FRISCO, TEXAS — As a 5-star recruit and one of the best wide receivers in the country coming out of high school in 2019, Theo Wease Jr. was the cream of the crop, one that was expected to be great right away. Things were supposed to be easy for him walking onto campus and immediately being one of the best receivers at a power program like Oklahoma.
That appeared to be the case early on, as Wease had two touchdowns as a true freshman. Then, in 2020, Wease busted out with 37 receptions for 530 yards and four touchdowns, quickly asserting himself as one of the best receivers in the Big 12 with a bright future ahead.
Things seemed cushy for Wease. And then, he made sure they weren’t.
After an injury-filled 2021 season and a quiet 2022 season with the Sooners, Wease hit the transfer portal looking for a better challenge. He found that at Missouri, landing with the Tigers and standout quarterback Brady Cook and wide receiver Luther Burden III, helping form an explosive trio in Columbia in the SEC.
For Wease (6022, 202), who spoke to Steelers Depot at the 2025 East-West Shrine Bowl in Dallas, moving to Missouri was all about creating an opportunity and challenging himself to be comfortable while uncomfortable.
“Just getting a better opportunity. I just felt like my potential wasn’t getting maximized at Oklahoma. What I learned about myself during that journey is just putting myself first for the first time in my life, really,” Wease told Steelers Depot regarding the transfer to Missouri. “Just making that big step is just being uncomfortable. That was my first time just really being uncomfortable because I had made a lot of friends, and I just graduated from Oklahoma.
“So yeah, just learning to be comfortable being uncomfortable. I just learned to always bet on myself and just trusting everything, what I know I can do.”
Following a four-year stretch at Oklahoma, Wease made the jump to Columbia at Missouri, looking for a way to maximize his skills. He found it in head coach Eli Drinkwitz’s offense with Cook and Burden. In 2023, Wease hauled in 49 passes for 682 yards and six touchdowns, re-asserting himself as a high-end talent, taking advantage of 1-on-1 matchups opposite Burden.
Then, in 2024, Wease had a career-high 60 receptions for 884 yards and four touchdowns, showing the NFL what type of explosive talent he is at the wide receiver position. Though he didn’t practice here at the Shrine Bowl due to a broken bone in his hand suffered in the Tigers’ bowl win over Iowa, he was able to meet with teams and learn from NFL coaches.
Though he wasn’t able to showcase his talents in front of scouts and media, Wease is focusing on the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine, where he’ll be fully healthy and able to test and go through all the drills. There, he’s most excited to show the improvements he’s made as a route runner, especially after studying the film of great NFL route runners like Chicago’s Keenan Allen and New York’s Davante Adams.
“I would say my contested catches [is my strength]. I think I got very strong hands. My route run ability, I can’t wait to set that up in the Combine,” Wease said regarding the strengths and weaknesses of his game. “I got better with my yards after catch, you know, just making people miss after not getting tackled by the first guy.”
Wease is a real student of the game. He looks for the subtle nuances within route running and playing the wide receiver position, in general, to help take his game to another level. He’s a student of life off the field. Wease became the first member of his family to receive his master’s degree in education from Missouri.
He graduated from Oklahoma, too, before leaving for Missouri. For Wease, he’s doing all that for his 3-year-old son, showing him the way. It’s no easy feat to balance the pressure of being an SEC football player and now an NFL Draft hopeful.
“First, for the academic part, I’m a first-generation master’s student. I don’t take that light at all,” Wease said. “I’m grateful for the opportunity and just being in school, I didn’t want to just waste time. I wanted to maximize my time there, whether I was hurt or not. And then also just for my son, just making sure my son got something to look up to.”
Based on his work in the classroom at Oklahoma and Missouri, coupled with his performance on the field and his outlook in the NFL moving forward, there’s no doubt his son has something to look up to, especially the one who made the decision to get comfortable being uncomfortable and betting on himself in a big spot.
