Jack Van Dorselaer: 'No-Brainer' to Follow Jason Witten to Oklahoma

NORMAN — Located just 190 miles from Norman, Southlake, TX, sits comfortably within Oklahoma’s recruiting footprint. Many Dallas–Fort Worth prospects grow up viewing OU as either a favorite destination or a local option thanks to its close proximity.

New Oklahoma tight end Jack Van Dorselaer, however, had a different perspective during his recruitment at Southlake Carroll High School.

"Honestly, growing up, I wasn’t the biggest OU fan," Van Dorselaer said Monday during Oklahoma's Spring Media Day. "When I was getting recruited, I was really into Tennessee and going to Tennessee."

He wasn’t exaggerating — his recruiting profile backs it up. Oklahoma extended an offer to Van Dorselaer on March 25, 2023, never took a visit. At the time, former tight ends coach Joe Jon Finley’s track record probably didn’t do much to boost confidence in a highly-touted tight end's development.

Jack Van Dorselaer, Oklahoma Sooner — Tennessee Volunteers tight end Jack Van Dorselaer dives for a touchdown against East Tennessee State Buccaneers. | Randy Sartin-Imagn Images

Van Dorselaer would go on to pledge to the Volunteers, playing in all 13 games — an experience where he “learned some things as the season went on,” — before entering the transfer portal.

If Oklahoma’s previous tight ends coach left doubts lingering, one phone call changed everything. Ironically, it came from a Tennessee alum — now tabbed to coach that same position in Norman. For Van Dorselaer, it was the pitch that finally landed.

"I guess that was kind of a funny coincidence (getting a call from Jason Witten), but once he got the job, it was kind of a no‑brainer for me," Van Dorselaer said. "To not pass that up and also to come back home and play in the SEC and play for Oklahoma.

"And I just felt like this offense was better for me and a better opportunity for me to succeed at the next level," he added.

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The irony ran deeper than Van Dorselaer’s plan to leave Tennessee — only to get recruited by a Tennessee legend for Oklahoma.

It also sprang from his Southlake roots, where he grew up idolizing hometown hero Witten through his Hall of Fame Cowboys career — an opportunity Van Dorselaer sees as being able to make him a more complete tight end.

"I think last year at Tennessee, I was really utilized in the run game," Van Dorselaer said "I feel like I have the ability to do everything — not just run block, not just pass catch, but to do everything. A lot of tight ends just want to catch and not block. I think coach Witten offers that coaching that really helped me in the pass game."

Jason Witten, Oklahoma Sooner — Jason Witten watches from the sidelines | Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Van Dorselaer joins fellow transfer tight ends Hayden Hansen and Rocky Beers — all tasked, as general manager Jim Nagy put it, with “flipping the room” from last year under Witten. Each brings a unique skill set that Ben Arbuckle will channel his inner Dr. Frankenstein to stitch together.

If Hansen is the bigger body that can help open lanes for Sooner ball carries and Beers is the field-stretching tight end, Van Dorselaer already seems him as a bridge between then two.

"I think (Arbuckle) sees me more as like a hybrid guy — not just blocking, not just pass catching, but doing everything," he said. "I think that’s kind of also what drew me to Oklahoma, was that aspect of it."

For that vision to be fully realized, Van Dorselaer will have to use this spring and summer as the time to build chemistry with his new quarterback, John Mateer, who appealed to the tight end during his transfer portal recruitment.

"I think his mindset is a big thing for me," Van Dorselaer said. "But I mean, just being around him more, I think his mindset is something that’s cool for me to be a part of. He holds me to a standard that is going to make me a better football player and a better person."

Van Dorselaer enters spring ball with a clean slate, syncing his hybrid skill set alongside Mateer’s winning mindset and under coach Witten’s complete-tight-end blueprint.