Junior linebacker Jaren Kanak during game against Mississippi on Oct. 26.
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Junior linebacker Jaren Kanak during game against Mississippi on Oct. 26.
Senior tight end Jaren Kanak is returning to his roots.
Kanak has spent the last three years at linebacker, recording 102 total tackles in his career and 62 in 2023. Alongside head coach Brent Venables and former linebacker Danny Stutsman, Kanak has been a vital contributor to Oklahoma’s defense, which was ranked 19th in 2024 in total defense despite overall struggles as a team (6-7, 2-6 SEC). Through the highs and lows of the last three seasons, Sooner fans have been able to count on one thing – Kanak being a linebacker.
But offense is Kanak’s home, and in his senior season, he is ready to embrace the foundation of who he is as a football player.
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“I caught in high school and caught touchdowns in high school, but it’s been a while since I’ve caught the ball,” Kanak said. “It’s one of those things that, I got to make strides, and I got to be in there doing more. So I love that too. I love being here as much as I can and feeling as if I’m getting ahead of my competition or even more so feeling as if I’m behind and I have to catch up.
“Being a guy that’s behind, It’s almost like a hunger that I really like.”
While at Hays High School in Kansas, Kanak played quarterback and wide receiver and was not shy of success. Kanak set single-season school records for rushing yards (1,615) and scoring (142 points), averaged 10.2 yards per carry, rushed for 23 touchdowns and threw for 910 yards and 12 touchdowns as a senior. With Kanak’s leadership on the field, Hays High School reached program records of 5,608 total yards, 3,603 rushing yards and 428 points in 2021. He also led the 2021 Hays football team to an 8-3 record and the 5A quarterfinals. Individually, Kanak finished third all-time in school history in rushing yards (2,072) and scoring (216 points), was voted 2021 Western Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year, earned 2021 Brook Berringer Award as 11-Man Player of the Year in western Kansas and named to the 2021 Kansas Football Coaches Association All-Senior 5A All-State & Super 11 teams.
After high school, his talent as an offensive player was clear, but his direction was not.
“Coming out of high school, my head coach suggested that that could be a possibility, and I was getting recruited on both sides – to play offense or defense,” Kanak said. “Naturally, it made more sense to be a defensive guy.”
However, over the course of three years of being “a defensive guy”, the direction was still unclear. Kanak did not feel like he found a place on defense but thought making a shift would mean giving up – something Kanak does not align himself with.
“I probably didn’t start thinking about it like realistically, until this last year, because it almost felt like if I would have done it in the first few years, that’s like giving up,” Kanak said. “I wanted to be able to maximize (my training) and (feel) that I fully actually gave the linebacker thing a shot.”
He did his best to do just that, working hard to learn under Venables and Stutsman. He carefully took notice of Stutsman’s actions and even took it as far as going above Stutsman in some areas.
“When you got a guy ahead of you that’s having success and doing all things the right way, you want to try and be his shadow, and that’s kind of how I was, not so much that I wanted to be exactly like him but copy almost his process or see what worked for him and try what worked for me,” Kanak said. “Having a guy like that, that’s had success doing all things (the) right way, I was right there with him, doing it the whole time, and he won’t tell you this – I was probably up here watching film more than he was … I was really doing all I could to maximize myself and get myself to that spot where I’d go out and play and fast, so I wanted to succeed.”
Ultimately though, Kanak made the switch. It was far from easy; it took a lot of time spent praying and reflecting. But Kanak knew he had to make the move.
After giving his all at one thing, he had to shift to another.
“I feel like it’s just like anything. When you’re working towards something hard or trying a new position, you’re going to have struggles,” Kanak said. “It was the battle between trying to decide, like are these the bumps and bruises that come along with becoming a great linebacker, or is this God telling me this is not what I’m supposed to be. So there’s a lot of prayer, a lot of self reflection to get to that point where I realized (this is) more than just, ‘You’re not quitting” … I got to a point last year where I thought I’d reach that point.
“And I thought that I truly should head in a different direction.”
He took the step back to offense.
But after the last three years being enriched in defense, Kanak’s process of going back to his roots in his senior year will not come without challenges. Every step of the way though, Kanak can at least count on not being alone.
Experienced offensive players on the Sooners’ 2025 roster include redshirt senior tight end Will Huggins and junior tight end Caden Helms.
Coming from Pittsburg State and Kansas before that, Huggins brings plenty of knowledge to the program. In his senior year at Pittsburg State, Huggins recorded 22 receptions for 395 yards and a touchdown. He also averaged two receptions per game for an average of 18 yards per catch, which is 35.9 yards per game.
Helms, while being a Sooner his entire career thus far, has recorded a total of three receptions for 23 yards and one touchdown. However, the statistics do not tell the full story. Helms has dealt with injuries, tearing his meniscus in 2023 and missing the entire season. In spring and summer of 2024, Helms missed time again with a hamstring injury. For Kanak, Helms offers lessons of resiliency.
“We got a bunch of experience in the tight end room with guys like Will Huggins, and then, one of the bigger influences has been Kaden Helms,” Kanak said. “I actually came in here out of high school with Kaden. I’ve got the utmost respect for him and his story and what he’s went through with injuries and fighting and persevering through that, and he’s been a guy that just really humbly has been able to put himself aside and really teach me.”
With teammates like Huggins and Helms leading him, Kanak will be attentive every single day to become the best player he can be. He is not giving up; he is only giving in to his roots and to his love for Oklahoma.
“I’ve given so much to this program and built these relationships for three years now, and I just have such tight ties and such a deep love for what it means to be a Sooner,” Kanak said. “There’s a real culture here. There’s a real want and a grittiness to want to win and do all things the right way … I think that’s just that mentality that comes with being an Oklahoma Sooner.”
While Kanak’s positional status has wavered over the years, one thing remains constant: he embraces Oklahoma.
“Dude lives and dies by this program,” junior linebacker Kobie McKinzie said.
This story was edited by Hannah Bryant.
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