NORMAN, Okla. — Oklahoma wide receiver Javonnie Gibson is expected to be available for the regular season after the Arkansas-Pine Bluff transfer underwent surgery on a broken leg this week, Sooners coach Brent Venables said Saturday.
Venables confirmed Gibson’s status following the program’s spring Crimson Combine event at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Gibson spent the practice session watching from the sideline in street clothes with a cast on his right leg, signing autographs for fans throughout.
“He had surgery a couple of days ago,” Venables said. “He got rolled up on in practice, unfortunately. If he just stays on schedule, he’ll be back to start the season and be back with us.”
Gibson, a 6-foot-3 pass catcher from Opelousas, Louisiana, joined the Sooners this offseason as the most prominent addition to a wide receivers room that spent 2024 ravaged by injury.
Gibson landed with Oklahoma in December after earning FCS All-American second-team honors in an explosive debut season at UAPB. He caught 70 passes for 1,215 yards and nine touchdowns with five performances of 100-plus yards in his lone campaign with the Golden Lions, finishing fourth among FCS wide receivers in total receiving yards.
The Sooners closed 2024 with the nation’s 119th-ranked passing offense after losing their projected top five wide receivers for significant time because of injury.
Two of those wide receivers — Deion Burks and Jayden Gibson — are back with the program in 2025. Oklahoma reinforced at the position through the transfer portal with the additions of Gibson, Keontez Lewis (Southern Illinois), Isaiah Sategna (Arkansas) and Josiah Martin (Cal). The Sooners also added wide receivers Elijah Thomas, ESPN’s No. 173-ranked prospect, and Emmanuel Choice in the program’s 2025 recruiting class.
Gibson spent the first two seasons of his college career at Division II Arkansas-Monticello. He enters this fall at Oklahoma with two years of remaining eligibility.
