Oklahoma's Tight Ends' Struggles Continued in 2025

The Sooners on SI postseason report card continues Thursday with OU's tight ends.

Oklahoma Sooners tight end Jaren Kanak (12) runs after a reception during a first-round College Football Playoff game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and the Alabama Crimson Tide at Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Okla., Friday, Dec. 19, 2025. Alabama won 34-24. | BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

NORMAN — Tight end was once one of the position of strength at Oklahoma.

Those times seem long gone now.

The Sooners struggled at the position once again in 2025, with just 55 catches for 615 yards and one touchdown among the four tight ends they used.

After a mostly unproductive 2024, where Bauer Sharp led the team in receiving with just 324 yards and two touchdowns on 42 catches, Oklahoma made the position a focus of last offseason.

The Sooners added Carson Kent from Kennesaw State and Will Huggins from Pittsburg State in the transfer portal.

But the duo combined for just six catches for 47 yards and no touchdowns.

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Imagine what Oklahoma would’ve been like at the spot without Jaren Kanak.

Kanak spent the first three seasons of his Sooners’ career at linebacker, playing 39 games with 10 starts from 2022-24.

But though Kanak was one of Brent Venables’ favorite players, he didn’t see much of a future at the position after starting just one game with 17 total tackles in 2024.

“I felt like I was always a step behind,” Kanak said.

So in the offseason, Kanak approached coaches with the idea of morning to the offensive side.

It seemed like a longshot for Kanak to be successful there.

But it turned out Kanak was by far the most successful OU tight ends this season.

He started off with a bang, with five catches for 90 yards in the opener against Illinois State, five catches for 69 yards against Michigan and four catches for 86 yards against Temple.

But Kanak’s production dipped as the season went on.

From the Kent State game Oct. 4 through the Missouri game Nov. 22, Kanak didn’t have more than three catches or 30 yards in a game.

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Read More OU 2025 Report Cards

• Offensive Line
• Defensive Ends
• Defensive Tackles

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Kanak, though, was still wildly more successful than the others at the spot — Huggins, Kent and Kaden Helms.

The trio combined for 11 catches for 82 yards and a touchdown over the course of the season.

Kanak did have six catches for 54 yards in the regular-season finale against LSU, but finished the season without a touchdown.

Helms was the only Sooners’ tight end to score this season, with a 3-yard touchdown reception against Kent State.

Kanak finished the season with 44 catches for 533 yards.

Even though Kanak’s numbers weren’t overwhelming, they were the best for an Oklahoma tight end since Joe Jon Finley joined the Sooners’ staff in 2021.

Bauer Sharp had been the OU leader in receptions under Finley with 42 in 2024, and Brayden Willis in receiving yards and touchdowns with 514 and seven in 2022.

With Kanak’s and Huggins’ eligibility over, and Kent and Helms entering the transfer portal, the Sooners will once again have to remake the position in the offseason.

They need to get significantly better production at the spot, at least with consistent contributions from the spot, moving forward.