NORMAN — It can be difficult to know how much stock to put into season openers, particularly dominant victories like Oklahoma's 51-3 win over Temple last Friday.

However, one thing is for sure — the Sooners will need some players to step at wide receiver.

After a 47-yard reception, Jalil Farooq went out with a broken foot and is expected to miss the next two months of the season. Combine that with Jayden Gibson's season-ending injury suffered in fall camp — and Nic Anderson, who missed the Temple game — and it's clear the wide receiver room is already dealing with injuries.

That's a tough spot, especially considering the wide receiver room was arguably the Sooners' best position group heading into the season. Now, the depth will be tested.

Here's a look at how the wide receivers looked against Temple and the players who could see a boost in playing time:

(Editor's note: The Sooners played 67 offensive snaps against Temple, per Pro Football Focus).

Deion Burks — 56

JJ Hester — 38

Brenen Thompson — 32

Zion Ragins — 14

Zion Kearney — 14

Jaquaize Pettaway — 11

Andrel Anthony — 8

Ivan Carreon — 8

*Jalil Farooq — 7

The Sooners are going to lean on Burks even more heavily now. Even in a blowout victory — a game the Sooners led 34-0 at halftime — Burks played 84% of the snaps. He turned that into a team-high six receptions for 36 yards and three scores. It's very likely that his snap share will be 90% or higher when the games get tight.

Most notably, Burks lined up in the slot on 30 of his 34 routes. He's got the slot locked up, which puts the focus on the perimeter and outside spots. Also it's worth noting that tight end Bauer Sharp was in the slot for 16 of his 25 snaps, leaving essentially no opportunities for anyone in the slot outside of him and Burks.

But Farooq's injury leaves a hole on the perimeter, where he ran 74% of his snaps last season. But he was also used as a safety-blanket option — 56 of his 71 targets had an average depth of 19 yards or fewer, including 37 targets with an average depth of fewer than 10 yards. Listed at 6-foot-1, Farooq gave the Sooners some size but also offered the speed and skillset of a slot receiver.

The easy answers would be Nic Anderson and Andrel Anthony, who both played significant roles last season. Anderson ran 311 of his 357 snaps (87%) out wide; coincidentally, Anthony also ran 87% of his snaps from the perimeter. Plus, both players offer size.

But Anthony played just eight snaps against Temple in his first appearance since suffering an injury against Texas last October. Anderson missed the game and will return "sooner rather than later," Venables said, but it's unclear when he'll be back and how healthy he will be.

Therefore, the Sooners will need to look at other options.

Venables put it plainly when asked about the receiver room on Tuesday.

"(The) young guys are going to have to grow up quick," Venables said. "We know who all those guys are."

That would be the freshman trio of Ragins, Kearney and Carreon.

They all offer different skillsets. If it's size the Sooners are looking for, Carreon (6-foot-6) and Kearney (6-foot-1) can provide that. While Carreon played six fewer snaps than Kearney, he ran five routes to Kearney's zero. Most notably, all five of Carreon's routes came on the perimeter, and he did catch one pass for two yards. Plus, he would help give the Sooners a potential mismatch they would've gotten with Gibson (6-foot-5)

But the Sooners still have size in Anderson and Anthony, and Kearney offers a similar size and skillset to Farooq.

The interesting option is Ragins. The freshman speedster is listed at 5-foot-8 — the ideal size for a slot receiver — but he ran two of his five routes from the perimeter.

Regardless of Anderson and Anthony's health, the Sooners are going to need at least one of the freshmen to step up.

"Excited about ‘em," Venables said. "It’s a group of guys that really showed maturity. Saw ‘em get better. Saw them at times play a little inconsistent like a lot of young players. Sometimes it’s mindset. Sometimes it’s fundamentals. Sometimes it’s a sense of urgency. But I love the group of guys. Coachable. Really talented. You got size, you got speed, you got length, you got a lot of things that you want, and the toughness, too.

"They’ll take on the disposition of their coach, and (OU receiver coach Emmett Jones) does a great job in bringing out the best in guys. He’s tough and demanding on them, and we try to recruit guys that want to be challenged and are looking to be coached and held accountable. And Emmett does a great job of that."

The true sophomore was a difficult player to project in 2024. He's clearly a talented player — he was a consensus four-star prospect and top-100 player — but is primed to play in the slot, and Burks' addition via the transfer portal made things cloudy for Pettaway in terms of playing time.

But could this be the opportunity for Pettaway to find a consistent role? Maybe. It'll depend on if Pettaway can be productive on the perimeter.

He only played in five games last season and he ran 22 routes, and he was lined up in the slot for 20 of them. He only played 11 snaps against Temple, with Venables clarifying that he's dealing with a hamstring injury, and he ran all three of routes from the slot.

But there's been buzz that he has the versatility to play both in the slot and on the perimeter. He's not the tallest guy (listed at 5-foot-11), but he has the speed to beat his matchup in one-on-one situations.

Pettaway was unlikely to contribute in a big way in the slot this season. But if he can play on the perimeter, it could be the opening he was looking for.

Thompson emerged throughout the spring and fall camp, earning the start against the Owls. It was an indication that Thompson has earned a real shot.

He played 32 snaps, two more than he played all season, and came away with four receptions for 15 yards. He led the team in yards per reception last season (34.43) and showed he can be a deep-play threat, which makes it interesting to see how he was utilized by Seth Littrell. Five of Thompson's six targets came with an average depth of target of nine yards or fewer.

It wasn't necessarily a standout game for Thompson, but it's possible he gets another game or two to show he deserves to keep a significant role.

The same can't be said for Hester, who was a popular candidate to emerge after Gibson's injury. He dropped both of his targets, including one that likely would've been a long touchdown, and didn't record a reception despite playing the second-most snaps behind Burks. Maybe the Sooners have no choice but to give Hester another chance considering he's a veteran with size (6-foot-4), but he certainly left the door open for a younger player to take his snaps.

The Sooners boasted their depth at wide receiver throughout the spring and fall camp. This will be the time to prove it. Anderson and Anthony quickly proving they’re back to full healthy would answer a lot of questions, but even if that happens, the Sooners are going to need other options.

Ideally, the Sooners could've brought the young players along slowly, maybe even redshirting all three freshmen. But it's almost a guarantee that one of them is going to be asked to contribute real snaps right away. As far as players like Pettaway and Thompson, the door is as open as it'll ever be for them to stake their claim for playing time.

Houston isn't likely to test the Sooners a ton on Saturday (6:45 p.m. SEC Network). But the Sooners can't afford to fool around. They need to find out who can contribute when SEC play begins in two weeks.

The rotation at wide receiver will be one of the most intriguing things to watch this weekend.

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