Oklahoma

Fresh Faces: Transfer TE Carson Kent Has Found ‘Genuine Team’ at Oklahoma

Published

7 months ago

May 27, 2025

Fresh Faces: Transfer TE Carson Kent Has Found ‘Genuine Team’ at Oklahoma

A late-night text from Brent Venables changed the trajectory of Carson Kent’s football career.

Kent, a tight end who played at Kennesaw State in 2024, entered the transfer portal after the season. On a December night, he had his bags packed to visit an unnamed university the next day — but then he received a message from OU’s head coach.

“Coach Venables, he texted me really late at night and asked me to hop on a plane,” Kent said.

A native of Georgia, Kent has long admired the Southeastern Conference and its football prowess. That made his spontaneous decision to visit Norman easier.

“I was honestly kind of speechless when I saw that text,” Kent said. “I was like, ‘Yes, I want to check out that culture.’ Honestly, I should’ve probably been in bed at that time. I probably would’ve missed his text if I went to bed when I should’ve.”

Once Kent arrived in Norman, he knew it was the right spot for him.

“The number one thing was just looking for a genuine team,” Kent said. “I was looking for that. I was visiting a few places. When I got here and met Coach Venables and saw the environment that he’s built, I was sold on it. It seemed like he had a great group of players and coaches that share the mindset.”

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Kent, listed at 6-4 and 244 pounds, played three seasons at Kennesaw State.

In 2022, he appeared in just one game and redshirted. Then, as a redshirt freshman in 2023, he was second on the team with 14 catches. And in his final year at KSU, Kent played in 11 games, finishing the year with 217 yards and three touchdowns on 18 receptions.

In only a few months at OU, Kent has gotten the impression that he’ll play a major role in the Sooners’ offense.

The leadership and knowledge from offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle and tight ends coach Joe Jon Finley was another key selling point for Kent.

“Coach Finley, he’s a great guy,” Kent said. “He’s been the same kind of guy since my visit. I’ve loved him, loved how he approaches the game. He was telling me that I’m a good player but I can be a great player.

“(Arbuckle’s) a genius when it comes to offensive philosophy. I’m excited to be in his offense and see what I can do.”

Kent is one of several tight end newcomers on OU’s roster.

The Sooners picked up two others — Will Huggins (Pittsburg State), John Locke Jr. — from the transfer portal. They also signed Trynae Washington, a tight end from Carl Albert High School in Midwest City, in their 2025 recruiting class. OU’s only tight ends returning from 2024 are Kaden Helms, Kade McIntyre and Jaren Kanak, all of whom played minimal roles in 2024.

Offensive lineman Troy Everett believes that Kent will stand out in the new-look tight end room.

“The one that’s really impressed me the most is Carson Kent,” Everett said. “I love all the guys, but Carson Kent, he’s out there catching everything. Ball gets thrown up to him, he’s coming down with it nine out of 10 times.”

After a few months of learning OU’s offense during spring ball, Kent feels prepared to be a key contributor in 2025.

“It’s been great getting to know the offense,” Kent said. “The number one thing is (Arbuckle) knows how to use his personnel. He knows where to put them to go win. Once I finally got in the offense, I was like wow, this can really help my game from route running and blocking.”

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Oklahoma

Oklahoma Sooners 2026 Football Schedule Revealed

Published

10 hours ago

December 11, 2025

Press Room

Oklahoma Sooners 2026 Football Schedule Revealed

The Oklahoma Sooners are trying to finish the 2025 college football season with a championship run that begins with a first-round playoff matchup with the Alabama Crimson Tide on Dec. 19 in Norman. After a 10-2 season, the Sooners found out during the SEC schedule reveal when they’ll play their 2026 opponents.

New to the SEC schedule this year is a nine-game conference slate. Also, Oklahoma will begin at least a four-year stretch with permanent rivals Texas, Missouri, and Ole Miss.

The Sooners open the season with nonconference matchups against UTEP, Michigan, and New Mexico. Michigan will be breaking in a new head coach after the surprising dismissal of Sherrone Moore.

Oklahoma will go on the road for their first conference game, taking on the defending SEC champion Georgia Bulldogs on Sept. 26. That marks the first time the Sooners will play in Athens for the first time in the history of the program. The Bulldogs own the only win in the series, which came in the infamous 2017 Rose Bowl. If the Sooners were to play the Dawgs in the 2025 College Football Playoff, it would come in the national championship game.

