Oklahoma Camp Questions: Tight End

Joe Jon Finley will have to hit the ground running next week to ensure there is depth behind starting tight end Austin Stogner.

Author:
Ryan Chapman
Publish date:
Jul 30, 2023 7:00 AM EDT

In this story:

Oklahoma Sooners

AllSooners breaks down the most important questions for each position going into 2023 training camp. Today: tight end.

Q: How big of a workload do the Sooners put on Austin Stogner?

A: It’s Austin Stogner’s final season in college, can’t hold anything back now.

Stogner left Oklahoma before Brent Venables could try to keep him in the door two offseasons ago, but now he’s back to finish out his career where he started.

And the timing couldn’t have been better for Stogner.

Last year, his former teammate Brayden Willis starred as Jeff Lebby’s do-everything man at tight end, posting a career year across he board.

Willis essentially never came off the field, as he was just as big a threat in the passing game as he was when utilized as an extra blocker to help spring running back Eric Gray loose.

The volume in which Willis was used in 2022 appealed to Stogner, and the storybook ending at Oklahoma was too good to pass up.

But as Oklahoma fans are well aware, Stogner has had to battle to stay on the field at certain points through his career.

A scary medical situation in 2020 meant his 2021 season in Norman was just as much about rebuilding trust in his body than chasing down new career-highs.

He mostly held up last year at South Carolina, but Stogner may not have a choice in 2023.

There is virtually no experience backing him up at tight end, as injuries in the spring deprived Jason Llewellyn and Kaden Helms crucial developmental snaps.

Much like Willis last year, Stogner will have every opportunity to star without much pressure behind him to split snaps.

Read More OU Camp Questions:

Q: Will Blake Smith be more of a factor in the passing game than Daniel Parker?

A: As long Blake Smith can bring physicality to the running game, he won’t need to haul in too many passes.

The formula was effective enough last year, with Daniel Parker being brought in alongside Willis to win the battle at the line of scrimmage.

Parker even billed himself as the country’s best blocking tight end, maintaining that he doesn’t need to be promised a large role in the passing offense to be healthy.

Smith projects along the same path, but his showing in the spring game made an impression.

With a cast protecting an injured hand, Smith still managed to haul in a touchdown pass with a club for an arm.

Anything Smith can provide will be a plus. He arrived this spring at OU with just two career catches to his name, both coming in 2022 at Texas A&M.

Stogner will get all the looks from quarterback Dillon Gabriel, but Smith’s role could quickly get elevated should Stogner miss any time.

Q: How much development can happen in fall camp?

A: Joe Jon Finley is about to find out.

Behind Stogner and Smith, Oklahoma’s tight ends coach is working with a blank slate.

Llewellyn and Helms both redshirted last year, and rarely were handed opportunities to showcase their abilities on the field.

Both were banged up and missed spring football, a time when the Sooners surely would have preferred Stogner to take things a little easier physically and take mental reps to absorb Lebby’s offense.

OU also has redshirt sophomore Josh Fanuiel in the room, but Finley will have a different challenge there.

Fanuiel transferred to Norman from Cameron University where he played basketball, and Finley hopes those skills will translate to the football field this fall.

Stogner carrying the load all year is the best case scenario, but OU still needs the newer faces in the tight end room to be SEC ready in 2024, something Finley will be working on well into the season, not just fall camp.