Why Oklahoma's Jason Witten Thinks Young TE Trynae Washington Has a 'Bright Future'

Trynae Washington logged only two snaps for the Sooners in 2025, but he was someone who immediately stood out to Jason Witten when he got to campus.

Oklahoma's Trynae Washington lines up during a Sooners football spring practice in Norman, Okla., Thursday, April 9, 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

NORMAN — Trynae Washington is largely unproven to Sooner Nation.

Washington, a tight end, was a true freshman in 2025 and used his redshirt on the season. He played two snaps in Oklahoma’s 44-0 win against Kent State in the middle of the season but did not make any other appearances.

Though Washington has yet to make an on-field impact for the Sooners, he has already proven himself to new tight ends coach Jason Witten.

“(Washington) has a really bright future,” Witten said.

As soon as Witten, a 17-year NFL veteran who previously coached at Liberty Christian School in Texas, arrived in Norman, he evaluated practice film of the 2025 scout team — and Washington was a standout.

Witten also heard from the players — both upperclassmen and underclassmen — that Washington was one of the hardest workers.

“I just continued to hear the defensive guys, when I got here, rave about how dialed in he was, that he wasn’t mailing it in,” Witten said.

When Witten finally met Washington, he saw the extent of his work ethic.

Washington was listed on OU’s 2025 spring roster at 233 pounds, and he now enters his second college football season at 260 pounds.

“From the guy I watched last fall to when I met him, he looked like a different guy,” Witten said. “You love to see that — that you’re putting the work in as a young freshman.”

Washington is a native of Midwest City, OK, and played at Carl Albert High School prior to enrolling at OU. Rivals and ESPN graded him as a 4-star prospect in the Class of 2025, while 247Sports had him as a 3-star.

After coaching Washington for a few months now, Witten believes that the tight end’s best football is still ahead of him.

“He’s very coachable, he’s strong, he’s a very good athlete,” Witten said. “He’s got a lot of guys, who have joined him, who have played a lot of snaps, so he has a lot of great resources in the room with his teammates to lean on.”

Oklahoma’s tight end room changed in more ways than the hiring of Witten.

The Sooners added three tight ends — Hayden Hansen, Rocky Beers and Jack Van Dorselaer — to their roster from the transfer portal. They also signed tight ends Tyler Ruxer and Ryder Mix as part of their 2026 recruiting class. The only returners in the position group are Washington, Kade McIntyre and John Locke Jr.

It’s possible that Washington will have to, once again, wait his turn to see the field. Hansen and Beers have combined for thousands of snaps at the collegiate level, while Van Dorselaer played in all 13 of Tennessee’s games as a true freshman last year.

Witten, though, believes that each of his eight tight ends are capable of making an on-field impact in 2026.

“You never know what that room’s going to look like,” Witten said. “I’ve been really impressed with how these eight guys have come in and gelled and genuinely pulled for each other and competed in the right way.”