After the trip to Georgia, Oklahoma will have its only bye week of the season before facing the Texas Longhorns in the Red River Showdown on Oct. 10 in the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas. The Sooners will return home to play the Kentucky Wildcats on Oct. 17. Kentucky will have a first-time head coach in Will Stein, leading the Wildcats to Norman for the first time since 1980.

Then, Oklahoma will go to Starkville to take on former offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby and the Mississippi State Bulldogs on Oct. 24 before closing the month welcoming another former assistant in Shane Beamer and the South Carolina Gamecocks on Oct. 31.

Then begins the month that will decide the Sooners’ College Football Playoff fates. They’ll open November with a road trip to the Swamp to take on the Florida Gators on Nov. 7. The last time the Sooners took on the Gators, Oklahoma earned a 55-20 win in the 2020 Alamo Bowl.

The Sooners will then return home on Nov. 14 to take on the Ole Miss Rebels in Norman for the second year in a row. Oklahoma lost a heartbreaker to the Rebels at the end of October, but that gave way to a magical November run that catapulted the Sooners into the College Football Playoff.

After the Rebels come to town, the Sooners will welcome the Texas A&M Aggies on Nov. 21. Texas A&M hasn’t been to Norman since a 41-25 win by Oklahoma. Landry Jones threw for 255 yards and two touchdowns, and Blake Bell ran for two scores out of the Belldozer package.

The Sooners will then close the season on the road against the Missouri Tigers. The former Big 8 and Big 12 foes have split their two contests as members of the SEC, each team winning at home. Oklahoma owns a decisive 68-25-5 record over the Tigers dating back to 1902.

There will be big expectations for the Sooners coming off of a 10-2 season and a College Football Playoff berth. They’ll bring back a lot of talent from this year’s roster, but 2026 will provide new challenges.

Oklahoma Sooners 2026 Schedule

Sept. 5 vs. UT-El Paso Miners in Norman, Okla.
Sept. 12 at Michigan Wolverines in Ann Arbor, Michigan
Sept. 19 vs. New Mexico Lobos in Norman, Okla.
Sept. 26 at Georgia Bulldogs in Athens, Georgia
Oct. 3 BYE WEEK
Oct. 10 vs. Texas Longhorns in Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas
Oct. 17 vs. Kentucky Wildcats in Norman, Okla.
Oct. 24 at Mississippi State Bulldogs in Starkville, Miss.
Oct. 31 vs. South Carolina Gamecocks in Norman, Okla.
Nov. 7 at Florida Gators in Gainesville, Fla.
Nov. 14 vs. Ole Miss Rebels in Norman, Okla.
Nov. 21 vs. Texas A&M Aggies in Norman, Okla.
Nov. 28 at Missouri Tigers in Columbia, Missouri

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow John on X @john9williams.

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Oklahoma

Oklahoma’s Tate Sandell on CFP, Groza Award: ‘This Is What Eighth-Grade Me Dreamed Of’

Published

22 hours ago

December 11, 2025

Press Room

Oklahoma’s Tate Sandell on CFP, Groza Award: ‘This Is What Eighth-Grade Me Dreamed Of’

NORMAN — To say that Oklahoma’s Tate Sandell has become a legitimate weapon for the College Football Playoff-bound Sooners would be putting it lightly.

The Sooners’ dynamite placekicker has already wrapped up First Team All-SEC honors and Special Teams Player of the Year in the conference.

Now, Sandell hopes to check a few more boxes off his wish list as early as Friday.

“It’s what me in eighth grade dreamed of in high school,” Sandell said on Wednesday when asked about the season he’s had. “These are all things you think about when you’re lying in bed, like, this is really happening. This is something that you work for, and it’s just such a blessing.”

Sandell is 23-of-24 on field goals this season — hitting 23 in a row since he missed his first kick of the season against Michigan. Not only is this consistency a school record at OU, but it’s a single-season record in the SEC as well.

Sandell has had a busy week already. He’s been jetting around the country doing community events for the Lou Groza Award — the coveted trophy that goes the the nation’s best kicker every season. He will find out Friday night if he will take the award home during the Home Depot College Football Awards show (ESPN, 6 p.m.).

Should Sandell win, he will become the first Sooner kicker to win the award.

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“That’d be great, but it’s not in my hands,” Sandell said. “That’s not what I set out to win this season; it’s just to win games and make kicks, and that’s just a byproduct of our work. If that happens, that’s great.”

