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Kevin Sumlin's Son Jackson is Now a Sooner

Former OU assistant coach's son, born in College Station, will be a walk-on tight end for Lincoln Riley
John E. Hoover|
Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

The 2020 Oklahoma football roster includes one partially familiar name: Jackson Sumlin.

Sumlin is a walk-on tight end/H-back, a 6-2, 239-pound freshman from Tucson, AZ.

He’s also the son of Arizona head coach and former OU assistant Kevin Sumlin.

Kevin Sumlin was an aide under Bob Stoops from 2003-05, when he coached tight ends and special teams, and from 2006-07, when he was co-offensive coordinator for the passing game and wide receivers coach.

Sumlin confirmed his son’s new team in an interview with Arizona.com when answering a question about dealing with players’ stresses.

“I say, ‘I get it.’ I’ve got a son that I talk to just about every day in Norman, Oklahoma, going through that,” Sumlin said. “I think it’s important.

“Our players know that. I think everybody tries to focus on ‘coaches only care about playing football.’ A lot of our guys here know that I’ve got a son involved in this too who has some concerns.

“I think that helps me from an understanding standpoint too, some of the things that he goes through.”

Sumlin, a former Purdue linebacker, came to OU after two years as an assistant at Texas A&M. He left Norman after the 2007 season to take the head coaching job at Houston (2008-11), then took over the programs at Texas A&M (2012-17) and Arizona (2018-present).

Jackson Sumlin is one of four Sumlin children. He was born in College Station, TX, and was little more than a toddler when his dad worked at OU.

Now he’s a Sooner.

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John E. Hoover
JOHN E. HOOVER

John is an award-winning journalist whose work spans five decades in Oklahoma, with multiple state, regional and national awards as a sportswriter at various newspapers. During his newspaper career, John covered the Dallas Cowboys, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Arkansas Razorbacks and much more. In 2016, John changed careers, migrating into radio and launching a YouTube channel, and has built a successful independent media company, DanCam Media. From there, John has written under the banners of Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Fan Nation and a handful of local and national magazines while hosting daily sports talk radio shows in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and statewide. John has also spoken on Capitol Hill in Oklahoma City in a successful effort to put more certified athletic trainers in Oklahoma public high schools. Among the dozens of awards he has won, John most cherishes his national "Beat Writer of the Year" from the Associated Press Sports Editors, Oklahoma's "Best Sports Column" from the Society of Professional Journalists, and Two "Excellence in Sports Medicine Reporting" Awards from the National Athletic Trainers Association. John holds a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from East Central University in Ada, OK. Born and raised in North Pole, Alaska, John played football and wrote for the school paper at Ada High School in Ada, OK. He enjoys books, movies and travel, and lives in Broken Arrow, OK, with his wife and two kids.

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