Just Throw it to MARVIN

JUST THROW IT TO MARVIN

BY: CHRIS PLANK

The smile on the face of Sooner standout Marvin Mims was broad and beaming and for good reason. He had just wrapped up a career performance in a Sooner win over Kent State, posting a career-high 163 yards on seven catches with two touchdowns and a huge punt return.

But it wasn’t an individual play that was the biggest joy to Mims. No, that was saved for the fans and the light show.

“The lights were my favorite part, and the best part was the fans matched the lights,” Mims said with a smile as he explained the feeling on the field of the new LED lights the Sooners debuted in the game. “When the lights went off and flickered and the fans had the flash on. It was the coolest thing ever, really nice.”

The smile on his face is no surprise, even when the lights aren’t flashing. The third-year Sooner receiver has an incredibly positive and refreshing perspective and is one of the more popular Sooners on the roster. He has reached lofty standards in the classroom while also developing into one of the top receivers in the college game, likely a first-round pick in the NFL Draft.

“I’m super proud of Marvin Mims,” OU head coach Brent Venables said. “When he touches that ball, man, it’s electric.”

Mims has displayed that electricity from the moment he stepped on the field in a Sooner uniform. As a freshman, Mims set the all-time Sooner mark for touchdowns by a freshman (9). That number tied the Big 12 record. He was also the first wide receiver in OU history to earn FWAA Freshman All-America status and earned freshman All-America honors from The Athletic and ESPN.

His sophomore campaign didn’t provide the increase in opportunities he had hoped for. While his 705 yards were more than 300 over any other Sooner, his reception total had dropped. The frustration after his sophomore season was understandable and noticeable.

Mims faced a dilemma - did he want to continue his career as a Sooner or take advantage of the transfer portal and seek opportunities somewhere else? Change also came at the top of the Sooner program when Lincoln Riley left for the west coast as Mims was considering his options.

“That’s kind of a hard topic to talk about,” Mims said this offseason on the possibility of transferring. “It was up in the air, but I always wanted to stay. There was never a point where I was like, ‘I’m leaving, and I’m going here.’”

He wanted more opportunities. The allure of playing in the exciting up-tempo, high-power offense that Venables would be employing alongside offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby was something that Mims wanted to be a part of.

“Lebby didn’t have to really talk much to me to get me to stay, especially with the offense he runs,” Mims said. “You’re talking about one of the top three offensive coordinators in the country statistically. He’s just a great guy.”

Mims was staying and he had an incredible blueprint to follow. Lebby has been an offensive coordinator at UCF and Ole Miss and his leading receivers had at least 70 catches and 1,000-plus yards.

Comparisons to New York Jet Elijah Moore started almost immediately for Mims under Lebby. While the offensive coordinator at Ole Miss, the way Lebby used Moore not only helped maximize his talent and numbers but also elevated him to the second round of the NFL Draft.

In 2019, the season before Lebby took over, Moore had 67 catches for 850 yards and six touchdowns. Mims rushed for 705 yards and five touchdowns on an inconsistent Oklahoma offense last season. In his full season with Lebby, Moore improved his yards per catch to 13.9 while catching 86 for 1,193 yards and eight touchdowns. Mims will be the undisputed No. 1 target for new quarterback Dillon Gabriel, making Moore’s stat line look very achievable.

“Personally, they’re very similar,” Lebby said of the comparison between Moore and Mims. “Both professionals… They keep themselves at an extremely prominent level and know how to lead and work like professionals. From that point of view, there are many similarities.”

But the process of learning a new offense and following the Elijah Moore blueprint is not easy. Mims not only had to learn a new offense, but he also had to work with his third starting quarterback in as many seasons.

UCF quarterback Dillon Gabriel transferred in and immediately meshed with the Sooner receiver. It helped that Gabriel had played for Lebby at UCF in 2019 and had a firm grasp of the offense that everyone was learning. It also helped that Gabriel and Mims spent a ton of time together in the offseason, both on and off the field.

“We spent a lot of time together in the spring and summer knowing we were at a disadvantage with a new playbook and a new offense,” Mims said. “The Dime Time retreat was incredibly helpful, taking us to Medicine Park in Lawton staying in a house together having a throwing session and hanging out. At this point, this is the closes we’ve been as a team than in the past teams I’ve been on and I’m just loving it and that’s where it’s coming from.”

The much talked about “Dime Time” retreat was one of the hits of the offseason and seemed to help establish Gabriel as a leader and develop cohesiveness on the offensive side of the football. Of course, there was also a lot of fun too. Activities included lots of throwing in the backyard, a little golf at Fort Sill Golf Course, some lake time, plenty of fun and games, but mostly just fellowship. And eating. Lots of eating.

“Made sure to eat every meal together,” Gabriel said. “Breakfast, lunch and dinner. That was a big point for me just to connect with one another.”

Now the Sooners are eating up opponents with its explosive offense. And at the core of it all is the relationship between Gabriel and Mims.

“I mean, he’s an explosive player,” Gabriel said. “I trust Marv, know what he can do with the football in his hands, and know special things will happen.”

The relationship off the field is just as important to Gabriel and Mims.

“I think what’s really cool about me and Marvin is we’re very similar,” Gabriel said. “Just the way we approach football, but also the way we approach life. As we connected and continue to have conversations over the past six or seven months, I just feel confident in the person he is.”

Don’t lose track of how tight the receiving room has become. Returning talent around Mims includes Drake Stoops, Jalil Farooq and Theo Wease while exciting newcomers Jayden Gibson and Nic Anderson will look to make an impact in 2022.

“We are all best friends,” Stoops said. “At the end of the day, we all love each other and that helps with that cohesion in the room. We’re all playing for each other; we’ve got each other’s back.”

That means end zone and sideline celebrations, indepth and intense film room studies, and of course a ton of smiles.

“We all have respect for each other. Drake, Theo and I are the older guys, and we always see eye to eye,” Mims said of the group. “We try to teach each other as much as we can, especially in the film room. I love those guys to death and it’s definitely the closest room I’ve been in.”

Mims has found the opportunities and energy he wanted in a new coaching staff and new quarterback yet still in the same location at the University of Oklahoma.

“It’s different than it’s been in the past, that’s for sure,” Mims said. “Games are always different than practices. I feel like everything’s so much calmer in games. We’re just out there playing football. It’s been great, with the receivers on the sideline, quarterbacks on the side, communication at halftime, everything’s been different, but I love it.”

And did we mention the opportunities on the field?

“I love it when I get thrown the ball,” Mims added. “Just making the most of my opportunities. Even when I’ve got to block for someone else or something, I’m going to try my hardest at it because we’re a team. This year, there’s no type of selfishness. We’re all out there playing football for each other.”

Mims brings it every game, every day, every opportunity. And while Oklahoma came close to potentially losing Mims, the renewed passion and energy is contagious in the Sooner locker room and throughout the Oklahoma fanbase.

“He epitomizes what you want the Oklahoma football player to look like… work ethic, accountability, dependability, reliability. He has all the abilities,” Venables said of Mims. “He has a lot of gifts. You want your best players to be your best leaders and you want your guys to be about it and be doers and not takers. He’s got a great presence to him, an incredible example of what (a student-athlete) should look like.

“Everything he does he autographs his work with excellence.”-BSM