Sandell is up for the award against Hawaii kicker Kansei Matsuzawa and Georgia Tech’s Aidan Birr. Each kicker has their résumé that demands respect, yet it appears that Sandell is the favorite to win.

The University of Texas-San Antonio transfer did it in big moments in ballyhooed environments. Sandell’s four field goals, where he made three 50-plus yarders — 55, 51 and 55 — was a Neyland Stadium record So was the distance. Oklahoma’s “Red November” run, in large part, was aided by Sandell’s big leg.

“My swing is my swing,” Sandell said. “I’m not going to try to be somebody I’m not or swing like I’m not. I’m not going to swing out of my shoes. I’m going to give myself the best opportunity to make the kick as possible, and if it goes in, great. If it’s not, then it is what it is.”

“Another guy that’s a team guy, hasn’t flinched,” said head coach Brent Venables. “He’s been Boomer Sooner since the moment he signed his contract. And then he’s been just a stud when it comes to leading and just being a really good teammate.”

Oklahoma kicker Tate Sandell | Carson Field, Sooners On SI

Humble he may be, but the Groza Award would be a cherry on top for any college kicker. Still, Sandell’s main focus is on Oklahoma’s rematch with Alabama on Dec. 19.

And yet, Oklahoma’s placekicker is not short on confidence — in himself, or his team.

“For us, it’s not about who we play,” Sandell said. “If we play our brand of football, we can compete with anybody in the country.”

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Oklahoma

6 Oklahoma Sooners earn AP All-SEC Honors

Published

1 day ago

December 10, 2025

Press Room

6 Oklahoma Sooners earn AP All-SEC Honors

The Oklahoma Sooners are readying themselves for the most crucial game of the season, and perhaps the Brent Venables era, when they host the Alabama Crimson Tide next Friday in the first round of the College Football Playoff. After a 10-2 season, which included a 6-2 mark in SEC play, six Sooners were named to the AP All-SEC teams.

That comes after 10 Sooners earned 11 All-SEC Honors as voted on by the coaches, and kicker Tate Sandell was named SEC Special Teams Player of the Year.

Selected to the first team were Sandell, punter Grayson Miller, and wide receiver Isaiah Sategna.

Sandell has the highest field goal percentage in the conference and has made all seven field goal attempts of 50 yards or more.

Miller is fourth in the nation, and first in the SEC, in punts downed inside the 20-yard line. Like Sandell, he’s been a special teams weapon for Brent Venables, helping Oklahoma win the field position battle in a number of their wins this season.

Sategna is tied for second in the SEC receptions with 65, yards with 948, and tied for fourth in the conference touchdowns. He’s been a big-play threat for the Sooners, especially in recent weeks. Sategna closed the season with back-to-back 100-yard days, giving him four on the season. He had more than 60 yards receiving in nine of Oklahoma’s last 10 games.

Earning second team honors for the Sooners were linebacker Owen Heinecke, defensive end R Mason Thomas, and defensive tackle Gracen Halton.

Thomas leads the Sooners with 6.5 sacks despite missing the final three games of the regular season, three and a half quarters vs. Tennessee (injury), and a half vs. Auburn (targeting suspension). He’s been a force each of the last two seasons, earning All-SEC second-team honors in 2024, and was a first-team selection as voted on by the league’s coaches this season.

Halton, like Thomas, was a member of Brent Venables first recruiting class in the 2022 cycle. He’s been awesome again this year, recording 3.5 sacks, seven tackles for loss, and 31 total tackles. He’s been a force in the middle, making life difficult in the running game and providing an interior pass rush for the Sooners.

Heinecke has been one of a number of breakout stars for Oklahoma as part of a great linebacker rotation. Heinecke is second on the team in total tackles and tackle for loss, behind only Kip Lewis, and has two sacks to his ledger as well. He’s come up big in key moments for Oklahoma, including the sack and forced fumble against Tennessee, which led to R Mason Thomas’ long touchdown return that changed the momentum of the game, and perhaps the season.

The Oklahoma Sooners have a talented roster and a number of players like Peyton Bowen, Kip Lewis, Eli Bowen, Courtland Guillory, Jaren Kanak, Febechi Nwaiwu, Taylor Wein, and David Stone who deserved inclusion on the All-SEC teams. Even still, six players and a host of players worthy of mention is a great thing for the Sooners as they get set to take on an Alabama Crimson Tide team that earned just three selections to the AP All-SEC teams.

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow John on X @john9williams.

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