Oklahoma Sooners grad transfer wide receiver Theo Howard has torn the Achilles tendon in his foot, a source told OUI's Brandon Drumm. His participation in the 2020 season is in doubt.

Howard was a major addition to the 2020 receiving corps with wide receiver CeeDee Lamb's declaration to enter the NFL Draft. Howard joined OU just fewer than three weeks ago after starting 24 games at UCLA.

As a Bruin, he caught 119 catches for 1,359 yards receiving with nine touchdowns. His streak of 28-straight games with a reception ended against OU last season. He announced his decision to enter the transfer portal just days after UCLA lost 48-31 Oregon State.

He was among more than 30 players who have left UCLA since Bruins coach Chip Kelly was hired in 2017.

“After careful consideration and discussion with my family, and the UCLA coaching staff, regarding my limited participation this season, I have requested a redshirt and to be entered into the transfer portal to allow myself to openly explore the best opportunities to utilize my remaining eligibility and pursue higher education," Howard wrote in a tweet earlier this season.

He announced his transfer to Oklahoma on Jan. 8.

Howard is one of just five returning scholarship wide receivers with playing experience in college, including Charleston Rambo, Theo Wease, Jadon Haselwood, Trejan Bridges. The severity of his injury is expected to keep him out indefinitely, according to a source. The news comes days after former OU wide out Mykel Jones announced his decision to transfer to Tulane.

Howard was an industry-generated composite four-star prospect and the No. 102 wide receiver in the country in 2016. He originally picked UCLA over offers from Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Arizona, Arizona State, Oregon and Notre Dame, among others.

Oklahoma added three wide receivers in its 2020 class, including the Texas high school career record-holder for receiving yards and the national record-holder for receiving yards in a season in Marvin Mims.

“I’m a team guy,” Mims told OUI in December 2019. “I want to help the team win above everything else.”

Mims, Trevon West and Brian Darby each will be called on to fill depth a position that doesn't lack talent but certainly lacks experience. Riley spoke highly of how Mims had matured and continued to get better throughout his prep career.

“We were recruiting him, and he made the decision to go out to Stanford,” Riley said. “He was a little bit on the backburner for us at that point because of that decision.

“And then conversations kind of restarted, and the thing we were most impressed as we got back into the mix with him this year was like sometimes these guys you watch them and you love their sophomore tape and you love their junior tape, and then as you go watch them as seniors, you say, ‘Man, he didn’t get much better.

“Maybe he doesn’t even look quite as good as he did the year before.’ Some of these guys, human nature, complacency, whatever, sets in after they’ve gotten offers or they’ve had success.

"And we always really try to continue to evaluate these guys even after we offer them or even after they’re committed because if they’re not getting better like now, are they really going to get better when they get here? And why aren’t they getting better? And Marvin was one of those guys that just [got better].”