Redshirt junior wide receiver Theo Wease during a photoshoot with OU Daily on Aug. 10.
Theo Wease felt he needed to keep his options open.
Once Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley left for Southern California on Nov. 28 and several Sooners entered the transfer portal, Wease wanted to reevaluate where he’d play his remaining college career.
After a successful sophomore season in 2020 that saw Wease record 530 receiving yards and four touchdowns, the former five-star recruit from Allen, Texas, suited up for just one game in 2021. He was sidelined for most of the year due to an ankle injury in what was supposed to be his breakout season with the Sooners.
Given the ups and downs of his career, the turmoil in Norman and the ever-changing landscape of the sport, Wease had plenty to ponder. While Wease’s father, Theo Wease Sr., has his son’s back in every situation, he was disappointed when he entered the transfer portal on Nov. 29.
“I supported him,” Wease Sr. said. “First of all, I'll support him on whatever decision that he chooses to make whether I like it or not. I'm going to support my son and I’m going to respect that. So when he got into the transfer portal I wasn't too happy with it, but that was something that he felt like he wanted to do.”
Wease initially fixated on Mississippi, which had just made the Sugar Bowl with an electric offense ranked No. 6 nationally in yards per game and No. 4 in points scored, led by coordinator Jeff Lebby.
Wease was smitten with Lebby’s recent development of NFL talents, including quarterback Matt Corral, a 2022 third-round pick, and wide receiver Elijah Moore, a 2021 second-round pick.
Nine days later, when new Oklahoma coach Brent Venables announced he was hiring Lebby, the Wease family decided returning to Norman for Theo’s redshirt junior season was best for his future.
Wease’s standing relationship with longtime assistant Cale Gundy was also a factor, although the coach who recruited him in high school resigned Aug. 7 after uttering a “racially charged” word during a team film session.
“(Theo) leaving OU (at the time) was a blow to me,” Wease Sr. said. “I was surprised because we don’t pack up and move. We stay for the long haul. That’s another thing that has impressed me about the man he has become. No matter how he felt about the situation with OU at the time, he stayed there. He gave (Lebby and Venables) the opportunity to coach him. We don’t just move around just to be moving around.
“OU is his home. … As a family, we all sat down and we talked about it, and OU was the decision. We all agreed to the decision that he stay at OU.”
Unfinished business. Here to stay. BOOMER pic.twitter.com/ofcz9f8P4H
— Theo Wease Jr (@_TheoWeaseJr) December 17, 2021
After deciding to stay in Norman, Wease sampled playing in Lebby’s offense during the Sooners’ spring game, when he caught a 48-yard bullet from quarterback Dillon Gabriel on an early play.
“Lebby, outside of football, that’s my guy,” Wease said. “We’re cool, he could literally be one of my best friends if he wasn’t so old. He’s one of the greatest offensive minds in college football right now. He's known for his explosive plays and wide receiver development. … Why wouldn’t you want to play for a guy like that?”
This fall, Wease and junior wide receiver Marvin Mims are expected to be Oklahoma’s dynamic duo in their position, which also returns redshirt senior Drake Stoops. The hype has remained astronomical for Wease despite past tribulations.
Putting the past behind him, finally feeling “120 percent” and armed with Lebby and Venables’ belief in him, Wease is primed for a monster season in 2022.
“I chose to come to Oklahoma,” Wease said. “I made that commitment four years ago and I just felt like I had to stay true to it and finish the mission.
“I’m super excited (for this season). Honestly I get chills just thinking about it.”
Redshirt junior wide receiver Theo Wease during the spring game on April 23.
‘A five-star kid on the field and off the field’
On Dec. 23, 2017, Allen High School faced defending 6A Texas state champion Lake Travis at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. The Eagles were led by Wease, who was closing out his junior season as a unanimous First-Team All-District selection.
Lake Travis was forced to double team Wease, which enabled its running game to take over in the victory while Wease, the team’s highest-rated recruit, finished with a mere four catches and 27 yards.
But Wease couldn’t care less about his stats because he and his teammates were state champions.
“He was no different than any other player on the team. He wanted the ball,” said Terry Gambill, Wease’s head coach at Allen. “But there were games that we couldn't get the ball to him because he was being double covered, or the play was not there, or protection may have broken down.
“He knew that he was targeted X number of times in a ball game, but he was never selfish. … He put the team first. He wanted to win and he wanted to win big.”
Wease’s hunger to win carried off the field, too. His position coach at Allen, Justin Dozier, recalls receiving text screenshots from Wease during breaks at school.
The young pass catcher was watching videos on his phone from the previous week’s games and flooding Dozier’s messages with questions about how he could improve specific techniques.
