With Keontez Lewis' Status in the Air, Oklahoma OC Ben Arbuckle Trusts His Receivers

Originally posted on Oklahoma Sooners on SI
By Brady Trantham | Last updated Sep 16, 2025 1:24 PM ET

Late in the first half of last Saturday's 42-3 win over the Temple Owls, John Mateer threw a shallow crosser to Keontez Lewis. The pass resulted in Mateer's lone interception of the day and the loss of Lewis for the rest of the game following a collision with a Temple defender on the route.

Lewis has been a bright spot on a great offensive debut under coordinator Ben Arbuckle. Lewis' 15 catches is second on the team behind Deion Burks with his two touchdowns tied for first among all Sooner pass catchers.

His status for Saturday's game against the Auburn Tigers (2:30 p.m. CT) is still in question. Last night during his weekly coach's show on Monday, Brent Venables didn't provide any concrete update regarding Lewis' immediate return.

“We expect for him to hopefully be back,” Venables said Monday. “So, we’ll see.”

Losing Lewis would be a blow to the Oklahoma passing attack, but Arbuckle doesn't seem worried.

"I trust our receiver room," Arbuckle said during his weekly Tuesday press conference. "Zion Kearney has shown that he can go in the game and make an impact. Ivan Carreon, just like throughout all fall camp, was maybe the most consistent guy out there. So, with or without Keontez, I feel great about our receiver room as a whole."

There's reason for that trust and optimism.

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While last season was something OU wants to distance itself from — and has in many ways already — Kearney showed flashes in 2024. Through an offensive coaching change and a fresh offseason, Kearney was able to make it onto the field against Temple and register two catches for 31 yards. Per Pro Football Focus, his 14 snaps against Temple were the most he's seen the field by far. He'd only played one snap in the Sooners' season opener against Illinois State.

Carreon also saw extended action against Temple, and if Lewis isn't able to play on Saturday, the second-year pass catcher could see that role increase even more.

Arbuckle is also confident in transfer receiver Javonnie Gibson. While his status is in a similar state as Lewis, Gibson is still waiting to make his season debut with Oklahoma. Whenever that may be, Arbuckle trusts the 6-foot-2-inch receiver to be ready to plug and play.

"Javonnie's self-motivated, and he loves football, and he's ready to play football," Arbuckle said. "So really, keeping him engaged hasn't been that much of a challenge. He sits back there every day with the practice script in his hand, getting the mental reps that he needs. Really attentive, asks good questions in his position meetings.

"So whenever the moment comes for him to be back, I think he'll be ready for it just for the way that he's gone about this whole process," Arbuckle added.

Between Burks and the emergence of Jaren Kanak as a downthe field threat, paired with the abilities of Mateer and Tory Blaylock out of the backfield, the Sooners will have options in the event Lewis isn't able to make it to field. Options that Arbuckle is confident in.

This article first appeared on Oklahoma Sooners on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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