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Bauer Sharp and Jake Roberts’ Presence in Oklahoma’s Locker Room ‘a Refreshing Thing,’ Says Brent Venables

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Bauer Sharp and Jake Roberts’ Presence in Oklahoma’s Locker Room ‘a Refreshing Thing,’ Says Brent Venables


NORMAN — To the casual fan, Bauer Sharp and Jake Roberts are a pair of transfer tight ends looking to make an impact in their first year at Oklahoma. To Brent Venables, they’ve already made a tremendous impact in the Sooners’ locker room.

“They [Sharp and Roberts] love to compete,” Venables said last week. “They’re skilled. They know how to play tight end. They like blocking. They know how to get open. When the ball’s thrown to them they catch it. … They love their teammates. Those two guys have brought a spirit to that, really to the whole offense. Other guys are a part of that too, but those are guys that, they just love it.”

Their talents, and that of others in the position group, have already been utilized in the passing game under offensive coordinator Seth Littrell, who coached tight ends at North Texas, North Carolina and Indiana.

“I love where just the tight end in today’s world is going,” Sharp said. “I feel like in the past, it’s been just a big, heavy guy, you know what I’m saying, but I trust whatever our team has planned for me in the future for these games, we’ll get it done for our team for sure.”

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Sharp, a team captain in his first game as a Sooner in last Friday night’s 51-3 win over Temple, was an accomplished pass catcher at Southeastern Louisiana University after making the switch from quarterback in spring of 2022. In his first game in a Sooners uniform, Sharp caught five passes for 47 yards and the season’s first touchdown, a 14-yard connection via Jackson Arnold to complete OU’s first possession as an SEC club.

“Bauer Sharp … he’s been phenomenal. Just a natural leader, done an outstanding job,” Venables said.

Roberts, a Norman North High School alum, didn’t hold an offer from his hometown team as a high school senior in 2020. He signed to play at North Texas (where he played under Littrell) and quickly became a rotation player and eventually a full-time starter. He transferred to Baylor in 2023 and made three starts before transferring to play his fifth year in Norman.

The pair was brought on by tight ends coach and co-offensive coordinator Joe Jon Finley to replenish a depleted position group that graduated Brayden Willis and Austin Stogner in back-to-back seasons. Venables was immediately impressed by the tandem’s work ethic.

“They love to practice. They show up in the building,” Venables said. “They’ve got a really positive attitude that is infectious and contagious. … If you work in an office building, if you work in a locker room, nobody wants to deal with people that are funky, you know, they’ve got a funk to them when they show it. … And those guys are the opposite of funky and they like all of it. When the day’s over, they’re not grabbing their stuff and running out of the building as fast as they can. They really have a locker room that’s like that.”

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Sharp is a captain for a reason. His and Roberts’ energy has become infectious. Roberts didn’t have any receptions on Friday night against Temple, but quarterback Jackson Arnold did target him in the first quarter, launching a pass that sailed over Roberts’ head.

Sharp, meanwhile, delivered a steady intermediate target for Arnold who could conceivably, if things break right, be among the team’s leaders in catches and receiving yards this year. He ended his OU debut with five catches (one behind Deion Burks for team high) and 47 yards (tying Jalil Farooq to lead the team) and scored a first-quarter touchdown. Arnold targeted him six times, and the subtle adjustment he made on his route to separate and catch the touchdown shows an innate knowledge of the game.

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“I thought our tight ends played well, Jake and Bauer and Kade McIntyre, Kaden Helms got in,” Venables said after the game on Friday, “so that was really good to see as well.”

Well beyond their one-game performance, Venables has been sold on the presence of Roberts and Sharp since their arrival last January.

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“They’ve made that group a lot better,” Venables said. “They’ve made Kade McIntyre better. They’ve made Kaden Helms better. Those were young guys that, you know, hadn’t been necessarily exposed to that,” Venables said. “Brayden Willis was a lot like that. Austin [Stogner], Austin was a lot like that last year. … That whole group has transformed. And those two guys, they have a genuine deep, deep, genuine appreciation for their coaches, for the resources, for their teammates, for their opportunity to be able to wear an Oklahoma jersey. They’re like, ‘I can’t believe it.’ It’s like a dream to them. And so that’s refreshing. That’s a really refreshing thing.”



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Three Big 12 Transfers Oklahoma State Is Reportedly Interested In

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Three Big 12 Transfers Oklahoma State Is Reportedly Interested In


PORTAL TRACKER 

Oklahoma State’s newly constructed staff got on the board Saturday, picking up portal commitments on offense and special special teams, so how about some defense?

Three Big 12 defenders have been linked with Oklahoma State via the transfer portal over the past few days, including a pair of former OK Preps standouts. Here’s a look.

Kanijal Thomas, CB, Kansas State

Thomas is an Oklahoman, playing his high school ball at Del City. He visited Stillwater on Saturday, according to On3.

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He was a redshirt sophomore for the Wildcats in 2025, playing in seven games as a true freshman in 2023 before an injury saw his sophomore season end two games in.

Thomas played in eight games at K-State in 2025, finishing the year with five tackles, a PBU and a forced fumble. According to PFF, he gave up four catches for 21 yards this season on seven targets.

