Smallwood confident

Oklahoma wide receiver Jordan Smallwood has persisted through numerous injuries and now finds himself in a position to be a key contributor for the Sooners.

NORMAN — When Jordan Smallwood’s left anterior cruciate ligament snapped in spring 2015, the Oklahoma wide receiver started to wonder.

“Do I want to do this again?” Smallwood thought. “Do I want to do the whole routine of coming back.”

Smallwood wondered if going through the pain and agony of rehab was worth it after suffering his second major injury since winding up in Norman out of Jenks High School.

“The first one was kind of, ‘Oh, it happened.’ It was random. I knew I was gonna redshirt so I wasn’t gonna complain about it,” Smallwood said. “The second one, that was like one of those heartbreaking ones. I put a lot of effort going into that summer and spring, so I really felt that one hard.”

Eventually, it was Smallwood’s parents, Ryan and Shannon Smallwood, who convinced him it wasn’t quite time to let go of the sport.

“They were the backbone of the situation,” Jordan said. “Once that happened I just kind of ducked away from everybody, but my parents really molded me back and got me back together and just showed me, ‘Hey, you can do this. We can make this happen.’ So I really thank them. They were my life saver— and the man above.”

Now a senior and finally seemingly fully healthy after a stretch of injuries— the most recent of which kept him out of the spring game a few months ago— Smallwood finally appears ready to make a significant contribution to the Sooners’ offense.

With a wide receiver corps that’s lacking in proven playmakers, Smallwood will have a chance to see playing time on the outside after registering just eight catches in his first three seasons of action.

“Jordan can be of use,” receiver Jeffery Mead said. “Jordan had a great scrimmage Saturday. I think he’ll play more than people think and I think he’ll make a lot more plays than people are giving him, credit for.”

In that scrimmage, Smallwood scored a pair of touchdowns—one receiving and one running the ball.

His play drew praise from Lincoln Riley, who also heaped praise on Smallwood during the spring before the injury.

“He’s done a lot of good things,” Riley said then. “We have to keep him healthy. He’s such a physical guy and he plays so hard and physical.

“I love his attitude and love the way he is working. He’s playing some of the best ball of his life right now as well. Those guys see the opportunity.”

At 6-foot-2, 225 pounds, Smallwood has the frame to be able to play on the outside while also being physical.

But it’s the mental part of his game, he feels, that will help him the most this season as he looks to finally play a prominent role.

“Last year I remember going in there not really knowing everything, knowing partial things,” Smallwood said. “It kind of set me off and got me nervous. Now, looking at each and every detail of the game, you kind of see everything better and it makes you more calm.”