The Oklahoma Sooners are pinning their hopes for a more productive 2026 red‑zone attack on a comprehensive overhaul of the tight end room, a move that began with the hiring of Jason Witten as the program’s new tight ends coach.
Witten arrives alongside a wave of newcomers — Hayden Hansen, Rocky Beers, Jack Van Dorselaer, Tyler Ruxer and Ryder Mix — who have joined the squad through a mix of transfers and high‑school recruiting, bringing a size profile that ranges from 6‑3 to 6‑8.
What sets this group apart is not just their stature but the way they have already begun to translate that physicality into on‑field production, as evidenced by their performances in the spring game.
During that scrimmage, Hansen and Beers combined for 99 receiving yards on seven catches, while Beers, who previously logged seven touchdown receptions for Colorado State in 2025, added a series of short‑range scores that highlighted his knack for the end zone.
Hansen, whose collegiate career at Florida included five touchdown receptions, also showed a knack for stretching the seam, a trait that quarterbacks have begun to rely on as they look for reliable options in tight spaces.
Quarterback John Mateer, who finished the 2025 season with a 59.4 percent completion rate, 1,670 yards, eight touchdowns and eight interceptions over the final eight games, has repeatedly pointed to the size and catching radius of the new tight ends as a decisive factor in the offense’s ability to move the ball in the red zone.
A New Era for the Tight End Position
Offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle echoes that sentiment, describing the unit as a potential lifeline for a scheme that struggled to break the 30‑point barrier in only one of its last eight contests a year ago, hoping the new talent will finally give the Sooners the consistent red‑zone threat they have been missing.