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Posted
7 minutes ago, Newy25 said:

I’m pretty sure it is legit. The question is will anyone do anything about it? 

Didn't the ISU quarterback a few years ago get suspended the whole season?  And a few others as well?

Posted

Severe enough to keep him out of the HOF, not severe enough to keep him out of the Oklahoma HOF. He'd have to win a national title and be able to spell "cat", we shall see. 

Posted
1 minute ago, Elmer_Fudd said:

Didn't the ISU quarterback a few years ago get suspended the whole season?  And a few others as well?


And their kicker and a few other players. 

Posted
3 minutes ago, Elmer_Fudd said:

Didn't the ISU quarterback a few years ago get suspended the whole season?  And a few others as well?

And our starting RB and LT

Posted
11 hours ago, closetojumping said:

Another day above ground is great, but it's even better when I read articles like the one spoilered below and realize how happy I am to have always hated the sooners. 

This article attempts tout Jaren Kanak as some sort of revelation in the TE room since they gave up on him as a LB after last season.

Highlights:

-He likes to play dirty. Kendal Daniels brags on Kanak's ability to take cheap shots long after the whistle. The money quote from this genius? "You've got to play a little dirty at times." Boy, truer sooner words have never been spoken. Daniels may have started off as a Cowboy, but he's fully embraced his inner sooner clown.

-Kanak is small for a TE. 6'2", 233, but he and his mouthbreathing postion coach, Ol'Joe Jon Finley, are talking that up as "leverage" in taking on larder defenders. Uh huh.

-This guy is wathing film, guys. He's in there, watching and studying, watching and studying. He also was known for that at LB. In fact, it's one of two things he was known for at LB - the other thing he was known was getting into games and constantly being out of position, often running in the opposite direction of the play. 

-Totally unrelated and not mentioned in this article but might be something to watch - multiple notes from media viewing in the first week of workouts included Kanak running the wrong routes on various plays at TE. 

-This is the kind of shit we'd have to cling to when the program was bottoming out under Chuckles - a position switched 5th string TE is "really starting to come on due to athleticism" in a room full of absolute trash. The OU TE room this year is going to look like Bill Bedenbough's ass pressed firmly against a mirror. 

  Reveal hidden contents

Jaren Kanak exceeding early expectations, bringing edge at tight end for Oklahoma

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(Photo: NATHAN J. FISH/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK, USA TODAY Sports)

  • Tom Green avatar
     Tom GreenStaff
    Posted on 3 hrs, V I P, User Since 71 months ago, User Post Count: 9568
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    NORMAN — Kendal Daniels has a preference when Oklahoma enters its one-on-one periods of practice.

    The versatile linebacker transfer from Oklahoma State wants to go head-to-head with Jaren Kanak, the Sooners' linebacker-turned-tight end. It may seem like somewhat of a mismatch, given Kanak's newness to playing tight end — a position he made the move to prior to the spring — but Daniels enjoys the challenge Kanak presents during those periods of fall camp.

    "He wants to put you on your back," Daniels said. "He's going to push you after the play, 2 seconds after the whistle blows. He's going to keep pushing you, so it's just that mind game of him wanting to do those types of things. That's what is going to get defenders out of their game, and then when you think he's blocking, he's going to release for a route and catch it…. I've played against a lot of tight ends, and he's up there at the top of the list."

    Kanak has been settling in since his offseason position change, and while it remains a work in progress for the senior who logged 827 snaps and 103 tackles across 39 appearances (including 10 starts) at linebacker the last three seasons, he has made considerable headway leading up to the start of the 2025 season.

    "Jaren has, probably honestly, exceeded a lot of like my early initial expectations of him at tight end," offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle said on the eve of fall camp. "…He's been awesome. He's put in the work to go out there definitely earned himself a spot playing on Saturdays."