Now listed at 5-foot-11, 186 pounds, Thomas was a three-star prospect coming out of Del City in the 2023 class. He picked K-State over offers from OSU, Texas Tech, Iowa State and others.

Maurion Horn, CB, Texas Tech

Another Oklahoma kid, Maurion Horn has spent the past four seasons in Lubbock, where he has played in 30 games during that time. According to 247Sports, Horn will visit Stillwater on Monday.

He started all of Tech’s games in 2024, finishing that season with 56 tackles, three tackles for loss and five pass breakups. He played in seven games and dealt with some sort of injury, appearing on Tech’s availability report in Weeks 4, 14 and 15.

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Horn has been targeted 88 times in his career, per PFF, where he has allowed just 47 catches.

He was a four-star prospect in the 2022 recruiting class out of Broken Arrow. He ended up picking Tech over offers from OSU, OU, Texas, Baylor, Arkansas and others.

Braylon Rigsby, Edge, Texas Tech

Listed at 6-foot-2, 275 pounds, Braylon Rigsby will join his Texas Tech teammate in Stillwater on Monday, according to 247Sports.

He’s played in 26 games across the past two seasons in Lubbock, accumulating 25 tackles and three tackles for loss during that time.

Per PFF, Rigsby has 21 QB pressures in his career to go with two QB hits.

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He hails from Woodsville, Texas, which is near the Louisiana border. Rigsby was a three-star prospect in the 2023 recruiting class, coming in as the No. 861 player in the 247Sports Composite ranking.



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Capture of Nicolas Maduro: What it could mean for Oklahoma

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Capture of Nicolas Maduro: What it could mean for Oklahoma


Elite Delta Force captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife about 2 a.m. Saturday morning.

It happened in the Caracas, the capitol of Venezuela.

Social media posts how strikes ordered by President Trump into Venezuela and its military bases.

News 9 political analyst Scott Mitchell said the relationship between the U.S. and Latin America has not always been smooth and adds so many dominos will fall as a result.

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“Venezuela is the beachhead for our adversaries that’s Cuba and Russia and China and Iran and it looks as if this latest situation where that they were assembling Iran swift attack boats that was sort of the last straw,” said Mitchell.

Retired war correspondent Mike Boettcher said the planning on capturing Maduro began in mid-December.

He adds Venezuela is a massive oil supplier whose oil has been taken off the market for years because of sanctions.

He has concerns about what comes next.

“That disrupts a lot of things.It even has an effect on the war in Ukraine, as Russia, you know, has used higher oil revenue because Venezuela’s oil was off the market.Oil prices went up.It helps fund the war in Ukraine,” said Boettcher.

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The ramifications could even reach Oklahoma.

“China gets a 30 percent discount on the oil.If Venezuela goes for a more legitimate government and the sanctions are lifting, then they’re flooding the oil markets and that means bad news for the Oklahoma economy,” added Mitchell.

Following the capture of Maduro, President Trump said the U.S. will take control of the oil reserves in Venezuela.

Sources also say there are plans from the current administration to recruit American companies to invest billions of dollars in their oil industry.

A verified video shows the current state of Venezuela after the military operation.

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Oklahoma State expected to lose talented EDGE to transfer portal

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Oklahoma State expected to lose talented EDGE to transfer portal


Oklahoma State EDGE Kyran Duhon plans to enter the NCAA transfer portal, On3 has learned. Duhon was a member of the 2024 recruiting class.

Duhon spent one year at Oklahoma State, logged 16 total tackles (eight solo) across nine games. He began his career at UTEP, where he had a productive true freshman season, Duhon finished 2024 with 43 total tackles, including seven sacks and two PBUs.

At UTEP, his one season there resulted in second team All-Conference USA honors. He was also named to the On3 True Freshman All-America Team as well as the the Conference USA All-Freshman team.

However, Duhon’s stay in Stillwater didn’t go as expected. Oklahoma State finished the season with a 1-11 record, which included the Cowboys firing longtime head coach Mike Gundy after a 1-2 start. Doug Meacham was named interim head coach but ended the year 0-9.

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Eric Morris has since been named as the program’s next head coach. He comes from North Texas, which finished with an 11-2 record and a trip to the American Conference championship game this past season. However, it doesn’t appear that Duhon will be sticking around during the changing of the guard at Oklahoma State this offseason.

Before college, Duhon was the No. 1,706 overall player in the class, and was recruited as the the No. 165 linebacker during the cycle, per the Rivals Industry Rankings, which is a proprietary algorithm that compiles ratings and rankings from all four primary recruiting media services. He was ranked as the No. 242 overall player out of Texas.

Once the NCAA transfer portal opens on Jan. 2, players can officially enter their names in the NCAA transfer portal and go on to initiate contact with their preferred schools. The portal will be open for 15 days and close on Jan. 16.

Notably, players who are on teams competing in the national championship game are allowed five extra days to make their portal decision. The College Football Playoff championship game will be played on Jan. 19, so the players on those teams will be allowed until Jan. 24 to enter the portal and choose their next school.

To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire. The On3 Transfer Portal Instagram account and Twitter account are excellent resources to stay up to date with the latest moves.

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