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Oklahoma Sooners add tight end via the transfer portal

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Oklahoma Sooners add tight end via the transfer portal


Heading into the offseason, there were two spots the Oklahoma Sooners needed to add talent through the transfer portal on the offensive side of the ball: the offensive line and tight end.

Oklahoma’s added three players along the offensive line and also got some help at tight end with the addition of Bauer Sharp. Well, now they have more help at the position heading into 2024. Former UNT and Baylor tight end Jake Roberts committed to the Oklahoma Sooners on Monday night.

Out of Norman, Roberts was a three-star prospect in the 2020 recruiting class who committed to Sooners offensive coordinator Seth Littrell while Littrell was the Head Coach at UNT.

Roberts spent three seasons at North Texas before transferring to Baylor for 2023. In 12 games for the Bears last season, Roberts had 23 receptions for 231 yards and a touchdown. In his final season with the Mean Green in 2022, he recorded 28 receptions for 394 yards and a touchdown and had one carry for 10 yards.

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Though his numbers might not jump off the page, he was fourth in receiving yards at Baylor last season. He was one of the better blocking tight ends in college football in 2023. Among the 274 tight ends with at least 117 blocking snaps, Roberts was 17th in pass-blocking and 46th in run-blocking, according to Pro Football Focus.

Roberts provides important experience to a tight end room that was young or hadn’t played much at the FBS level. Roberts will have a shot to start or at least be a significant role player in the Sooners offense. His experience and familiarity with Seth Littrell provide the tight end room some leadership for guys like Bauer Sharp, Kaden Helms, Kade McIntyre, and Davon Mitchell in 2024.

The other interesting wrinkle in the addition of Jake Roberts, is the recruitment of his younger brother Nate Roberts. Nate is a highly sought after four-star tight end in the 2025 recruiting class who was initially committed to Notre Dame. He’s since backed off that pledge and holds offers from a number of Power Five schools, including Oklahoma. The Sooners are hoping to make him their tight end in the 2025 recruiting cycle.

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





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Persistence Helps Oklahoma Land “Freakazoid” Wide Receiver

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Persistence Helps Oklahoma Land “Freakazoid” Wide Receiver


NORMAN — In the middle of his signing day press conference Wednesday, Oklahoma coach Brent Venables got word that wide receiver Jayden Petit had signed with the Sooners.

Venables called Petit a “freakazoid.”

“Big, strong, athletic, amazing, not only in catch radius but his strain at the top of the route, again, for a guy in high school is just a little bit different,” Venables said. 

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The 6-foot-3, 220-pound Petit’s recruitment was emblematic of the Sooners’ recruiting approach under Venables and general manager Jim Nagy.

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Venables and wide receivers coach Emmett Jones stayed in contact with Petit even after the Naples, Florida, product committed to Wisconsin in June, less than three weeks after taking an official visit to Norman.

Petit flipped to the Sooners on Thanksgiving and signed Wednesday.

“They stayed with it,” Venables said of his staff’s approach to Petit. “And where a lot of people would grow weary, they didn’t. And again, same things they sold in recruiting, I think, came to fruition. And Jayden’s a really spiritual guy and I think he just had a peace about coming to Oklahoma.”


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Of course, the product Venables and co. are selling now is a bit different from the vision they were trying to sell over the summer.

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After a 6-7 season last season where no wide receiver had more than 315 yards receiving, the Sooners surged this season, finishing the regular season 10-2 and likely heading to the College Football Playoff.

And instead of having tight end Bauer Sharp as the leading receiver, wide receiver Isaiah Sategna leads the Sooners with 65 catches for 948 yards and seven touchdowns.

So while the offense isn’t fully fixed, it’s still a much better product than it was back when Petit made his original decision.

When Nagy arrived in March, he began looking through the players that were already on Oklahoma’s radar.

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It didn’t take him long to notice Petit.

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“He was one of my favorite players when I got here in March that was currently on the board,” Nagy said. 

With Deion Burks and Keontez Lewis seniors among the wide receiver group, there will be some playing time up for grabs at the position.

Petit was one of four wide receivers the Sooners signed Wednesday, joining Jahsier Rogers from Delaware, Daniel Odom from California and Zizi Okwufulueze of Owasso’s Rejoice Christian.

