Oklahoma Sooners keen on deploying revitalized position room to revamp run game
The Oklahoma Sooners are counting on their rebuilt tight end room to help boost their flagging run game moving forward
The Oklahoma Sooners invested heavily into their tight end room this offseason. They “parted ways” (Read: fired) with tight ends coach Joe Jon Finley after several disappointing seasons in a row. Afterwards, they brought in future Pro Football Hall of Famer Jason Witten to replace him.
On top of that, three new transfers and two promising recruits in the 2026 class to revamp their worst unit from last season. Hayden Hansen, Rocky Beers, Jack van Dorselaer, Ryder Mix, and Tyler Ruxer expect to feature heavily into the new offense.
Why did the Sooners take in so many tight ends? It seems like the offense is evolving to help boost a fledgling run game in Ben Arbuckle’s second season.
Air Raid to More? Arbuckle shows his stripes
Arbuckle has built his career as an Air Raid offensive coordinator. Air Raid coordinators typically operate out of three or four wide receivers (10/11 personnel) in order to get the most speed on the field.
However, that simply doesn’t work in the SEC. The Sooners were a primarily 11-personnel team last season. Heading into the 2026 season, it sounds like Oklahoma is overhauling their offensive personnel approach.
Last week, tight end Kade McIntyre said the Sooners were putting “more on the tight ends” this spring as far as their responsibilities in the offense. Brent Venables said a change in scheme was “necessary” to improve their run game.
“I think with bigger, stronger guys setting edges, that’s a big part of it. You can’t sit there in a 10 set, in a four-wide look, and say that’s going to be a running game. A year ago, that wasn’t our forte — our tight ends being able to knock people, get on people’s chinstraps and knock them backwards and create inertia so we can run the ball north and south. But it’s not just the line, it’s not just the backs, it’s not just the play calls — it’s all of it.”
Brent Venables
During the 2025 season, the tight ends were part of their problem in terms of the Oklahoma Sooners run game. Far too often, a tight end would blow a block or struggle setting the edge, leading to a run stuff or a limited gain.
However, the Sooners were effective when they operated out of heavier personnel. According to PFF, the Sooners ran just 97 plays out of 12-personnel last season. However, they generated a positive EPA on 47.4% of those plays and had a whopping .156 EPA/Rush out of those plays. Ffor reference, the Utah Utes ranked 9th in the country in EPA/Rush with a .15 EPA/Rush last season.
Now with new personnel in town, it seems like the Sooners are wanting to shift their focus into expanding their usage of heavy personnel. This allows them to get more creative in attacking defenses by forcing them into “base” defensive looks. Additionally, their improved blocking (particularly from Hayden Hansen) will also boost their rushing attack.
We’ll see what the future holds, but it is encouraging to me to see this kind of growth and self-scouting. It speaks to the open-mindedness of this coaching staff and their ability to find faults, while also innovating and continuing to improve instead of doubling down.
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