Editor's note: With fall camp just a few weeks away, OUInsider will give an overview of each position group and where things stand. The third installment focuses on the tight ends.
Heading into 2024, it feels like there's considerable upside in the Sooners' tight end room.
It's a different vibe than what the Sooners got in 2023.
Generating production from the tight end room last season was a struggle. The Sooners' tight ends combined for 20 receptions, 252 yards and two touchdowns last season. Austin Stogner soaked up the vast majority of snaps — he played 791 snaps, per Pro Football Focus, while logging a PFF season grade of 50.2. The rest of the tight ends combined for 185 snaps.
Even with Stogner and Blake Smith gone, the Sooners are confident they've got a better-assembled group for this fall.
“Our tight end group, when they’re healthy, it’s going to be a heck of a group," OU coach Brent Venables said in April. "Even when we’re semi-healthy there, we’re in a little better position with more guys capable of playing."
Either way, the Sooners are going to need more production from Joe Jon Finley's group in 2024. Here's an overview of the group and the questions facing them this fall:
ROSTER
Projected Depth Chart
1. Bauer Sharp
2. Jake Roberts
3. Kaden Helms
4. Davon Mitchell
Biggest questions
1. Can Bauer Sharp really be the guy?
Sharp was a bit of an under-the-radar pick up when the Sooners landed him in the transfer portal. The former Southeastern Louisiana player had a solid season in 2023 (29 REC, 288 yards, 3 TD, 25 CAR, 133 yards, 5 TDs) and showed his versatility as a both a pass catcher and ball carrier, but it was hard to predict what his transition to an SEC school would look like.
Turns out, he made that transition pretty quickly.
Sharp immediately asserted himself this spring as the No. 1 tight end on the depth chart. He was easily one of the biggest standouts on either side of the ball. While he offers significant size, it's really his speed that proved to be an important component for OU's offense, and a strength they simply didn't have last season.
He also quickly developed a rapport with Jackson Arnold.
"An underrated part of our offense is the tight end, that H-back spot and being able to use him so far this spring, that dude can go up and catch anything," Arnold said after the spring game. "He’s fast, he’s athletic, he’s twitchy. He’s super reliable too. I’m super excited about Bauer."
The Sooners' wide receiver room is deep and full of talent, and Gavin Sawchuk should be a go-to weapon in the backfield. But with a schedule full of elite SEC teams, the Sooners are going to need as many weapons as possible. Sharp has the potential to add a unique, much-needed attack to the Sooners offense. It'll be interesting to see how Seth Littrell and Finley deploy him — will they primarily use him near the line or scrimmage, or will they experiment with utilizing him in the slot or outside? Could they even venture with using him as an H-Back?
The only real question will be whether he can hold up as a run-blocker. But the potential is clearly there for Sharp to be a difference-maker, and the Sooners need him to be.
2. Who can rise up behind Sharp?
Even if Sharp plays to his ceiling, the Sooners need other options. That was an issue they ran into last year as they overextended Stogner.
They should have viable candidates, provided they stay healthy.
Adding Jake Roberts as a veteran depth piece was a huge pick-up. He has 66 catches for 772 yards and four touchdowns for his career, and he caught 23 passes for 231 yards and a score last season for Baylor.
But really, anybody could step up. Kaden Helms has unfortunately struggled with injuries in his first two seasons at OU, and it's easy to forget he's a former four-star prospect with elite size. True freshman Davon Mitchell was impressive during the spring. Fanuiel saw 56 snaps last season and could be a useful, particularly in two tight-end sets. McIntyre is still very young and is entering just his second season. Maybe Fay or Bray can have good fall camps.
But it feels like there could be some jostling behind Sharp, and the first three games of the season could provide opportunities for several players to earn reps for conference play. Either way, the Sooners are going to need plenty of options.
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