special moment as he had his 6-year-old son with him in the dugout and his dad watching from the stands.
Patterson had lost two title games as a player at Owasso and three as a head coach — two at Westmoore and one at Mustang.
The outcome was different this time, and it was well worth the wait.
“It was just a feeling of relief and happiness,” Patterson said.
Nick Sardis covers high school sports for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Nick? He can be reached at nsardis@oklahoman.com or on Twitter at @nicksardis. Sign up for The Varsity Club newsletter to access more high school coverage. Support Nick’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.
Crews responded to a fireworks stand after it caught fire in Broken Arrow Saturday night.
Authorities urged people to avoid E. Kanosha Street near S. 236th E. Avenue as the road is closed and fireworks could spread in the area due to the fire.
Broken Arrow Fire Department released a statement confirming no injuries were sustained as a result of the explosions or fire.
Fire crews quickly controlled the fire in about 20 minutes according to Broken Arrow Fire Department.
The initial cause of the fire is under investigation.
Viewer Leslie Maxey, who lives close to the fireworks stand, sent in video of the ongoing fire.
“We were putting our daughter to bed with a book when we heard an explosion that was gradually getting louder and louder,” Maxey said.
This is a developing story.
What you need to know about Oklahoma ahead of the College World Series
North Carolina will face a dangerous Oklahoma team that is on a roll.
Oklahoma (41-22) has been just as dominant. The Sooners, making their 13th College World Series appearance and first since 2022, surged through the postseason as road warriors. They won the Atlanta Regional by upsetting No. 2 seed and ACC champion Georgia Tech in the final, then swept Big 12 champion and No. 15 seed Kansas by a combined score of 21-3 in the Lawrence Regional.
The Sooners, who are 3-0 in Omaha after beating No. 7 seed Alabama and knocking off No. 3 seed and SEC champion Georgia twice, are seeking their third national championship. Oklahoma won titles in 1951 and 1994 and finished as runner-up to Ole Miss in 2022.
Here are a few things to know about Oklahoma:
Best player: Catcher Deiten LaChance
LaChance is Oklahoma’s most powerful hitter. He is batting .333 with 12 doubles, two triples and team highs of 16 home runs and 65 RBIs.
Throughout the postseason, he is hitting .326 with four home runs and 15 RBIs. In Omaha, he is 5-for-14 (.357) with one home run and five RBIs.
Strengths
Like North Carolina, Oklahoma is a balanced team that is good at a little bit of everything and is built to frustrate opponents.
Oklahoma is a balanced hitting team like UNC, but the Sooners have hit a few more homers with 91, compared to the Tar Heels’ 82. That is largely due to the Sooners smashing 26 home runs in their 10 postseason games. In Omaha, OU has homered eight times, including five homers in its win over Georgia in its previous game.
The Sooners have stolen 129 bases this season. That is good for 24th nationally and second in the SEC.
Pitching-wise, OU is 18th nationally in strikeouts per nine innings and leads the SEC in shutouts.
Weaknesses
The most glaring weakness is the pitching staff, despite its ability to strike out opposing batters and record shutouts.
The Sooners have a 4.98 ERA as a staff. Only one pitcher with 10 or more appearances has an ERA under 3.60.
They also allow 4.51 walks per nine innings, which ranks 138th nationally.
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