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Underrated transfer portal pickup might have solved one of the biggest issues facing the Oklahoma Sooners' offense this season

Originally posted on A to Z Sports | By AJ Schulte | Last updated Aug 31, 2025 12:42 PM ET

As the Oklahoma Sooners geared up for their Week 1 matchup against Illinois State, they had plenty of questions left on their depth chart, with one of the biggest being the wide receiver room.

The Sooners obviously returned star Deion Burks, but the rest of the wide receiver corps were complete unknowns. Oklahoma knew they had picked up talented players who had been productive at previous schools, but how they would all fit and acclimate to the offense in an in-game situation was something that couldn't be solved till they got into games.

After their season opener, I think the Sooners found out plenty about their wide receiver room moving forward.

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Keontez Lewis Has Emerged For the Oklahoma Sooners

While players like Deion Burks and Jaren Kanak each made plenty of plays through the air, it was the play of Southern Illinois transfer receiver Keontez Lewis who stole the show.

Lewis showed off his strong chemistry with John Mateer, leading the team in targets, receptions, receiving yards, and touchdowns, including on a tremendous double-move touchdown at the end of the game to rub the score in even more.

Keontez Lewis with his second TD and John Mateer has his 4th TD of the game️ pic.twitter.com/W1ETEO81rd
— D. Ferrel (@dferrel15) August 31, 2025

Lewis caught two touchdown passes in the Sooners' 35-3 victory over Illinois State. That total would have had him second on the team for all of last season, and is just one behind Deion Burks, who didn't catch a touchdown after Week 1.

The Sooners desperately needed a playmaker (or two) to emerge on the perimeter of this offense to fully maximize their new-look offense under offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle. Lewis brought exactly that, and more, for Oklahoma in this one.

With the Sooners also set to add Javonnie Gibson in the coming weeks, the wide receiver already feels off to a significantly better start than it was last season. Time will tell just how good they can be as the competition continues to improve, but this was a performance to hang his hat on for Keontez Lewis.

This article first appeared on A to Z Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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