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Brent Venables shared a positive injury update involving a couple of key players on Wednesday.
Venables said that receiver Deion Burks and running back Taylor Tatum are both trending toward being available when the Sooners take on Texas on Oct. 12.
“They’re doing good, so expect to have an opportunity to have both of those guys potentially back,” Venables said during the SEC coaches teleconference.
Brent Venables on Deion Burks and Taylor Tatum's availability against Texas: "They’re doing good, so expect to have an opportunity to have both of those guys potentially back."#Sooners
Question by @GeorgeStoia
— Eric Bailey (@EricBaileyTW) October 2, 2024
Getting Burks and Tatum back for the Texas game would be massive for OU’s offense. Burks is arguably Oklahoma’s most talented receiver, but missed the Auburn game due to an injury. He still leads the team with 26 catches for 201 yards and 3 touchdowns after 5 weeks.
Tatum is a true freshman who has quickly carved out a role in OU’s offense, but also missed the Auburn game with an injury. Per GameOnPaper, Tatum has a 39% success rate so far this season, which is significantly higher than Oklahoma’s other top running backs Javontae Barnes and Gavin Sawchuk. Tatum is averaging 6.4 yards per carry and has 3 total touchdowns on the year (2 rushing, 1 receiving).
Oklahoma’s offense has been dealing with injuries all season. The Sooners’ top 5 wide receivers were all missing from the lineup when they faced Auburn last weekend. Given those struggles, getting Burks back onto the field could have a big impact against Texas next week.
Oklahoma is idle in Week 6 but will face off against the Longhorns in Dallas on Oct. 12.
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Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.
