Oklahoma leading wide receiver Deion Burks is not expected to play against No. 1 Texas due to a soft tissue injury, sources told ESPN’s Pete Thamel on Thursday.
Burks was listed as questionable in Oklahoma’s SEC player availability report ahead of Saturdays’ Red River Rivalry game at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas (TV: 3:30 p.m., ABC). He suffered the injury during the Sooners’ loss to Tennessee on Sept. 21 and sat out their victory against Auburn the following week.
Burks, a transfer from Purdue, has produced a team-high 26 catches for 201 yards in four games. He scored all three of his touchdowns in the Sooners’ rout of Temple in the season opener.
Oklahoma will once again be missing five of its top wide receivers when it takes on its rival on Saturday. Injured receivers Jalil Farooq, Nic Anderson, Andrel Anthony and Jayden Gibson had already been ruled out for the game.
In their absence, J.J. Hester has emerged as the top receiver for true freshman starting quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr., catching three passes for 86 yards in the road comeback win at Auburn. Jaquaize Pettaway replaced Burks at slot receiver for that game, and Brenen Thompson and Zion Ragins earned starts.
Hawkins, who graduated up the road from the Cotton Bowl at Frisco Emerson, will be the Sooners’ first true freshman quarterback to start against the Longhorns in the 120th edition of the rivalry. He got his first start two weeks ago against Auburn.
The Sooners have also moved cornerback Jacobe Johnson to receiver for added depth.
Oklahoma running back Taylor Tatum was not included in the availability report and is expected to play against the Longhorns after missing the Auburn game. Defensive backs Kendel Dolby and Gentry Williams have been ruled out for Saturday’s game, while backup tight end Kade McIntyre is listed as questionable.
Texas and Oklahoma are both coming off open dates, marking the first time since they started playing annually in 1929 that both were off the previous week.
This is the 44th time both teams will be ranked heading into the game, which is second only to the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry (49). It’s the fifth time Texas will enter the game at the Cotton Bowl ranked No. 1; Texas is 3-0-1 in the previous four.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.