Isaiah Sategna cracked a smile and laughed when asked if he could outrun his mother.
The redshirt junior wide receiver ranks first among OU wide receivers in receiving yards through four games but admitted that his mother is faster.
“I would say my mom was faster; she ran in the Olympics,” Isaiah Sategna said. “I give her props.”
Isaiah Sategna’s mother, Dahlia, was a sprinter for Louisiana State University from 1989 to 1993 and competed in the 4 x 100 for Jamaica in the 1992 Olympics. His track legacy continues with his father, Mario, who was a three-time All-American decathlete at LSU from 1993-1996.
“She was a sprinter that ran in the Olympic Games for Jamaica; I was an NCAA champion in the decathlon. So you couple the athleticism with the speed, now, you (have) Isaiah out there doing some great things,” Mario Sategna said. “We're very proud of him.”
After the first four games of the season, Isaiah Sategna ranks No. 15 among Southeastern Conference wide receivers in receiving yards and contributes to OU’s No. 2 total offense. He also comes off a career-high 127 yards in the Sooners’ first SEC game of the year.
“I’m really proud of Isaiah — made some big-time plays for us, especially whenever we needed it,” offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle said.
Sategna’s milestone against Auburn came after he recorded 97 receiving yards versus Temple. He also ranked No. 1 in receiving yards against Temple, while redshirt senior wide receivers, Deion Burks and Keontez Lewis, had their worst performances of the season.
“Against Temple, they're shutting down other people, but this is the great thing about Oklahoma's offense — shows its potency (in how) you can take away certain aspects but there's a lot of other weapons,” Mario Sategna said.
The receiver’s stretch from Temple to Auburn fell in line with his consistent growth, as he has progressed in every 2025 game, starting with 16 yards against Illinois State.
“He’s just a consistent kid who brings it every single day. … Everybody trusts him,” Arbuckle said.
According to Isaiah Sategna, this reflects his past.
“I've always been the same person and an explosive playmaker,” Isaiah Sategna said. “So I'm glad everybody's believing in me.”
‘Learn the system’
As a sprinter at Fayetteville High School, Isaiah Sategna won the 2021-22 Gatorade Arkansas Boys Track and Field Player of the Year, and his father said that his consistency comes as a result of his days on the track when all the weight was on his shoulders.
“The track and field background helps because when you're out there, (when) you're getting ready to line up to hurdle or on the back of that long jump runway, you know you either put the work in or you haven't. You know you don't have other people that can bail you out at that point,” Mario Sategna said. “So he was always willing, growing up, to go above and beyond and do the extra things.”
Isaiah Sategna finished his high school career as the No. 4 track and field prospect in his class and the No. 21 wide receiver. Coming out of high school, he initially committed to Texas A&M’s football program before settling on Arkansas due to A&M not following through on a promise to him.
“Former staff had told them they weren't going to recruit any more receivers,” Mario Sategna said. “I think, even after he committed, they still got two more guys, … so that's whenever he decided to move on.”
Once at Arkansas, he considered being a dual-sport athlete but ended up having two offensive coordinators, Dan Enos and Bobby Petrino, prompting him to need more time on the field in the offseason.
“When he was at Arkansas, they got new offensive coordinators like every year, so then he couldn't do track because he had to learn the system in the springtime,” Mario Sategna said. “Then at that point, he had goals and aspirations to go to the NFL.”
However, while Isaiah Sategna was at Arkansas, nothing quite clicked with the team going 18-20 across his three years and him never eclipsing 500 receiving yards in a season.
“The last couple years were frustrating for him when he was at Arkansas,” Mario Sategna said. “Nothing against Arkansas but I felt like most of his catches were broken plays.”
Isaiah Sategna, looking for better opportunities, took a trip to Norman.
‘Perfect scenario’
OU wide receiver coach Emmett Jones gave Isaiah Sategna a clear plan — they would use him like former wide receiver Drake Stoops.
Stoops was a Sooner for six years and recorded 962 receiving yards during his final season, and OU felt like Isaiah Sategna could follow in his footsteps.
“He made comparisons to (Drake) Stoops,” Mario Sategna said. “He made some good comparisons with the things that he did and improvements and felt like Isaiah could be right along those lines.”
Stoops, though, was not quick like Isaiah Sategna. When Stoops competed at OU’s Pro Day, he recorded a 4.67-second 40-yard dash, which ranked last in comparison with NFL Combine results that year. However, the two related in reliability.
“He's super, super smart and super reliable,” redshirt junior quarterback John Mateer said of Isaiah Sategna after his career high against Auburn. “He's going to be where he needs to be every time.”
According to Mario Sategna, Mateer visited a day before Isaiah Sategna and played a pivotal role in the receiver’s recruitment. Mateer, along with Arbuckle, led Washington State to the No. 6 scoring offense in 2024 and gave the Sategna family excitement.
“I said, well, Isaiah, this is the perfect scenario for you because you know this is going to be an up-tempo offense, … and to have an established quarterback that already knew the system with the offensive coordinator was like a blessing in disguise.”
Mario Sategna was also pleased with the family-like environment OU had during the visit. As an assistant track coach at Texas A&M, Mario Sategna deeply values culture, and he was pleased with how head coach Brent Venables established one.
“It starts with the head coach — that family atmosphere that just filters down,” Mario Sategna said. “I coach as well. I see it from a track and field perspective, but to see that within a football family, I was very impressed.”
Since his visit, Isaiah Sategna has seen the environment he fell in love with during his visit carry over into the season. This makes a further impression on Mario Sategna as a coach who regularly deals with recruitment.
“I tell recruits all the time that the last thing that I want is for you to come here and it to be anything different or anything other than what we discussed on your visit,” Mario Sategna said. “There are some great recruiters out there, … but sometimes, kids get told everything they want to hear (and) get to a school (with) it completely different. That was not the case at Oklahoma.”
Between speed, consistency and culture carrying over, Mario Sategna feels deep pride in witnessing it all.
“I (am not) surprised,” Mario Sategna said. “But at the same time, I (am) very proud as a dad.”
This story was edited by Laurie Jones. Larkin Bock and Gretchen Schultz copy edited this story.
