Oklahoma's Revamped TE Room Has Been Silver Lining Amid Offensive Woes

NORMAN — Oklahoma’s offensive struggles in its last two games have looked all too familiar.

The blocking has been bad. Quarterback John Mateer has been inaccurate. And the running backs have been inconsistent, at best.

But the tight end room has been a silver lining.

Hayden Hansen, who transferred to OU from Florida in January, was responsible for one of the Sooners’ two touchdowns in their sloppy 14-6 win over New Mexico on Saturday. He finished that game with 49 yards on three catches, and his standout performance followed Rocky Beers’ six-catch 94-yard outing in the loss to Michigan on Sept. 12.

After Saturday’s game, Mateer acknowledged how much of a lift Hansen and Beers have provided the otherwise limping offense.

“They’re old players, veteran players with a lot of experience,” Mateer said. “We have a great relationship, and I know where they’re going to be and they play fast and they block really well.”

Hansen used every bit of his 6-foot-8, 266-pound frame on his touchdown reception.

Mateer found Hansen wide open, and the lumbering tight end did the rest — he shook off four New Mexico defenders and surged his way into the end zone for OU’s first touchdown of the day.

“It was beautiful,” Hansen said. “That's what I pride myself on — physicality, being an inline kind of guy, and I was glad I could show you guys.”

Hansen’s 29-yard score was certainly the highlight play for OU’s tight ends against the Lobos, but it was far from the only important play that he and Beers made.

In the fourth quarter, Beers gave OU a chunk play on a 22-yard reception that gave the Sooners a first down. And while that play didn’t result in a score, it wasted time on a night where OU couldn’t achieve much offensively.

And earlier on Hansen’s touchdown drive, he moved the chains on a 12-yard reception that ultimately set up for the score.

“Everybody talks about his touchdown, and that was awesome,” OU offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle said. “But he made a big-time third down catch right there too to keep the drive alive. Proud of those guys.”

Hansen and Beers both have significant experience at the collegiate level. Hansen spent four seasons at Florida before arriving in Norman, while Beers is playing his sixth college football campaign after prior stops at Air Force, Florida International and Colorado State.

Amid the rut that the Sooners’ offense is in, Hansen believes that he and Beers can lead the unit out of the pit.

But he also knows that he and his teammates in the tight end room must be even sharper than they’ve been through three weeks.

“The tight end room as a whole, it wasn't as clean as it needed to be, especially that first drive (against New Mexico) — and that’s on me,” Hansen said. “You can't keep your head down, and that was kind of just kind of the picture of all night. We just had to keep fighting through it. We had a slow start, but we figured it out.”

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