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Eli Lederman, ESPN Staff Writer
Oklahoma wide receiver Jayden Gibson is expected to miss the 2024 season after suffering a significant knee injury during a fall camp practice last week, Sooners coach Brent Venables confirmed Tuesday afternoon.
Gibson, a junior from Winter Garden, Florida, was viewed as a potential breakout star for Oklahoma in 2024 after he caught 14 passes for 375 yards and five touchdowns as a sophomore last fall. The 6-foot-5 pass catcher injured his knee in practice last Tuesday, and a subsequent MRI revealed damage that will keep Gibson on the sidelines for Oklahoma’s debut SEC campaign this fall.
“You hate that for anybody, the season comes to an end prematurely,” Venables told reporters Tuesday. “But that’s a group that we feel really good about who’s in that group.”
Gibson joined the Sooners in the 2022 class as the No. 274 prospect in the ESPN 300 and No. 36 wide receiver in the nation. He flashed promise for the 2024 season in the late stages of his sophomore year last fall, tallying six catches for 196 yards and three touchdowns over Oklahoma’s final three regular-season games.
Gibson’s injury comes at a position of depth for the Sooners in a unit expected to be led by Purdue transfer Deion Burks. The 5-foot-9 junior caught 47 passes for 629 yards with seven touchdowns for the Boilermakers last fall and headlines a talented group of Oklahoma pass catchers that returns Jalil Farooq (45 catches, 692 yards), Nic Anderson (38 catches, 798 yards, 10 touchdowns), Andrel Anthony (27 catches, 429 yards before a season-ending knee injury) and Brenen Thompson (seven catches, 421 yards) in 2024.
Oklahoma opens Venables’ third season at home against Temple on Aug. 30 as the 16th-ranked team in the Associated Press Preseason Poll.
