How 'Brotherhood' in Oklahoma's Tight End Room Helped Position Group Improve

The Sooners have a wide range of ages within their tight end room, but that didn't stop them from becoming one of the closest position groups on the team.

Oklahoma tight end Hayden Hansen prepares to catch a pass during practice. | Carson Field, Sooners On SI

NORMAN — Seeing the wide age range within Oklahoma’s tight end room, one might assume that it was hard for the Sooners to build chemistry there.

But according to transfer Hayden Hansen, that wasn’t an issue.

“I’ve never been a part of a tight end room that is so close,” Hansen said. “We hang out all the time, there’s no division in the room.”

The Sooners added three tight ends to the roster — Rocky Beers, Jack Van Dorselaer and Hansen — from the transfer portal after the 2025 season. They also signed two tight ends, Tyler Ruxer and Ryder Mix, as part of their 2026 recruiting class.

On the older end of the spectrum are Beers and Hansen, who are entering their sixth and fifth college football seasons, respectively. Beers is a married 25-year-old now at his fourth college stop, while Hansen is a redshirt senior who spent four seasons at Florida before transferring to OU.

Mix and Ruxer will be true freshmen in the fall, while Van Dorselaer and Trynae Washington will be redshirt freshmen.

“It’s kind of crazy when you think about it,” Hansen said. “People will probably look at that and be like, ‘How in the world do you connect?’”

Despite having five newcomers at the position, the tight end room quickly became gelled.

Hansen said that he and Beers served as leaders to their younger teammates, hoping to share lessons — both positive and negative ones — from their lengthy college careers.

“We know how to lead a room, and everybody’s bought in,” Hansen said. “At the end of the day, it’s up to us. We have to be able to play together, coach each other.”

Though Hansen sees Beers and himself as the leaders within the room, he sees the value in the youthful energy that Mix, Ruxer and some of the other young tight ends bring.

“It’s like we’re all kids in there,” Hansen said. “We love what we do, we have a great time, we know what’s expected of us.”

The result of the tight ends’ immediate camaraderie? Hansen believes that the position group will be far better than it was in 2025.

Last year, only one OU tight end, Kaden Helms, caught a touchdown pass, and that came in the 44-0 rout of Kent State. Converted linebacker Jaren Kanak played well for the most part, catching 44 passes for 533 yards — but he struggled in the red zone and didn’t record any touchdown receptions.

Throughout the offseason, Hansen saw the position group become more and more versatile.

Hansen believes that the Sooners will be able to utilize two and three-tight end looks during the season, which could pay dividends in the run game. He expects those unconventional formations to open up the passing game, too, allowing for more screen passes and play-action passes.

“I think we knocked it out of the park,” Hansen said. “There are a lot of different parts of the tight end room. We have a lot of smaller fast guys; we have a lot of bigger physical guys. There’s really no weakness in the room.”

While Hansen and Beers are the “player leaders” of the position group, tight ends coach Jason Witten is in charge of the room.

Per Hansen, Witten does a good job of balancing hard work and fun — something each of the tight ends have done since enrolling at Oklahoma.

“We really incorporate that sense of brotherhood and fun and sense of enjoyment and, at the same time, produce to the standard,” Hansen said. 

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