There are still about three weeks separating the Oklahoma Sooners from taking the field for their first spring game under [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] but that hasn’t slowed the hype train.
There are a slew of new players that will make their Oklahoma debut in April’s spring game and 247Sports’ Sam Marsdale has their eye on a particular freshman on Oklahoma’s defense; linebacker [autotag]Jaren Kanak[/autotag].
Kanak was committed to Clemson but followed Brent Venables to Norman after he accepted the head coaching job with the Sooners. Track guy who has run as fast as 10.37 at over 200 pounds,” Trieu wrote in his evaluation of Kanak. “Multi-positional player in high school but future projection is most likely outside linebacker. An explosive player who has good burst, acceleration, and obvious speed to pursue on defense. Ball skills he shows on offense should translate to defense where he should be a strong coverage backer if that is indeed where he ends up playing. Times his blitzes well, and when combined with his quickness, that allows him to penetrate and make plays in the backfield.- Sam Marsdale, 247Sports
Kanak’s journey to Oklahoma was a bit of a crazy one. However, the bond he forged early on in his recruitment with Venables won out. Kanak joins one of Oklahoma’s most talented position groups at linebacker. [autotag]Danny Stutsman[/autotag], [autotag]DaShaun White[/autotag], [autotag]David Ugwoegbu[/autotag], [autotag]Shane Whitter[/autotag], and four-star freshman [autotag]Kobie McKinzie[/autotag] all are competing for time at Oklahoma’s second level.
Kanak stands out as he may be the most athletic of them all and he’s only 18 years old. He will most likely see snaps in the spring game and it will be intriguing to see how he looks with those reps. How he diagnoses a play, reacts, what angles he takes, and how well he’s able to shed blocks are what to watch for as he tries to make a case for meaningful playing time in the fall.
While Kanak is the name that got highlighted, there are two other freshmen we look forward to watching on April 23; [autotag]Jovantae Barnes[/autotag] and [autotag]Nick Evers[/autotag]. Even though neither is projected to be a starter, both will play critical roles as depth should the upperclassmen and players in front of them go down with an injury. In essence, both players could be one play away.
Barnes, a four-star running back out of Las Vegas, figures to see plenty of snaps as the Sooners won’t run [autotag]Eric Gray[/autotag] and [autotag]Marcus Major[/autotag] too much considering they are their two top backs. Barnes will get the opportunity to run the ball and show what he can bring to the running game. He’s a few steps ahead of his fellow 2022 signee in [autotag]Gavin Sawchuk[/autotag]. Sawchuk won’t be joining the program until the summertime. Barnes can separate himself and earn the RB3 role with a great performance in the spring game.
Evers has an even more important role as he could potentially be the Sooners’ backup quarterback. He is a true freshman of course but with the Sooners not having another battle-tested scholarship quarterback on the roster that backup responsibility falls firmly on the shoulders of Evers.
The former four-star QB out of Texas is a talented dual-threat player that has already taken advantage of Oklahoma’s strength and conditioning program. Acclimating himself to the speed of collegiate defenses and reading defenses will be his biggest hurdle but he’ll get plenty of reps this spring and in the spring game to showcase how far he has come under Jeff Lebby’s tutelage. The Sooners hope he shows enough that they can trust him if need be to come in for starter Dillon Gabriel should Gabriel miss snaps at all this season.
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