Oklahoma OC Ben Arbuckle Expects Transfer WR to Break Out for Sooners

After inconsistency plagued the Sooners’ passing game in 2024, they went on a shopping spree.

In addition to landing Washington State transfer quarterback John Mateer, Oklahoma signed several wide receivers and tight ends from the transfer portal.

And since arriving on campus in January, Arkansas transfer wideout Isaiah Sategna has already made his presence known.

“When you need something done, you look to Isaiah,” OU offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle said at Thursday’s OU Football Coaches Luncheon. “He's mentally tough. He's really smart, he's played a lot of football.”

Sategna spent three seasons in Fayetteville, redshirting in 2022. 

He saw a key role in Arkansas’ return game as a redshirt freshman in 2023, returning 15 punts for 180 yards and a touchdown and 23 kickoffs for 500 yards. Sategna caught 15 passes for 129 yards and two touchdowns that year, too.

In 2024, Sategna started 10 games for Arkansas, catching 37 passes for 491 yards and a touchdown. Sategna’s reps in the return game, though, decreased, as he fielded only 10 punts and three kickoffs.

At 5-10 and 182 pounds, Sategna doesn’t have the same size advantages as some of Oklahoma’s other receivers. But Arbuckle said Sategna made countless big plays throughout spring ball — he just didn’t boast about them.

“It's like, 'Well, Isaiah had four big plays today. Holy crap,'” Arbuckle said. “And he did it really quietly.”

Sategna has yet to play a down for the Sooners.

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Still, Arbuckle cited the wideout’s veteran presence throughout spring practices and summer workouts.

“He's just a guy that I think every single person in the building trusts,” Arbuckle said. “And he constantly shows up in practice.”

Oklahoma desperately needs playmakers to complement Mateer.

The Sooners, led by Jackson Arnold, finished No. 121 out of 134 FBS teams in passing offense a year ago, averaging 175.8 yards per game. Tight end Bauer Sharp — who transferred to LSU after the season — led OU with 324 receiving yards.

Of Oklahoma’s returning wideouts, Deion Burks had the most receiving yards in 2024 (245) despite missing seven games with a soft tissue injury. Oklahoma will also return wide receivers Jacob Jordan, Zion Kearney, Ivan Carreon and Zion Ragins in 2025.

Sategna feels like his explosiveness — displayed in his three seasons at Arkansas — will translate while playing in the Mateer-led offense that needs a spark.

“John likes to push the ball down field, and that’s my specialty,” Sategna said during the spring. “Big plays. Just being explosive, and I feel like this is the perfect offense to suit my game.”

In addition to Sategna, the Sooners picked up four other wideouts — Josiah Martin (Cal), Keontez Lewis (Southern Illinois), Javonnie Gibson (Arkansas-Pine Bluff) and Jer’Michael Carter (McNeese State) — from the transfer portal. They also added tight ends Will Huggins (Pittsburg State), John Locke Jr. (Louisiana Tech) and Carson Kent (Kennesaw State).

Arbuckle praised the collective buy-in from his transfer wide receivers and tight ends and singled out Sategna as the “first one that pops” into his head when thinking about players who have been impactful throughout the offseason.

“Isaiah Sategna has been awesome,” Arbuckle said. “Those transfer receivers, they bought in immediately. They didn't want to be someone who got left behind because of a learning curve or something like that. They hopped in, and they had a great spring ball, they had a great summer camp. Looking forward to continuously building that with them going into the season.”

OU opens the 2025 season against Illinois State on Saturday, Aug. 30.