Why Isaiah Sategna III, Kip Lewis returning for 2026 heavily impacts Oklahoma football
With opportunities to pursue their lifelong dream of playing professional football, Kip Lewis and Isaiah Sategna III decided to delay that dream and play one more season in the crimson and cream.
Earlier in January, the Oklahoma football team retained Lewis, one of the leaders of the defense at linebacker, and Sategna, OU’s leading receiver in 2025, for the upcoming season.
Getting those two back — on the same day — was obviously a massive decision for the Sooners ’ hopes of getting back to the College Football Playoff in 2026.
It was something that took work from all involved, including OU general manager Jim Nagy , who said it was a process starting with NFL evaluation, then negotiations for retention.
“That was incredible, so there’s three guys that came to me, asking about reaching out to NFL GMs, kind of gauging where the league was at on ‘em. Kip and Isaiah were two of ‘em,” Nagy said. “So those guys both had opportunities to go to the NFL. Getting them back was huge. Both leaders for us.
“I think everyone’s heard me say Game Day Kip is different. It would have been really hard to replace his juice on game day. So glad we got Kip back. Isaiah, it’s hard to lose playmakers. Really good to have those guys back.”
Sategna, who will be a redshirt senior, led the Sooners in most of the receiving categories with 965 yards, 67 receptions and eight touchdowns.
He had several massive moments for the Sooners in 2025, but none bigger than the final regular-season touchdown OU scored against LSU .
LSU’s defense seemingly forgot to cover Sategna, who had a wide-open touchdown catch for 58 yards in the final minute to give OU the lead and the eventual CFP-berth clincher.
He scored a touchdown in five of the final seven games and had four games with more than 100 yards receiving.
He quickly became OU quarterback John Mateer ’s favorite target and continually found ways to get open.
Sategna returning to the Sooners’ offense allows for continuity between Mateer and his favorite target, something OU coach Brent Venables said is massive for OU in 2026.
“Isaiah might’ve been my most favorite player on our team. I’m going to make somebody mad, hurt somebody’s feelings,” Venables said. “But I loved Isaiah — his competitive spirit, the way he strains, his durability. He’s a great practice player and he shows up every day with the right kind of mindset to compete, selfless in every way.
“His preparedness and readiness is elite and it’s great to have, again, his production, his experience, his leadership and again, I think he elevates everybody around him.”
Lewis is one of the biggest leaders defensively and is the juice guy for the Sooners’ team.
Lewis, a soon-to-be redshirt senior, led the team in total tackles last season with 78 and had four sacks.
Watching Sooner games, Lewis is constantly hyping up the crowd — home or away — after plays and during timeouts. He’s the energy source that will continue to power OU’s top defense in 2026.
“I love watching Kip play on game day,” Venables said. “ Kip, his focus and his why to come back was great wisdom. He’s one of the most disruptive linebackers in all of college football that’s invested in this program. He wants to get better. Wants to improve. Wants to help us compete and chase a national championship.
“His wisdom and all of his experiences are just gonna be great and has been up to this point, for the rest of the football team, the defense and certainly the linebacking group that he’s part of.”
