Sheree Helms typically sits on the first row behind the visiting bench at Owen Field, right around the 50-yard line.
But on Saturday, she and a friend ventured to the south end zone for some food in the club section. They decided to watch the third quarter there instead of immediately returning to their seats.
And providentially, that decision ended up giving her a perfect vantage point for a moment she’ll never forget.
Sheree’s a single mom. Her son Kaden is an only child. When Kaden committed to play football at Oklahoma, she went with him, moving seven hours south to the Sooner State from Bellevue, Nebraska. And over the last couple of years, she’s witnessed her son endure a myriad of injuries that cast legitimate doubt upon his football career at one point.
But on Saturday, when Helms reeled in a deflected pass from Jackson Arnold for a 9-yard touchdown, all the travail was but a distant memory in a jubilant moment. Up until that point, the redshirt sophomore had only caught one pass in his college career, a garbage-time 4-yard reception (which, coincidentally, occurred in his home state of Nebraska) all the way back on Sept. 17, 2022.
But some two years later, Helms’ second career catch went for his first collegiate touchdown — and Mom might have had the best seat in the house.
“We were in that end zone and got to see it happen; it was right in front of us,” Sheree recalled. “I don’t know — we jumped up and down and cried, and I was shaking because I was crying so much, and just praising God. He deserved that moment. He so deserved that moment.”
And if anybody in the crimson and cream truly did deserve a moment like that, it’s Helms, who missed the entire 2023 season due to a meniscus injury that required two surgeries. Come 2024, when he’d finally recovered from the knee procedure, hamstring issues kept him sidelined for the majority of spring practice and fall camp.
Despite it all, Helms kept the faith — in a very literal sense.
“I’m so, so glad I’ve had the support system I’ve had, and I’m so glad Jesus Christ has blessed me with a mindset that I can push through anything,” Helms told reporters after the game. “I want to give thanks to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Him, my friends, family, teammates — [they] really kept my spirits up when times were getting rough last year with my knee injury… I was out for almost two years. And it was definitely hard on the mental. But like I said, God just got me through it. I think he gives his hardest battles to his toughest soldiers, and I just kind of kept that mindset and kept pushing, and I’m glad I did.”
How long had it been since the 6-foot-5, 239-pound Nebraskan got to celebrate a touchdown catch? Lincoln Riley was still the head coach at Oklahoma last time Helms visited the end zone. That was November 2021, when he was a senior at Bellevue West High School.
And throughout his childhood and adolescence, Helms was the picture of health. He’d never undergone a major medical procedure until January 2023, when his first knee surgery occurred. Moreover, he certainly couldn’t have imagined that the surgery in question — which should have put him on track to be 100 percent by fall camp that August — would be the first domino in a chain-reaction of ailments that would keep falling for a year and a half.
“I was always a guy who was always healthy, always available,” Helms remarked. “And it’s definitely something I think God put on my heart, not only to build me as a player but build me as a man. I think that without those trials and tribulations, I wouldn’t be as mentally solid and mature as I am now. It ends up kind of being weird, but I’m kind of appreciative of the battles I’ve been through. It’s kind of crazy how He works.”
Helms originally committed to Oklahoma some four months before Riley’s seismic departure in 2021. He stayed true to his pledge, citing his strong bond with Joe Jon Finley, even after Riley’s defection. And though Helms’ commitment to the Sooners preceded Brent Venables’ arrival, it was Venables’ unique off-field support mechanism — the S.O.U.L. Mission — that helped the young tight end keep his head above water through the storm.
