Jayden Gibson looking to reach new heights: 'I’m still working'
NORMAN — There's been a constant theme for the Sooners during winter workouts and spring ball.
The wide receiver wearing No. 1 has been everywhere.
That'd be Jayden Gibson, who's emerging as a real threat for the Sooners' offense. Gibson's presence has been everywhere the last few weeks. He's leading the charge in individual drills. He's making standout plays during scrimmages and live-action drills. Most notably, he's getting nothing but first-team reps. OU coach Brent Venables said Gibson didn't lose a rep during winter workouts, and that he's "easily at his best" right now.
It comes from a hard-working mindset that is fueling more than ever as he enters his third season in an Oklahoma uniform.
“The biggest thing I learned from Venables is, how you do anything is how you do everything," Gibson said after last Friday's practice. "I’ve been trying to just live my life in the best way possible. I feel like that’s what’s gonna allow me to have the most blessings on the field. School work, how I treat people, how I talk to people, how I come out here and compete with my teammates, how I attack film, how I attack recovery, I just try to get on all of that. I’m still not perfect and I’m still far from where I need to be."
With that mindset, and the work Gibson has put in this offseason, the stage is set for Gibson to have a breakout season in 2024.
In a lot of ways, last season was a massive step forward for the Florida native. He recorded 14 receptions for 375 yards and five touchdowns, averaging nearly 27 yards per catch. He also finished with a Pro Football Focus season grade of 76.3, the sixth-best grade of any OU offensive player. His 6-foot-5 frame posed tons of problems for opposing defenses and he showcased an ability to make highly-contested catches, which was questioned by some heading into the year.
His output was particularly impressive given he didn't play a ton of snaps. He logged just 232 snaps per PFF, which ranked fifth among OU receivers, and he played fewer than 20 a game amid a wide receiver group that proved to be one of the deepest on the team.
But the circumstances are a lot different this year. Jackson Arnold is now in at starting quarterback, Drake Stoops — who led the team in receptions and yards by a large margin — is headed to the NFL and Seth Littrell is now calling the shots offensively. It's also notable that Gibson played a career-high 44 snaps in the Alamo Bowl in his first game with Littrell and Joe Jon Finley as the co-offensive coordinators.
That has all contributed to a new feeling this spring.
“Offense is going great, for real," Gibson said. "It’s kind of like starting all over. Obviously we’ve got a new quarterback. So just trying to get down that connection with him every day is really the main goal, just continuing just to support him and uplift him and I've been trying to teach him how to be a leader in life, how to show him how to be a leader and take a look at my own leadership skills and improve those. But that's really mainly what this spring is about.
"There are a lot of guys who we already knew that can play … It's just now about putting all those puzzle pieces together. It's gonna be a new lineup, gonna be new and a new two deep so I feel like it's going really well."
The depth at wide receiver could be even deeper this season. The Sooners added Deion Burks during the offseason, and the returning players include Nic Anderson, Jalil Farooq, Andrel Anthony, Jaquaize Pettaway and Gibson. Playing time could be hard to come by as OU receivers coach Emmett Jones figures out how to manage the rotation.
But Gibson has really emerged at the top this spring, particularly as Anthony, Anderson and Farooq are managing injuries.
"When one guy goes down, next guy's up and we’re really not trying to do too much complaining," Gibson said. "That's the mentality of the room and coach Jones appreciates that out of the guys who just put their head down and who really ain't worried about no nicks and all that other stuff and little bruises, we’re just gonna keep on going. And the guys who got real injuries, real problems, we’re praying for them and they get in the training room and get right.
"But we're really not worried about all that man, we know that the room is deep, the room still deep with the injuries, it’s always gonna be deep. So we’ve just got to continue to build up the guys who are here are and able to practice and everything is gonna fall into place.”
Those injuries have also given Gibson to emerge as a leader, too.
"J-Gib is stepping up into that role with Nic and Andrel being out," OU safety Peyton Bowen said. "He’s stepped up really well. I can’t wait for him to play this season.”
The competition for playing time will be most on display in the wide receiver room. But Gibson showed real flashes last season in his time on the field, and there's plenty of reasons to believe he could a significant contributor if he sees the field.
Gibson's focused on keeping that mentality as the Sooners prepare for Saturday's spring game and beyond.
"I’m not nowhere close to where I need to be but I’m strides farther than where I was," Gibson said. "I’m excited to go out into the stadium this year and show everybody, ‘Hey I’m still working. I’m just gonna keep on getting better and better.’ I might not be a guy that’ll pop right on the scene but I’m just a steady increase.
"I’m always just gonna keep working. Ain’t nobody gonna stop the work.”