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How Oklahoma WR Jayden Gibson's New 'Mentality' is Already Paying Off in 2023

Originally posted on Oklahoma Sooners on SI
By Ryan Chapman | Last updated 9/3/23

NORMAN — Jayden Gibson didn’t have to wait long to see his offseason transformation translate to success on Saturday’s.

After a trying freshman season, the former 4-star recruit flipped his mindset, working harder than ever to carve a role in Oklahoma’s wide receiver rotation.

His work was rewarded in the second quarter of OU’s 73-0 rout of the Arkansas State Red Wolves on Saturday.

Early in the second quarter, Dillon Gabriel led the Sooners on a march toward the end zone once again.

After a play-action fake to Tawee Walker, Gabriel saw Gibson had a step on his defender and let the ball fly.

The sophomore, who only logged one catch in 2022, went up and made a diving catch, landing on the 1-yard-line to set up OU’s fifth score of the day.

Gibson wasn’t done, however.

In the third quarter he was trusted to go up and make a play with his 6-foot-5 frame again, this time when true freshman Jackson Arnold threw a jump ball into the end zone.

“Just saw Gib out there by himself,” Arnold said of the touchdown throw after the game. “Saw him running a little go route, thought I’d go up there and give him a chance.”

The grab was Gibson’s first touchdown catch at Oklahoma, reinforcing the confidence he’s built this offseason under new receivers coach Emmett Jones.

“It meant everything, man,” Gibson said after the game. “It meant everything because I know my team needs me to be a big player, a reliable player, a consistent player.

“… It meant a lot to me because my coaches, they put a lot of effort and instilled a lot into me—a lot of belief. That’s the best word, belief. I didn’t want to let them down.”

Opportunity had been few and far between for Gibson up to this point in his OU career.

He caught a 75-yard pass in his first spring game, but rarely saw the field as a freshman.

In his second spring game this past offseason, Gibson failed to haul in the decisive two-point conversion at the end of the scrimmage.

Otherwise, there hasn’t been much to go off to judge his impact.

Last year was hard for Gibson, who said he struggled to adjust to playing so little for the first time. But instead of transferring, he chose to use his freshman season as motivation to improve and earn snaps as a sophomore.

“People always want to talk about ‘drops, drops,’ but like, I don’t forget any drops,” Gibson said. “… You can either use it, be a hateful person and let it bring you down and affect you, or you could learn to be a positive person and just go hard at it every day.

“… That’s not a mentality I feel like I always had here at OU, but I got it now. Let’s keep it rolling.”

The mentality shift may have come at the perfect time for Gibson.

Oklahoma lost Marvin Mims, Brayden Willis and Eric Gray to the NFL, and Theo Wease transferred to Missouri in the offseason.

Other than Jalil Farooq and Drake Stoops, there isn’t much experience at receiver in Norman.

The 2023 season represents a major chance for Gibson and the rest of his teammates to step up and establish themselves in Jeff Lebby’s offense.

Eleven different Sooners caught passes against Arkansas State, and Gibson’s 54 yards finished fifth on the team.

Gibson’s size ensures he stands out within the position group, and making a pair of competitive grabs will help him get more opportunities as the season rolls on.

“We could talk about it nonstop,” Lebby said on Saturday. “Just you gotta be able to put really good stuff on tape to create trust.

“And so when you're given an opportunity to make the play, make the play. (Gibson) made a couple of those a day which was really good. And he'll continue to.”

One strong performance against Arkansas State won’t be enough to satisfy Gibson or any of the Sooners, but it’s a good start to a new season where the entire program seems intent on proving a point.

“This is a testament to the work I put in and the work my team put in around me,” Gibson said. “Can’t do it by yourself. It was a great team win. I’m far from the only person who played and had a great day today.

“I feel like if everyone just adapts that same mentality, we’ll have many more wins that’ll mean a lot more than this.”

But for now, Gibson is happy to get off the mark and put the past behind him — though he’ll use the past 18 months to motivate him.

“He told me today, that’s for the spring game,” Arnold said. “… He said, ‘I wasn’t even happy about that touchdown. It was just redemption for the spring game.’

“I mean, I was saying, he’s worked his butt off since then, worked hard all summer, all fall camps. Today he showed that he can go up and pretty much get anything.”