Oklahoma football: Time to truly introduce wide receiver Trey Metoyer

PHRESHMEN PHENOMS?

Trey Metoyer is the Sooner newcomer everyone is talking about, but he's not the only one who could have an impact this season.

In Saturday's season opener at UTEP, expect lots of freshmen and transfers to play and possibly have big games, propelling them toward strong debut campaigns in 2012. Here are five newcomers for OU to watch Saturday night:

STERLING SHEPARD, FR., WR

Though Sterling Shepard embraces his family's OU football legacy — he will wear his late father's No. 3 — Shepard's reputation was earned independently, through a stellar prep career at Heritage Hall. Not too long ago, Shepard seemed poised to start in the slot right away, but after late roster additions, he'll be a second-teamer for now. Still, expect Shepard to be an immediate, important OU contributor.

JUSTIN BROWN, SR., WR

The circumstances that led to senior Justin Brown's impending one-year OU career are tragic, but the Sooners stand to benefit — big-time — from the former Penn State receiver's impressive skill set. In less than a month with the team, he's earned a start tonight at UTEP and will also return punts.

MICHAEL ONUOHA, FR., DE

This time last year, Michael Onuoha had just played Game 1 of his first full high school football season. Saturday, he'll likely make his college football debut. Bobby Jack Wright said both Onuoha and Charles Tapper, another true freshman DE, are raw, but that neither will redshirt. Onuoha has worked to bulk up after spending most of high school focused on basketball.

DAMIEN WILLIAMS, JR., RB

Damien Williams rushed for nearly 2,000 yards last season at Arizona Western, but has never played in a no-huddle system like the Sooners run. Cale Gundy said Williams, though, earned the opportunity for carries because of how quickly he picked up the foreign system in fall camp.

GARY SIMON, FR., CB

Gary Simon didn't arrive in the summer with most of his fellow true freshmen; he showed up just before fall camp started and played so well that he's listed as a second-team cornerback. Mike Stoops said he's still got a long way to go, but the talent is there for Simon to contribute early.