Outside of [autotag]Danny Stutsman[/autotag], there could be an entirely new front seven in 2023, per head coach [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag]. One of those positions could be occupied by Jaren Kanak who would be replacing [autotag]David Ugwoegbu[/autotag].
Kanak will be battling with [autotag]Kobie McKinzie[/autotag] and [autotag]Konnor Near[/autotag] to start in 2023. He was someone that not only was new to playing linebacker last year, but he was also new to playing defense full-time entirely.
In 2022, Kanak showed flashes of one day becoming an elite linebacker with his incredible athletic ability. This offseason he’s work to put it all together. Kanak said this offseason he’s starting to get more comfortable playing linebacker.
“It’s night and day,” Kanak said. “The linebacker room has made a commitment as much as we can to try and learn and get an in-depth knowledge of this defense. Just get out there so we can get comfortable and play fast and fully understand what’s going on around us and use that to our advantage.”
He also believes having Venables with the linebackers during drills in practice makes them want to take advantage of every rep. “Brent’s always watching us, every rep is important,” Kanak said. “We take every rep like it’s a first-team rep like it’s the last rep ever. Having that in the back of our head, even if he’s not watching, the eye in the sky is watching and the eye in the sky doesn’t lie. We all take every rep and every opportunity we get and try to take advantage of that as much as we can.”
There are still a few weeks to go before the start of the season and the battle for this position is over, but Kanak seems to be making waves. But with the addition of “competitive depth” this year, expect multiple people to get their shot during games throughout the season.
[lawrence-auto-related count=5 category=1366]
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 Jaron on Twitter @JaronSpor.