Sooners promising freshman wide receiver provides optimism for the future of Oklahoma's offense

This season has been frustrating for fans of the Oklahoma Sooners, mainly due to the team's historically bad offense. It's a letdown with Oklahoma's best defense in over a decade and its special teams turning into a real weapon.

The unit has battled injuries to the offensive line and wide receiver in their first six games. Oklahoma has missed their top five wide receivers over the last

If there is a silver lining to these struggles, it's that the Sooners have gotten a chance to see their younger wide receivers in action. After reviewing the film, one young receiver caught my eye, and it should give Oklahoma fans some reason for optimism in the future.

Related: Latest injury report offers glimmer of hope for Oklahoma Sooners fans against South Carolina

Against Texas, freshman wide receiver Zion Kearney repeatedly posted good moments working against the Longhorns' secondary. Kearney got open throughout the game, separating from man coverage, and did a good job of working open against zone coverage.

Unfortunately, the ball just didn't go his way often enough to make a difference. Kearney was one of two wide receivers atop the total target leaders (he and Brenen Thompson tied for first with four), but there were plenty of plays he was open on that he didn't get the ball. When Kearney did get the ball, Kearney made the most of it.

Kearney led the Sooners in yards, yards per route run, and total first downs. Three of his four catches went for first downs. He also boasted the longest play of any Sooners' wide receiver in that game.

A true freshman out of Frisco, Texas, Kearney was one of the top overall recruits out of the state of Texas as a consensus four-star prospect.

Standing at 6'1, 206, Kearney brings some much-needed size to the Sooners' receiving room, who currently have the 5'9, 168 Brenen Thompson, 5'10, 194 Jaquaize Pettaway, and 5'8, 150 Zion Ragins seeing extensive playing time due to their injuries in the receiving room.

Kearney's snap counts have increased every week, culminating in his performance against the Longhorns. I'd like to see him continue to get even more involved, even when some of the starters like Deion Burks, Jalil Farooq, Andrel Anthony, and potentially Nic Anderson return.

He has the trajectory to be a talented perimeter receiver moving forward, and the Sooners as much playmaking as they can get on offense right now.