Jaren Kanak somewhat held his own after being put in a difficult situation at fall camp that had him set up to look bad
When you have a linebacker room like the one the Oklahoma Sooners currently have — deep with really good pieces, you have to find a way to get these great athletes on the field somehow, without taking other great ones off the field. Last season, the Sooners played former linebacker Jaren Kanak a few times, […]
When you have a linebacker room like the one the Oklahoma Sooners currently have — deep with really good pieces, you have to find a way to get these great athletes on the field somehow, without taking other great ones off the field.
Last season, the Sooners played former linebacker Jaren Kanak a few times, and when he was in, he was really good. He even had a defensive touchdown in one game. But, the guys ahead of him were, and are, much better at the position. That’s not to say Kanak is bad, but there really wasn’t a way to get him on the field. And Kanak is one hell of an athlete, so getting him on the field was something the Sooners really wanted to do in 2025.
Coming into this season, it was very clear that the worst position room on the roster was easily the tight end room. They just didn’t attack it as well during the transfer portal. But, Kanak has experience at tight end from his high school days. He’s a freak athlete, and his has the frame for it, he’s just a bit short for it.
So, the Sooners transitioned him to the position.
But, being a tight end is much more than just running routes and catching the ball, which we have seen in clips — he can do that. You also have to block edge rushers, some of the best in the game when it comes to doing certain moves to get to the passer or even the running back.
That’s the part we aren’t really sure about when it comes to the jobs and tasks of his new position. He was put in a position to lose on Friday during fall camp practice, and he actually somewhat held his own.
Jaren Kanak holds his own against R Mason Thomas in fall camp
We got to see some of fall camp practice on Friday via Twitter from reporters who were on site, and in one clip that’s making the rounds, Kanak was tasked to block future NFL pass rusher, and his teammate R Mason Thomas on a run play.
This is a position where he is set up to lose on Friday— Thomas could very well be a first round pick next April when the NFL Draft rolls around. He is that good. In the video, it looks like Thomas threw Kanak around, and he did, kind of.
It looks bad at first glance, but then you have to factor in that he still kept Thomas from disrupting the play. The run play was not impacted by Thomas, as running back Jovantae Barnes goes up the middle anyways.
There are a few things we have to remember here: One, we don’t know what the play is. It could have been an outside zone run, and Barnes took the middle because of Thomas throwing Kanak. But, it doesn’t really look that way. Two, Kanak has never really blocked anyone, ever, the size of the guys he has to block now. He has always been on the other side of things. So, all things considered, he held his own, somewhat.
Kanak could be a guy that really starts to show some things that could get him on the field.