Wease, who was a team captain, also made an impact in the community with his involvement in the Peer Assistance and Leadership program and visiting elementary schools to mentor younger students.
To this day, Dozier’s daughter Savannah wears Wease’s No. 10 on her basketball and softball teams.
“He was a very business-oriented person,” Dozier said. “Everything he did off the field was a direct reflection of what he did on the field. … He took such a mature approach to the game of football that most high school kids did not take. When he had an off period, he was watching videos while other kids were in the gym shooting baskets, playing ping-pong, roaming the halls or whatever.
“He was one-track minded. He wanted to be the best at what he was doing on and off the field, but it was all geared towards football. … He was a five-star kid on the field and off the field.”
That determination translated to Wease compiling over 1,000 receiving yards and 16 touchdowns during his senior season and becoming the No. 4 ranked player in Texas and the third highest-rated wide receiver in the country.
Dozier remembers meeting with Alabama’s Nick Saban, then-Ohio State coach Urban Meyer and then-Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops about Wease. But it was Gundy who made the difference in Wease’s commitment to Oklahoma. Gambill remembers Gundy effectively outlining to the young prospect what was possible for him as a student-athlete at OU.
His attitude and ability to be coached, the effort he put into studying video and leading his teammates, coupled with his abilities on the field, made him a dominant force in 6A Texas high school football.
“He was our guy,” Gambill said. “He was a guy that showed what we had to do in practice to be successful for each game. All you had to do was watch him in practice and how he practiced and the importance of being prepared every week. He led by example and he made sure that the team was ready to go.
“Anytime that we needed big plays, if (then-quarterback Grant Tisdale) could get him the ball, or even get it close to him, Theo was going to make the catch. I mean that there were so many times that he knew that, ‘OK, if I turn it loose and I can get it in the general area, Theo’s going to win the battle.’”
Some of that motivation stems from Wease’s brother Michael Pennerman, another high school standout with NFL aspirations, who collapsed in a 2004 game and died at age 16. Wease was 3.
“He attributed a lot of stuff that he did to his brother,” Dozier said. “He had a great internal passion. … He wanted to be the best high school receiver. He wants to be the best college receiver and he wants to be the best NFL receiver.
“It's all geared towards not only setting himself up for success. He truly wants to be able to take care of people, that’s just a trait he has. He wants to be the best.”
Happy Birthday Solider, Keep watching over me and I’m going to continue to make you proud. Long Live My Brother... pic.twitter.com/Q4DM4hx2GF
— Theo Wease Jr (@_TheoWeaseJr) April 1, 2019
While Wease keeps Pennerman in his heart on the field, he has also taken to social media to honor him, including in a story collection on Instagram titled “LLM,” which stands for “Long Live Michael.”
Redshirt junior wide receiver Theo Wease during a photoshoot with OU Daily on Aug. 10, 2022.
‘That’s tough for a guy to go through’
Five days before the Sooners’ 2021 season opener at Tulane, Hurricane Ida devastated Southern Louisiana, forcing the game to be moved to Norman. It turns out that wasn’t the only hitch in OU’s plans.
Dozier texted Wease that week to encourage him before the season, but Wease told his former coach he suffered another foot injury that would sideline him for most of the fall. He injured his foot the previous spring.
“I was like, ‘Damn,’” Dozier said. “Last year was going to be his breakout season. … I just felt so bad for him. He’s never really gone through anything like that in his career. That’s tough for a guy to go through.”
Dozier and Gambill could tell the injury wore on Wease as they communicated through the season. His inability to help his team was difficult for him.
“It was pretty tough. The first couple weeks were pretty hard. I was hard on myself,” Wease said. “But I have a great support system. My family and my teammates helped bring me up all the time and they made it way easier than what it was (before).”
Family is important to Wease, and it became even more so after the birth of his son, Tre, who was born a few weeks before his injury and granted Wease a new responsibility in his life.
However, it’s one Wease hasn’t backed down from. In fact, he’s welcomed it, just like he met the double coverage in high school and how he’s handled his latest injury.
“I’m impressed,” Wease Sr. said. “Just one word, ‘impressed,’ on how he’s stepped up and been a father. He takes good care of his son. We talk about his plans for his son and they’re good plans. He’s a great father.
“Theo is Theo. He's been a man-child forever. He's always been responsible, so I can’t see a significant difference from who he was before this child was born to who he is now. But, I told him I hold him to a higher standard as far as the type of dad that I was with him, and we agreed that he was going to hold that standard and be a better father to his son than I was to him.”
Dozier echoed that sentiment and said he’s not surprised Wease has been a hands-on dad even while juggling school, football and recovering from injury.