     

     

    That last part seemed like it may have been a reach when Kanak first made the move after the end of last season, but he has been "diligent" and fully committed to the position switch over the last seven-plus months. Ask Arbuckle, head coach Brent Venables or any teammate, and they'll tell you that Kanak spends more time in the Switzer Center — studying, watching film, taking notes — than anyone else on the Sooners' roster.

    That dedication is yielding progress on the field for Kanak, who has steadily worked his way into the conversation at tight end. Sources told Sooners Illustrated that Kanak received plenty of first-team snaps at tight end during Oklahoma's first scrimmage of the preseason on Saturday. He has also made the most of his opportunities on the practice field through the first week and a half of practices.

    13219631.jpg?fit=bounds&crop=620:320,off

     

    Take Wednesday's practice on the rugby fields, for example. During a perimeter drill at the end of the media viewing period, Kanak ran a route toward the left sideline as quarterback John Mateer lofted a throw his way. Safety Jaydan Hardy attempted to make a play in coverage, even getting a couple fingers on the ball as it drifted just out of his complete reach. Despite the deflection, Kanak maintained his concentration, reeled in the pass and got his feet down inbounds before falling out of bounds.

    "Me and the guys spend as much time as we can on those jugs and playing catch with John and just making it a habit to always catch the ball no matter what," Kanak said. "And so, tip drill, every ball is ours. Every ball in the air is ours."

    Kanak's pass-catching ability has been one of his strengths as he transitions to tight end. So, too, has been his physicality — a natural carryover from his time at linebacker — but he's still honing his skills and learning the ins and outs of his new position.

    "For three years, I've been learning how to be a linebacker and how to create separation and stay away from people," Kanak said. "Then you switch over to tight end, that's all about getting your hands on them, bringing them close, just different techniques about where to put your hands, the footwork and all that kind of stuff. So, just really keying in on that technique and mastering that."

    The transition hasn't always been smooth, but Kanak is comfortable saying he has made incremental improvements every day during the process. Still, he knows he needs to find advantages where he can and exploit them, considering his lack of experience at tight end and the fact he's relatively undersized at 6-foot-2 and 233 pounds.

    The Sooners' other tight ends who have been in the mix for reps this fall all have at least 2 inches on Kanak. Kaden Helms is 6-foot-5 and 238 pounds, while Carson Kent is 6-foot-4 and 247 pounds, while Will Huggins stands at 6-foot-6 and 252 pounds. As Kanak put it himself, he's a "tweener" at tight end.

    "I have natural leverage, as Coach (Joe Jon) Finley says," Kanak said. "It's a nice way of calling me short. But I have very natural leverage, so I can get up and under guys and really be physical with them."

    Kanak's athleticism, which has been evident since his days at Hays High in Kansas, paired with the "edge" he has been trying to play with despite his smaller stature, has made him an intriguing option in an unproven tight end room that has been among the Sooners' biggest offseason uncertainties. As Arbuckle said — and which Venables echoed at SEC Media Days last month — Oklahoma envisions a real role for Kanak within the offense this season.

    It's just a matter of how large that role ends up being and just how effective Kanak can be in his first year playing a new position in the SEC. Daniels, at least, believes Kanak's prior experience at linebacker and what he has shown in fall camp will translate.

    "You've got to play a little dirty at times," Daniels said. "And I feel like you got to have that to be that (edge) to be that type of player in this league."

 

Oh man, that TE is the guy in the practice video getting absolutely rag dolled and twisted up like a wash cloth by the DE i saw on this site. It’s borderline assault. 

  • Like 1
Posted
On 8/5/2025 at 5:08 PM, closetojumping said:

-Jake Taylor hasn't been the same since his knees went out on him playing catcher in minor league ball. If they have to play that guy, they're in trouble.

They really have a guy who has bad knees because of catching and his name is Jake Taylor?  
 

The Simulation wins again. 

  • Fuck Around and Find Out 1
Posted
11 minutes ago, Biff Tannen said:

They really have a guy who has bad knees because of catching and his name is Jake Taylor?  
 

The Simulation wins again. 

Kids. 
 

don’t do drugs 

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