Oklahoma's Jaren Kanak Explains His Move to Tight End and His Love for the Sooners

Kanak didn’t want to give up, not on the coaching staff or on himself, but he eventually decided switching sides of the ball was the path forward. 

“I probably didn’t start thinking about it real seriously 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 and say that I fully actually gave the linebacker thing a shot. And I feel like — it’s just like anything. If you’re working toward something hard or trying a new position you’re going to have struggles. 

“So it was the battle between trying to decide are these the bumps and bruises that come along with becoming a great player at linebacker or is this God telling me this is not where I’m supposed to be.”

So often in today’s college football landscape, getting stuck down the depth chart can be enough to focus players’ minds on the transfer portal. 

Changing positions is a new challenge all together, one that could also pair nicely with a change of scenery, but there wasn’t any chance Kanak was going to leave Norman if the coaching staff would have him. 

“I’ve given so much to this program and built these relationships for three years now,” he said. “I just have such tight ties and such a deep love for what it means to be a Sooner. What it means to play football here. 

“… There’s a real culture here. There’s a real want and a grittiness to win and do all the things the right way. Have these tough, challenging processes and put that work in. And I think that’s just that mentality that comes with being an Oklahoma Sooner, which I just love. I love that s---. I couldn’t even think about going anywhere else. I’d be here for free, you know what I mean? I love playing football in this stadium for this head coach, for all these coaches.”

Once the decision was made, Kanak said OU tight ends coach Joe Jon Finley welcomed him with open arms. 

“Coach Finley was fired up. When I was getting recruited in high school, I took my visit at OU when coach Finley was still coaching the tight ends here,” Kanak said. “I actually had a meeting with coach (Brian) Odom at 12:30 and then a meeting with coach Finley at 1 because at that point, it wasn’t decided if I was going to play offense or defense. So I’ve sat in a coach Finley meeting when I was getting recruited and they recruited me to play offense.

“… He likes the idea of getting a new guy in his room that’s been here a while and loves OU like he does, a former player like himself, loves this place. That’s why he’s coaching here. So he was definitely fired up.”

There’s plenty Kanak has to catch up on to successfully make the switch over to offense. 

But he’s not any farther behind his fellow tight ends when it comes to memorizing the playbook. 

Ben Arbuckle’s arrival at offensive coordinator was a reset button for everyone on the offense, and Kanak has enjoyed getting to learn the new system alongside everyone else. 

“It’s a great thing for me,” he said. “I’m learning as everybody else is learning so I can gain the competitive advantage by being knowledgeable of the new stuff and being up there as much as I can. I’m watching more film. I love this tight end room, love these guys, but we’re competing, pushing each other. If I can know more than the guy next to me, then I can execute it better.”

Before truly taking the field again, there was one last bit of business for Kanak. 

On defense, Kanak was able to wear jersey No. 7, but receiver Zion Kearney already had the same jersey on offense. 

So Kanak had to pick up the list of vacant numbers and choose a new one. 

“I don’t want to make it deeper than it is, but 12 was what my late father wore in high school,” he said. “So I had a list of numbers, I talked to my mom and I said, ‘Dad wore 12 in high school, didn’t he?’ That would be cool. 

“… I think it’s pretty cool just to honor what it means to live life. That’s just how I live my life is maximizing the time we do have here on Earth and doing all we can and truly treating each day like it’s our last. So that’s what 12 means to me. It represents maximizing each day and really giving it my all and living a fulfilling life and that’s celebrating what my dad’s life was and that’s kind of how he lived too.” 

Regardless of how far behind Kanak could be having played defense for the last three years, he’s not going to get outworked by anyone on the team. 

Last week, Venables said he’s at the facility more than any other player watching film and putting in extra work. 

Kanak said he feels a connection to new OU general manager Jim Nagy, who said he is happiest when he’s in a dark room watching film. 

The commitment has always been there from Kanak, and now the 6-foot-2, 230-pounder is ready to do everything he can to help OU as a tight end. 

“Playing linebacker, I was completely committed to it,” he said. “I wanted to 100% give it all I could. And have no regrets looking back and be 100% certain that I gave it all that I could.

“… Now I’m really excited for this opportunity moving forward and to take that same energy I had towards wanting to be the best linebacker I can, to maximizing my potential and playing this game as long as I can, whether it be special teams, offense and just using the gifts God has blessed me with to kick some ass on the football field.”