NORMAN — There's a lot of reasons why Jake Roberts wanted to play at Oklahoma for his fifth collegiate season.

Near the top of that list was a chance to reunite with his former head coach.

Roberts spent his first three seasons at North Texas playing tight end under then-head coach Seth Littrell, who played a pivotal role in getting Roberts to Denton. But after Littrell took an analyst role with the Sooners last spring, Roberts transferred to Baylor last season.

But when Roberts again entered the portal last offseason, there was no bigger draw in Norman than a chance to play again with Littrell, who was elevated to the Sooners' offensive coordinator position in December. Since then, it's been exactly what Roberts expected.

"It's been awesome," Roberts said on Saturday. "He's the same ol' guy. We're running a lot of the same stuff and it's just good to be back with him and (we) kind of just picked up right where we left off."

The good news for Sooner fans is there's a proven track record for Roberts alongside Littrell. Roberts saw immediate playing time at North Texas, logging over 1,450 snaps over his three seasons there. His best season came in 2022, when he caught 28 passes for 394 yards and three touchdowns.

Roberts attributes that success to his familiarity with Littrell.

"(He's) real laid-back," Roberts said. "If you guys have been around him, you know. A man of few words. He's not going to say a ton but his words are meaningful and he's a real personable guy so our relationship was really strong at UNT and that's carried over to being back home."

For Roberts, being "back home" was another key reason why he wanted to finish his career at Oklahoma.

The Norman native attended Norman North High School, establishing himself as a Rivals three-star prospect in the 2020 class. Roberts had always dreamed of playing in Norman, but his career eventually led him to North Texas. But being in a Sooner uniform is full-circle moment for Roberts.

"It's a blessing," Roberts said. "I'm really happy to be back home and playing for my dream school. For every step of my career to lead me back to Norman, I'm super excited, super blessed and ready to get this thing rolling this year."

But it's not just about fulfilling a dream for Roberts. He could fill a real role for the Sooners this season.

Roberts brings a ton of much-needed experience to the Sooners' tight end room. He's logged 1,780 snaps in his career, significantly more at the DI-level than every other tight end on the roster. He's also coming off a solid season in his lone year at Baylor, finishing with 23 receptions for 231 yards and a touchdown. Notably, he also finished with a PFF grade of 77.4 in pass blocking and a 70.6 overall grade.

So it's no surprise that it's Roberts and Bauer Sharp leading the tight end group thus far in fall camp. The tight ends have been a position group to watch considering the lack of productivity and depth last season, but OU coach Brent Venables is optimistic that this year's situation will be different.

Roberts missed much of the spring with an injury but he's fully back in the mix for fall camp, which brings more optimism to the right ends.

"I think we have a lot of depth and a lot of the younger guys have come on," Roberts said. "I think like a guy like Kade McIntyre's playing really good and Bauer and myself. I think getting myself back and taking some of the reps off the guys that were having to do a lot in the spring, I think it's added a lot of depth and I think we can just throw bodies at these guys. It's been good."

There's a lot of excitement for Roberts, who had a long career before eventually finding himself back home. With his former head coach on board, and the Sooners entering a pivotal debut season in the SEC, Roberts is hoping this is his best season yet.

"Sometimes I have to pinch myself like dang, I’m playing for OU," Roberts said. "I’ve been dreaming of this my whole life. It’s kind of cool how it’s all come full circle, just with Coach Littrell being back and me taking a couple different stops, you couldn’t draw it up any better. I’m really thankful to be back.”

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