Oklahoma WR Deion Burks' status revealed ahead of Ole Miss game
Oklahoma will be without wide receiver Deion Burks on Saturday when it faces No. 18 Ole Miss on the road.
Burks had been listed as doubtful on the team’s injury report Thursday night. Sooner Scoop’s George Stoia reported that Burks suffered a setback earlier this week in practice and is expected to miss his fourth consecutive game.
The Sooners (4-3) will also be without each of their other 4 top receivers as well. Nic Anderson and Andrel Anthony both remain out. Jalil Farooq has not played since breaking his foot in the team’s opener on Aug. 30. And Jayden Gibson is out for the year with a knee injury suffered in fall camp.
Those 5 combined for 171 receptions for 2,925 yards and 25 touchdowns last season at their respective schools. (Burks played for Purdue in 2023.) This year, they have caught a combined 28 passes for 252 yards and 3 touchdowns.
Despite missing each of the last 3 games, Burks is still the Sooners’ leading receiver.
For a litany of reasons, Oklahoma has had one of the least effective offenses in the country this season and is on track to produce one of the worst offensive seasons in Oklahoma history. Only Kentucky is scoring fewer points per game than Oklahoma (22.1) in the SEC and no team is averaging fewer yards per play (4.3).
Injuries have played their part. Oklahoma also fired co-offensive coordinator and primary play-caller Seth Littrell after last weekend’s 35-9 loss to South Carolina at home. Joe Jon Finley will take over play-calling responsibilities beginning this week against Ole Miss.
OU is also moving back to Jackson Arnold at quarterback. The former 5-star opened the season as the starter before being benched in the Tennessee game on Sept. 21. He sat behind Michael Hawkins Jr. in the Auburn and Texas games before eventually replacing Hawkins against the Gamecocks.
The Sooners are a significant underdog this week against the Rebels. At bet365, Ole Miss is a 20-point favorite. Kickoff from Vaught-Hemingway Stadium is set for noon ET on ESPN.
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