Evaluating the current roster, Sooners Wire profiles the current players, with linebacker Jaren Kanak up.
Every year before the start of the college football season, Bruce Feldman of The Athletic chronicles some of the sport’s freakiest and jaw-dropping athletes. Guys of all positions and sizes feature on the list. While Oklahoma didn’t get one on the this year’s list, if there were a player you’d think will be on this list in future seasons, it would be rising sophomore linebacker Jaren Kanak.
Kanak came to Oklahoma as a small-town Kansas kid. Athletically, he’s one of one, and it’s not hard to imagine that if he had played high school ball at a 5A or 6A school in Texas, his recruitment would’ve gone a lot differently.
His draw to Oklahoma was to be coached by Brent Venables. In his first year, he showcased tantalizing glimpses of the player he could become.
While the numbers will not stand out because his limited knowledge of the playbook and experience kept him off the field, he still found ways to impact the game when he saw playing time. With excellent size for the position at 6-foot-2 and over 220 pounds, Kanak has a rare blend of size and speed.
This spring was about learning the intricacies of the defense, and along with Danny Stutsman, Oklahoma has a tenacious LB pairing.
Kanak is a significant piece of Oklahoma’s efforts to put the horrid defensive effort of 2022 behind it. Alongside Stutsman, Kanak should pencil in as the starter. David Ugwoegbu transferred out and is playing edge elsewhere. Dashaun White is playing football professionally, and no one else on the depth chart beside sophomore Kip Lewis played any meaningful snaps last year. Kanak looks destined to be a starter and will have every opportunity to cement himself early on as a competent middle linebacker in Ted Roof’s defense.
Preseason Player Profile
Hometown: Hays, Kansas
Ht: 6-2
Wt: 221 lbs
Class in 2023: Sophomore
247Sports Composite
Four-star prospect, No. 6 athlete, No. 1 player in Kansas
Career Stats
| Tackles | Def Int | Fumbles | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | School | Conf | Class | Pos | G | Solo | Ast | Tot | Loss | Sk | Int | Yds | Avg | TD | PD | FR | Yds | TD | FF |
| *2022 | Oklahoma | Big 12 | SO | LB | 13 | 7 | 17 | 24 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| Career | Oklahoma | 7 | 17 | 24 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |||||
Depth Chart Overview
Kanak is a significant piece of Oklahoma’s efforts to put the defensive effort of 2022 behind it. Alongside Stutsman, Kanak should pencil in as a starter.
David Ugwoegbu transferred and is playing edge at Houston. DaShaun White is playing football professionally, and no one else on the depth chart besides sophomore Kip Lewis played any meaningful snaps last year.
Kanak looks destined to be a starter and will have every opportunity to cement himself early on as a competent middle linebacker in Ted Roof’s defense.
Jaren Kanak Player Picture Gallery