Oklahoma's latest tight end rebuild must pay off in 2026

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The Oklahoma Sooners are into the swing of the offseason in college football. With the NCAA transfer portal opening on Friday and lasting until January 16th, there’s already been plenty of player movement, as OU has seen a slew of players announce their intent to hit the portal.

However, OU’s first change to the coaching staff came on Thursday, as reports indicated that tight ends coach Joe Jon Finley won’t be back on the staff in 2026. Finley had been at Oklahoma since 2021, after playing tight end in Norman in the mid-2000s.

Finley was let go after Sooner Nation watched his tight end position mostly underachieve over the last three seasons. The unit was excellent in 2021 and 2022 with former position coach Shane Beamer’s players now working under Finley. Austin Stogner, Jeremiah Hall and Brayden Willis all split time in 2021 with solid results, and Willis broke out as a star in 2022 with Stogner at South Carolina and Hall in the NFL.

However, in 2023, Finley brought Stogner back to start at tight end, with middling results. A full rebuild ensued in 2024, with Bauer Sharp and Roberts as the leading tight ends, but the unit disappointed again, especially when it came to blocking.

Finley’s last chance came in 2025. His new starter was a converted inside linebacker in senior Jaren Kanak, who actually had a very impressive season. He was OU’s third-leading receiver on the year, and the best Sooner TE since Willis. However, when you’re converting a linebacker to play tight end, that means that the recruiting and development haven’t been very good at that position. In the report from On3 Sooner Scoop.com’s George Stoia III that indicated that Finley would be fired, it was stated that Finley’s high school recruits only accounted nine receptions for 84 yards and two touchdowns during his five seasons in Norman.

With the Sooners making the College Football Playoff in 2025, and hoping to get back there in 2026, another full rebuild of the tight end room is underway, and it comes as head coach Brent Venables and offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle are looking to replace Finley.

Kanak has exhausted his collegiate eligibility, and sixth-year senior Will Huggins should also be out of eligibility after participating in 12 games in 2025. Both Kaden Helms and Carson Kent have entered the transfer portal, leaving the Sooners with Kade McIntyre, John Locke Jr., and 2025 recruit Trynae Washington as the current returnees at the tight end spot. Oklahoma added Ryder Mix and Tyler Ruxer in the 2026 recruiting class.

Clearly, the tight end position is going to look different in multiple ways in 2026 for the Sooners. If Oklahoma wants to improve their offense, and therefore improve their chances at making a return trip to the CFP next year, they need to hire a proven TE coach with a track record of excellence, and they need to make a big splash at the position in the transfer portal.

Having a player like Willis back at tight end would do wonders for the OU offense. The Sooners need a player who is an impact blocker to help in the run game that Venables said after the playoff loss would be a focus this offseason. Oklahoma also needs a player who makes valuable contributions in the passing game. It’s been years since OU had a player in that role who could do both extremely well, and if the Sooners want to take another step forward as an offense in 2026, they’ll need nail the latest rebuild of the tight end room.

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This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: OU going in a new direction at TE, with another room rebuild coming

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