Venables confident in “completely different” tight end room
A quick glimpse at Oklahoma’s tight end room will reveal very little returning production.
Redshirt junior Kaden Helms has three career catches as a Sooner. Redshirt sophomore Kade McIntyre has one. No other member of the group has recorded a reception as a Sooner.
It’s almost indisputably the most unproven position group on the roster heading into 2025. And the last two years haven’t been spectacular for Oklahoma tight ends in general. Austin Stogner caught just 17 passes as the wire-to-wire starter in 2023. Bauer Sharp led Oklahoma in receptions (42) a season ago, but averaged a mere 7.7 yards per catch.
Sharp drew the particular ire of the Oklahoma faithful last fall, most memorably for a pair of alarming lowlights. He dropped a wide-open touchdown catch against Alabama, then threw an egregiously ugly interception the following week on a trick play against LSU.
At the end of the season, Sharp entered the transfer portal and eventually signed with LSU, joining the very program that had victimized him on perhaps the most mind-boggling play of Oklahoma’s 2024 season. He’s out of the picture. And the Sooners are now tasked with replacing one of the precious few constant factors in the offensive equation from a season ago.
Handicapping the field
At the Sooners’ SEC media day on Wednesday, Brent Venables expressed that filling the Sharp-sized void in the room won’t be an easy task. But he’s got plenty of belief in the candidates for the role.
“I really like the group of guys,” Venables said of his tight ends. “I know we had some opinions about Bauer Sharp, that he wasn’t a really good player. He’s a really good player; everybody will see it. He was one of our best leaders. It is what it is — not a soapbox, sad to see him go. That being said, Kaden Helms has had his best period of performance and being a player. He’s been healthy the last several months. He’s really had a good, strong spring, had a great summer, needs a great fall camp so he can reach his potential for why we recruited him and why he came to Oklahoma.”
Helms, a redshirt junior from Bellevue, Neb., is a former blue-chip recruit who’s had to adopt an especially patient approach during his time at Oklahoma. He redshirted as a true freshman in 2022, then missed the entire 2023 season as he recovered from offseason surgery on a badly injured knee. He played only sparingly in 2024 as the Sooners eased him back into action.
Helms may be the most stable all-around option at the position, but there’s little doubt that the best pure athlete in the room is senior Jaren Kanak. The Kansas native transitioned from linebacker to tight end this offseason, and his calling card is speed. In terms of experience, the edge goes to Kennesaw State transfer Carson Kent, an all-conference performer last year for the Owls. Both Kanak and Kent earned shouts from their head ball coach Wednesday.
“Jaren Kanak has been fantastic,” Venables gushed. “He’s a great leader, great worker. But he’s a really good football player. He’ll have a real role for us, I believe. I think Carson Kent, he ran 21-something miles per hour. I’m really fired up because we have a better team; tight ends are a great example of that. We have a team that has made real progress in the weight room. Losing body fat, gaining muscle mass and all the sport science data from where guys started — so we’re faster. I won’t bore you with all the details. Our acceleration numbers are better. A lot of ways to quantify. I want to recognize work and progress, but Carson Kent has been great. Well over 250 pounds and great leader.”
A youngster to monitor
McIntyre, a redshirt sophomore, is in the picture as well. So too are a pair of transfer pickups in Will Huggins (Pittsburg State) and John Locke (Louisiana Tech). But perhaps the most intriguing long-term commodity in the group is true freshman Trynae Washington, who’s added 15 pounds since the conclusion of spring ball. He was listed at 233 on the Sooners’ spring roster; he’s now sitting just south of 250.
“Trynae Washington never played tight end, so the transition — we really love what his future looks like,” remarked Venables. “He might be a linebacker or defensive end when it’s all said and done. He’s a big dude that’s instinctive, a good football player. That’s where we have him right now. Not sure if I’m missing anybody else. It is a group that looks completely different.”
At the conclusion of the 2025 season, the Sooners will lose Kanak and Huggins at a minimum, as both are graduating. However, OU has a pair of ballyhooed commits on the recruiting trail in Tyler Ruxer and Ryder Mix, who are each set to join the program in January.
Tight ends coach Joe Jon Finley is entering his fifth season at Oklahoma. Over the course of his tenure with the program, the Sooners have produced just one NFL tight end (Brayden Willis, a 2023 seventh-round pick of the San Francisco 49ers). It’s not immediately clear how prominently the tight end will factor into new Oklahoma OC Ben Arbuckle’s scheme, but Kanak in particular has legitimate draft-pick potential next April if he can pair his elite natural athleticism with solid production in 2025.