Watch the Sooners train for the fall season in this highlight reel of practice footage from August 10, 2021.
Filmed by Collin McDaniel and Justin Jayne
Edited by Collin McDaniel
Theo Wease and Jadon Haselwood are finally healthy.
Perhaps the most talented receivers on Oklahoma’s roster — both five-stars ranked No. 11 or higher in the 2019 Rivals national recruitings rankings — Wease and Haselwood are expected to play a huge role offensively for a team with national title hopes.
Wease missed the Sooners’ 2021 spring game with a knee injury and watched from the sidelines in a leg cast. Similarly, Haselwood missed OU’s first six games due to a knee injury last season. However, the duo is back to full health, and head coach Lincoln Riley said they’ll both be given opportunities to show they belong, just like the rest of the unit.
“We have a high expectation in that room to make routine plays and make some of the big, explosive plays,” Riley said on Aug. 5 during the Sooners’ local media day. “We had some really positive moments a year ago but we know we can do better. So, that’s going to be a bigger focus. Every one of those wideouts is going to get a chance to show us why we should be throwing them the ball.”
Wease has never felt better in camp, and Haselwood feels like he’s back. Both agree there’s improvement still to be made within their room, but through four days of training camp practices, there’s been a jump.
“As a group and a unit, we definitely want to take strides,” Wease said. “Say last year was a down year or whatever you want to call it. We definitely expect to be better.”
Wease caught a team-high 37 passes for 530 yards and four touchdowns last season while starting all 11 games. Haselwood, who despite playing just three games and recording only four catches for 65 yards, was able to flash his talent in the Big 12 Championship game against Iowa State with a leaping grab over three Cyclone defenders.
Sophomore wide receiver Jadon Haselwood catches the ball during the Big 12 Championship Game against No. 6 Iowa State at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Dec. 19.
Wease believes those numbers could be better, and he’s focused on honing those skills that made him a top recruit. The Allen, Texas, native has even taken more of a leadership role, stating he’s more vocal and open to helping the less-experienced receivers.
“He knows what he has to do,” Haselwood said of Wease. “He knows what he’s going to do this year and (we’re) all just gonna ball.”
The receiver room also returns former FWAA Freshman All-American Marvin Mims and redshirt junior Drake Stoops, and adds five-star recruit Mario Williams, four-star recruits Cody Jackson and Jalil Farooq and senior Arkansas transfer Mike Woods.
Haselwood, the unanimous No. 1 ranked wide receiver recruit in 2019, is anxious to be back on the field. Although the Ellenwood, Georgia, native only has 337 receiving yards to his name in college, he feels as if he’s ready.
“I needed to prove it to myself first but I will say that it didn’t take me long at all to even figure it out, like I’m back,” Haselwood said. “The whole process was to build confidence back in that knee. … During the rehab, I just put myself in game situations to try and train that way and build up.”