“There's no doubt in my mind that he can handle that,” Dozier said. “He's got a great personality, a great drive, great balance. He would be able to go home and put football aside for a minute and put his dad hat on. I don't have any question whatsoever that he's not gonna be able to handle that. That’s just who he is.
“He comes from a great family. His mom and dad are great, and I guarantee you, they're going to be there every step of the way helping out where they need to help out, and (Theo is) not going to miss a beat.”
As he juggled recovery and fatherhood, Wease relied heavily last season on Mims to keep his spirits up on the sideline. Wease would tell Mims before every game to go out and make plays for him.
“Marvin helped me a lot through the injury,” Wease said. “We went to high school about 20 minutes apart, and so I’d seen some of his high school games and I’m pretty sure he’d seen some of my high school games. We’re pretty tight.”
Having gone through the injury, having a new sense of responsibility with his son and being coached by Lebby, Wease is more prepared to hit the field than ever this season.
Wease even said he found meaning in the ups and downs that have characterized his first three college seasons. Everyone in his tight-knit circle knows he’s ready to show in full what they all know he’s capable of.
“It’s just adversity,” Wease said. “Adversity comes every day in life. You’ve just got to attack it and put your front foot forward.”
When Wease announced his decision to stay in Norman in December, his tweet read, “Unfinished business.” After a rollercoaster start at OU, time is ticking for Wease to produce before interested NFL scouts.
The redshirt junior also has to endure an entire season without Gundy, who has been a mainstay for Wease since he arrived in Norman. While Gundy’s no longer with the team, he saw Wease’s progress through rehab and his growth over the summer.
“I expect him to have a great year,” Gundy said at OU Media Day, five days before resigning. “He’s a guy that’s been around here for a few years. When he’s been healthy and he’s played, he’s been a very successful player.
“I think he’s one of those guys that’s not maybe the flashiest of some of them, but when it comes to being productive and being on the field and being a good football player and a great teammate, he’s as good as any other.”
Lebby seconded Gundy’s endorsement, adding Wease is at his best physically since he’s been at Oklahoma — a credit to summer workouts with strength coach Jerry Schmidt.
Messin with smitty in the summertime pic.twitter.com/tkrLzgnAwK
— Theo Wease Jr (@_TheoWeaseJr) June 16, 2022
“It’s just good to see Theo healthy,” Lebby said. “I think he feels better than he’s ever felt. I think he’s in the best shape he’s been in since he’s been here, so that’s going to allow him to go play at a high level. Again, giving him every chance that we can to make sure we’re pushing the envelope and getting him ready to have a great year.”
When Wease chose to attend OU after an expansive recruiting process, the expectations were enormous alongside three other five-star recruits — quarterback Spencer Rattler and receivers Jadon Haselwood and Trejan Bridges — and the Sooners’ highest-ranked recruiting class since 2010.
That core group from the 2019 class was heralded as capable of bringing a national championship back to Norman.
Now, Wease is the only player remaining on OU’s roster from the highly touted 2019 recruiting class. Bridges was dismissed from the program in the spring of 2021 after an alleged armed robbery incident, while both Rattler and Haselwood transferred during the offseason to South Carolina and Arkansas, respectively.
Mims said he could tell there was something unique about Wease’s approach during the summer, almost as if he had a chip on his shoulder.
“Being out there, you can tell his mentality is different,” Mims said. “He’s older, he has more on the table, he has fewer years to lose. I mean, he wants it and he’s working like it.
“Huge player, probably one of my favorite teammates to play with. … It's just great to be back out there with him.”
Wease’s relationship with Gabriel is also critical to his success. The Hawaii native has impressed Wease on the field with his play and off it with his personality.
The UCF transfer prioritized getting to know his teammates as best he could before the season to create team chemistry. Through team events organized by Gabriel, like the “Dimetime Retreat,” when he rented a house in Lawton for a July weekend getaway, Wease believes he has accomplished just that and that their synergy will show in games.
“That’s big,” Wease said. “Just building that brotherhood, building that bond outside of the facility, outside of just playing ball is big because once you create that bond, you’re going to want to play harder for your brother, so it’s going to translate.”
While he has changed since arriving on campus — becoming a father, overcoming injury, nearly leaving OU — since the birth of his son, since his injury and since he entered the transfer portal and came back, Wease is the same in many ways, and most of all, he’s just ready to play football again.
“I feel like I’ve got something to prove to myself,” Wease said. “Not to nobody else, just to myself because I know my full potential. I know what I’m capable of doing, so I feel like I’m going to go out there and prove it to myself.”