But Venables singled out Petit as a player who had an opportunity to play right away.

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“He’s gonna jump into a great group, and really feel like he’s — from a physical standpoint and a mental standpoint — he’s gonna be able to jump in right away and help make that position immediately better.”



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4-star wide receiver signs with Oklahoma Sooners

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4-star wide receiver signs with Oklahoma Sooners


The Oklahoma Sooners landed a signature from four-star wide receiver Jahsiear Rogers on Wednesday’s early signing day, as they continue to add to their 2026 recruiting class. 

Rogers was ranked as a four-star prospect by 247Sports Composite, and he is from Appoquinimink High School in Middletown, Delaware. He stands at 5-foot-11, weighs 180 pounds, and was ranked as the 43rd-best WR in the ’26 class.  

Rogers committed to wide receivers coach Emmett Jones on October 27th, a couple of weeks after receiving an offer. Rogers decommitted from Penn State, in the wake of former head coach James Franklin’s firing, to join the Sooners. He also held offers from Nebraska, Indiana, and Alabama, among others. 

Jones has been busy rebuilding the wide receiver group since the disastrous 2024 season, and he’s adding a blue-chip target in the form of the Nittany Lions flip. Rogers is one of four wideouts that Oklahoma landed on signing day.

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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 Aaron on X @Aaron_Gelvin.





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Oklahoma Overcomes Slow First Half to Beat Wake Forest Comfortably

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Oklahoma Overcomes Slow First Half to Beat Wake Forest Comfortably


The Sooners played high-quality basketball in the second half on Tuesday, helping them earn an 86-68 win over Wake Forest on the road.

OU, now 6-2, outscored the Demon Deacons 49-33 in the second half to earn its comfortable win. The win is Oklahoma’s third in a row and follows the Sooners’ neutral-site victory over Marquette on Friday.

Here are three takeaways from the Sooners’ win over the Demon Deacons:

Both OU and Wake Forest came out of the gates in sluggish fashion.

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The Sooners shot 36 percent from the field in the first half, while the Demon Deacons shot 35 percent. Oklahoma attempted 21 free throws, while WF attempted 14. 

The teams also struggled with ball control. Oklahoma turned the ball over eight times; the Demon Deacons logged seven first-half turnovers.

By the time the first-half buzzer sounded, Oklahoma led 37-35. And when the teams returned, the Sooners controlled the game.

As a team, OU shot 61.5 percent from the field in the final 20 minutes. The Sooners held Wake Forest to a 33-percent clip from the floor in the second half.

The Sooners also won the rebounding battle 19-13 in the second half.

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Guard Jadon Jones reached double figures for the first time of his OU career, finishing the game with 11 points.

Jones scored nine of his 11 points in the second half. The guard excelled at drawing contact, finishing the game 5-of-6 on free throws.

He also played lock-tight defense against the Demon Deacons, and he was a major reason why Wake Forest shot 33 percent from the field in the second half.

Jones was one of six Sooners that reached double figures in OU’s well-spread scoring effort. Derrion Reid and Tae Davis tied for a game-high 18 points.

Jones played four seasons at Long Beach State before transferring to OU ahead of the 2024-25 season. An injury, though, prevented him from appearing last season. Jones made his OU debut a couple weeks ago against Oral Roberts.

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Oklahoma improved to 2-2 in non-conference games against power-conference opponents with its win over Wake Forest. Previously, the Sooners fell to Gonzaga and Nebraska before defeating Marquette last week.

OU’s next two games are also neutral-site games against quality teams. The Sooners will battle Arizona State at Mortgage Matchup Center — home of the NBA’s Phoenix Suns — on Saturday before taking on Oklahoma State at the Paycom Center, home of the Oklahoma City Thunder, next week.

Saturday’s game against the Sun Devils will begin at 9 p.m. ASU is currently 6-2 and finished second place at the Maui Invitational last week.

Both of those games will be opportunities for Oklahoma to build its NCAA Tournament resume before SEC play begins.

After those two contests, Oklahoma will conclude the non-conference portion of its schedule with home games against three mid-major opponents: Kansas City, Stetson and Mississippi Valley State.

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