Report confirms that Vols legend Jason Witten decision to join rival SEC coaching staff is hurting Tennessee in a big way

Jason Witten might be hurting his alma mater in a battle for a top recruit.

Zach Ragan — Tennessee Volunteers News Writer
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There’s no doubt that Tennessee Vols legend Jason Witten loves his alma mater.

But Witten’s recent decision to join the Oklahoma Sooners is reportedly having a negative impact on Tennessee (Witten is set to serve as Oklahoma’s tight ends coach).

One of the Vols’ top 2027 recruiting targets is five-star linebacker Cooper Witten, the No. 1 linebacker in the nation.

Cooper, of course, is Jason’s son.

Report confirms that Oklahoma has the edge for Cooper Witten after hiring Jason Witten to coach tight ends

As expected, the Sooners’ decision to hire Jason Witten as their tight ends coach has put them in the catbird seat in Cooper Witten’s recruitment.

“Oklahoma has brought on Witten’s father, the legendary former NFL tight end Jason Witten, to be the school’s new TEs coach,” wrote On3’s Hunter Shelton on Friday. “To no surprise, that’s bolstered where OU stands in the race for the five-star.”

On3’s Sam Spiegelman further confirmed that Jason Witten’s landing on Brent Venables’ staff is helping the Sooners in this recruiting battle.

“Sources familiar with Witten‘s recruitment believe Oklahoma will be tough to beat after hiring his father,” noted Spiegelman. “Very family-oriented kid, Oklahoma was already well positioned, ‘it’s hard not to see him ending up there.’”

Cooper Witten told On3 that he doesn’t want his dad coaching at Oklahoma to be the “defining factor” in his decision, but it’s clear it will have a big impact. Jason has coached Cooper in high school over the last couple of seasons.

Tennessee won’t slow down its pursuit of the five-star linebacker, but it will be awfully tough to overcome Jason Witten being on Oklahoma’s coaching staff.

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