The Oklahoma Sooners are basically unrecognizable at tight end, but that's a good thing.
The Sooners completely renovated their tight end room over the offseason, starting with a new position coach in NFL great Jason Witten and a load of new talent for him to develop. The change has already been evident during the Sooners' spring camp, which head coach Brent Venables confirmed on Monday.
Change at tight end for Oklahoma is obvious under Jason Witten
"There's probably not a position on our team that transformed more from the roster from the end of the season to where we're at now, plus a new coach," Venables said. "It's been a really good group. Got good bodies there -- physical, athletic. Doing a good job in both the passing game and the running game both.
"Jason's done a nice job bringing those guys along quickly within the system and them understanding what we want them to do in both the run and the pass game, so it's noticeably different."
Venables somewhat stated the obvious when it came to the transformation of OU's tight ends, but it's still reassuring for fans to hear after the position had been frustrating, and times even useless, the past few seasons under Joe Jon Finley, who was fired during the offseason.
Even before Witten replaced Finley, the Sooners had already added Hayden Hansen from Florida and Rocky Beers from Colorado State through the Transfer Portal. Both are veterans with starting experience and SEC size. Then, a day after Witten was officially hired, OU landed Jack Van Dorselaer, who played in all 13 games as a freshman last season for Tennessee.
Read more: How Oklahoma’s transfer moves signal a new identity on offense in 2026
That's a much better looking group than the one Finley assembled a year ago that didn't include anyone with Power Four experience. In the end, converted linebacker Jaren Kanak ended up being the Sooners' top tight end during the season. Part of the transformation, though, is that redshirt junior Kade McIntyre was the only tight end that returned from the 2025 roster.
That change was necessary, though. When it comes to the Sooners' recent offensive struggles, the tight ends aren't to blame, but the position can definitely give the unit a needed boost in every way, which Venables mentioned.
The change was drastic at tight end, and now fans hopes the results are, too.