OU head coach Brent Venables confirmed on Wednesday during the weekly SEC coaches teleconference that wide receiver Nic Anderson will be sidelined for the Sooners’ season opener against Temple at 6 p.m. on Friday due to an injury. Venables also provided an update on receiver Andrel Anthony, who sustained a season-ending injury against Texas last year.
“Andrel will be available and Nic will not be,” Venables stated, without offering further details.
Venables had previously mentioned Anderson’s injury on “Sooners Sports Talk” on Monday, noting that Anderson had been “a little limited” in practice and was considered “day-to-day.”
“We felt like he had a chance to play this weekend,” Venables said on Monday, though his status has changed as the game approaches.
Anderson was set to lead the Sooners in 2024 after an impressive redshirt-freshman season, where he set a record with 10 touchdown catches— the most by a freshman in OU and Big 12 history— and accumulated 798 receiving yards, the second-highest for an OU freshman. He was also named to the preseason watch list for the Biletnikoff Award, which honors the best receiver in college football.
In Anderson’s absence, junior Brenen Thompson, who stands at 5-foot-9, will take his place. Thompson, who appeared in six games last year, caught seven passes for 241 yards and two touchdowns. His standout moment came in the Alamo Bowl, where he caught a 63-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Jackson Arnold. Thompson, a transfer from Texas, had previously played in nine games for the Longhorns as a freshman and was an Under Armour All-American out of Spearman, TX.
Anthony, a transfer from Michigan, will return to action for the first time since October 12, 2024. He was leading the Sooners with 429 receiving yards and one touchdown before his injury. Now fully healthy, Anthony is listed behind Anderson and Thompson on the depth chart.
Additionally, the Sooners will be without Jayden Gibson, who is out for the season due to a knee injury suffered during fall camp. Gibson, a 6-foot-5 junior, averaged 25.8 yards per catch last season and will redshirt for 2024, aiming to return in 2025.
Despite these receiver losses, sophomore quarterback Jackson Arnold will make only his second start on Friday night. However, the Sooners have bolstered their receiving corps with Purdue transfer Deion Burks and return Jalil Farooq, who started all 13 games last season. Burks and Farooq will lead the receiving unit at the start of the season.
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