2014 Oklahoma Sooners Football Preview | Wide Receivers

At first glance the cupboard looks pretty bare for Oklahoma's receivers. Gone are Jalen Saunders, Lacoltan Bester, and Jaz Reynolds. The standouts among the holdovers are Sterling Shepard (51 catches in `13) and Durron Neal (13 catches in `13). Then there's...well...a bunch of question marks.

One waver from the NCAA can immediately boost Oklahoma's receivers corps to an elite status. Junior Dorial Green-Beckham has 87 receptions for 1,278 yards and 17 touchdowns in his first two seasons of college football. The problem is that those numbers were produced at Missouri where DGB starred for the Tigers. Oklahoma hopes an NCAA loophole, centered on Green-Beckham being dismissed from the team, can get him eligible to play in 2014 but the governing body of collegiate athletics must write off on it first.

2014 Oklahoma Receivers

Regardless of the DGB situation, Oklahoma knows that they have a proven guy in Shepard. In his first two seasons at Oklahoma he's collected 96 catches for 1,224 yards and 10 scores. He's catching passes at a clip of 12.8 yards per catch and has a career long of 57 yards. Shepard, by far and away, is Oklahoma's leading returning receiver and playmaker.

The question surrounding Oklahoma's receivers has been, who will join Shepard as a legitimate threat at the wide out position. The guy who emerged in the spring, and has continued to impress in camp, is junior Durron Neal. With just 18 career catches to his credit, Neal may be an offensive sleeper in 2014. He's a stocky guy who can be physical but has also shown great hands and playmaking ability in the spring and summer.

Derrick Woods, Jordan Smallwood, Austin Bennett, and incoming freshman Michiah Quick are among the others you can expect to see on the field for Oklahoma in 2014.