2022 Oklahoma Spring Preview: TE

Players that were called H-backs are now back to being tight ends, but many of their duties will remain the same.

NORMAN — What’s in a name?

For anyone who previously played H-back at Oklahoma, not much.

A change in terminology under new offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby simply means those who played the position previously at OU will now be called tight ends. That’s the crux of it. There’s not a lot of noticeable philosophical or strategic changes.

“These days,” said tight ends coach Joe Jon Finley, “it’s the same position.”

Finley played tight end at OU. He coached tight ends at Missouri and at Ole Miss. Last year, he learned Lincoln Riley’s nomenclature — H-back, which is a simple way of stating that the player will be required to play multiple spots on the field — and now he’s back deciphering Lebby’s.

“It’s football,” Finley said Thursday. “You learn everybody runs the same plays. There’s going to be details that people do differently.

“Even in the NFL, you see those guys and they do everything. You look at (Travis) Kelce, you look at (George) Kittle, they line up in the wing, they line up in-line, they split out, go to single receiver, they’re in the backfield. If you can’t do all that — that position is kind of disappearing where it’s just a true in-line tight end. I expect we’ll see a lot more of that.”

At Oklahoma, that means a lot of senior Brayden Willis, who worked in conjunction with Jeremiah Hall and Austin Stogner the last two years but will largely have the show to himself this year.

“I’m so happy to have Brayden back — for so many reasons,” Finley said. “He’s obviously a great football player and really came on, making plays in the last couple games. But above that, he’s the type of person you want on your football team. That’s the kind of person you want to build your team around because of his mentality, how he approaches every single day. And obviously he can play ball, too.”

Daniel Parker is a transfer from Missouri. He’s a punishing, efficient and eager blocker. But Finley can’t wait to get him on the field.

“He hasn’t made a bunch of catches in his career,” Finley said. “But if you talk to anybody on our football team right now, they say that guy’s someone I want to play with. I’ve got chill bumps just talking about him because he doesn’t care if he catches the ball. That’s what makes him special.

“But he has told me 14 times I can’t wait to put the pads on. In addition to that, he’s bringing the young guys along. He wants to get those guys involved. He’s extremely smart, he’s extremely intelligent. He comes from a great family. When he entered the portal, I told Leb, ‘This guy is a special guy.’ A special player but a special person.”

Finley has been impressed with true freshmen Jason Llewellyn and Kaden Helms, who both enrolled early and are apparently improving steadily in just about all areas.

“The two young guys, I couldn’t be any more pleased with how they’ve worked,” Finley said. “They come in, they don’t say a word. They go to work. And they really can’t say a word because those two older guys will tell them to be quiet.

“But that’s good. They understand that and they’re not trying to overstep. They want to learn from those guys because they know how successful they’ve been, how long they’ve been doing.”

Finley also applauded walk-ons Jackson Sumlin and Carsten Groos.

While the differences between H-backs and tight ends are few, there’s no debate the position has evolved through the years. Finley explained how, and how he expects to utilize his personnel in Lebby’s system.

“Very similar to how we used ‘em,” he said. “Throwing the ball, we’re going to expect them to block in the box and expect 'em to block in space.

“That’s one of the things in recruiting tight ends, for me, (that) has changed so much. In that, used to, very rarely would a tight end have to line up in the receiver spot, the slot spot, and block a safety or a linebacker or even a corner sometimes in space. In order to do that — if it was me, I would have struggled when I played. I’m so tall and lankly, it’s hard for me to change direction. But some guys that are that tall can do that. You’re trying to see that on tape. Those guys, they’ve got to do really more than anyone on the football field.”