One of the biggest offseason additions for the Oklahoma Sooners is former Texas Longhorns wide receiver, Parker Livingstone. This was part of the Sooners' effort to upgrade the weapons around quarterback John Mateer.
Last season, Livingstone was one of Arch Manning's favorite targets. He finished third on the team with 516 yards and second on the team with six touchdowns. Despite this solid year, Livingstone elected to enter the transfer portal. Since doing that and choosing the Sooners, his former head coach Steve Sarkisian has seemingly taken some shots at the wide receiver.
"I had to let probably five or six really good players leave because of the amount of money that other schools were offering them," Sarkisian previously said. "Ultimately,
we cleared cap space so that I could then go sign other transfers to where I felt like we could upgrade our roster."
Sarkisian also said that he hopes they beat Oklahoma and Livingstone badly when the two play. On Tuesday, Livingstone was asked about those comments, but he chose the high road when addressing them.
"I'm just kind of focused on this team and fall camp," Livingstone said via Brady Trantham on X. "We've got like four games until we play them. So, kind of taking it one day at a time. That game is going to come when it comes. It's going to be a fun game. But right now, I'm focused on fall camp and UTEP."
Livingstone's response is probably the best approach he could take. There will be plenty of time to talk about Texas when the rivalry game actually arrives, but Oklahoma has several games to play before then.
More importantly, Livingstone has a bigger job to do in Norman. The Sooners need him to become a consistent playmaker alongside Isaiah Sategna and Trell Harris while helping Mateer take another step forward in his second season.
When Oklahoma finally travels into the Texas matchup, the storyline will be impossible to ignore. Livingstone will face his former team while wearing the uniform of one of its biggest rivals, and Sarkisian's previous comments will only add fuel to the matchup.
But Livingstone appears determined to let his play do the talking. If he can become the impact receiver Oklahoma believes he can be, the Texas game could become much more than a revenge storyline. It could be the moment Livingstone proves that choosing Oklahoma was the right decision.
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This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: Oklahoma's Parker Livingstone responds to Steve Sarkisian's comments
