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Oklahoma's Jayden Gibson 'Creating Trust' During Fall Camp Wide Receiver Battle

Originally posted on Oklahoma Sooners on SI
By Ryan Chapman | Last updated 8/10/23

NORMAN — Jayden Gibson had to bide his time during his first season at Oklahoma.

A late addition in the 2022 class, joining the Sooners alongside quarterback Nick Evers , Gibson had hopes that his 6-foot-5 frame could give him a shot at carving out a role as a true freshman.

And despite making an immediate impact toward the end of his first spring game, snaps never materialized for the true freshman.

In the end, Gibson appeared in nine games, mostly on special teams, hauling in just one catch for 12 yards against TCU.

But the departures of pass catchers Marvin Mims and Brayden Willis to the NFL as well as Theo Wease to the transfer portal leave plenty of opportunities up for grabs in 2023.

Instead of wallowing after playing such a small role as a freshman, Gibson got to work under new receivers coach Emmett Jones.

Not limiting his work to just the practice field, he absorbed the playbook like a sponge this offseason.

“Jayden Gibson is probably one of the smartest receivers in the room besides Drake Stoops,” Jones said at local media day last week. “He knows everything when it comes to this offense. Probably could play quarterback… That’s one thing that blows me away from him.”

Gibson’s knowledge of the playbook paired with his size will allow him to be an option at every wide receiver spot in Jeff Lebby’s offense.

Now, it’s just a matter of Gibson putting it all together throughout fall camp to show the coaching staff he’s a known quantity that can be relied upon come Saturday’s.

“Jayden’s done good,” Lebby said on Monday. “He’s continued to mature. He’s a smart young man that knows what to do.

“He’s got to do it all the time. Again, that’s like everybody. He’s had a good start.”

Outside of Jalil Farooq and Stoops, every one of Gibson’s other teammates is a relative unknown at Oklahoma.

Gavin Freeman, who initially joined the Sooners as a walk-on, returns the third most catches from 2022 to Jones’ position group after pulling down three passes last season.

Jones hit the portal hard, adding speedsters Andrel Anthony from Michigan and Brenen Thompson from Texas, as well as true freshman Jaquaize Pettaway from the high school ranks.

But OU’s new wide receivers coach insists that size isn’t necessarily Gibson’s only calling card.

“When you look at the GPS numbers, that’s one thing I reviewed last week,” said Jones, “… Gibson’s name keeps popping up… He can run also.

“… He gets stronger as he goes downfield, so I think every 50-50 ball is his as long as he has a change to get it.”

As with every receiver at Oklahoma, if Gibson can prove to be sure-handed through fall camp, there are an abundance of catches to go around this fall.

“What I love about JG is he’s just the same,” quarterback Dillon Gabriel said on Tuesday. “He’s very talented and he comes to work. He’s got a lot of great things on tape and he continues to show that. So him just creating confidence for the coaches, for the guys, and then creating trust that he can go out there on game day and do it.”