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Oklahoma Freshmen: Getting a Jump on College Football — LB Jaren Kanak

The one-time Clemson commit has the football IQ, instincts and physical ability to find an immediate role on Brent Venables' defense at OU.

John E. Hoover

Jaren Kanak
Jaren Kanak via Twitter

Editor’s Note: Oklahoma welcomes 17 freshmen (so far) in the 2022 recruiting class. This is Part 6 of a 10-part series introducing Oklahoma’s early enrollees in the 2022 recruiting class.

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LB Jaren Kanak

6-2, 210

Hays, KS

247 Sports: 4-star, No. 154 overall, No. 6 ATH

Rivals: 4-star, no overall ranking, No. 13 outside linebacker

Background: Kansas State and Kansas were the first to offer the small-town Kansas product, way back in the summer of 2020. Soon after, Nebraska got wind of him. Ivy League schools Dartmouth and Yale wanted in, and so did Air Force and Army. That speaks volumes about the kind of student and worker the Sooners are getting. Eventually, Kanak’s recruiting profile grew, and as more schools heard about his track times (he ran the 100 in 10.37 and the 200 in 22.06) and his weight room achievements, more offers followed: Texas Tech, TCU, Penn State, Wisconsin, Michigan, Oklahoma State, Florida, USC, Texas A&M, Georgia, Baylor, Alabama and Oklahoma. Clemson offered Kanak on June 1, and on July 30, after visiting Michigan, Iowa, Kansas, Washington State, Alabama, Georgia, Florida and Kansas State, Kanak firmly committed to Clemson. That is, until Brent Venables was introduced as the Sooners’ new coach. Kanak decommitted from Clemson, then silently enrolled at OU for the spring semester and then, on Jan. 5, announced his commitment to the Sooners — with Dabo Swinney’s blessing. He’ll naturally remind some Sooner fans of Austin Box, who also played quarterback in high school (also, they both wore No. 7). After playing receiver as a junior, Kanak rushed for school-records 1,615 yards and 23 touchdowns as a senior and averaged 10.2 yards per carry and also threw for 910 yards and 12 TDs. He accounted for 5,608 yards and 428 points in his career and as a senior was the Kansas High School Player oof the Year.

2022 Projection: Kanak is talented enough athletically to play right away at Oklahoma. He’s already blown away coaches and teammates with his weight room acumen, and he reportedly ran the 40 in 4.4 seconds. Currently the Sooners have an opening at weakside linebacker, where Brian Asamoah declared for the NFL Draft. DaShaun White is a fifth-year senior, and David Ugwoegbu is a fourth-year senior. Behind them, Danny Stutsman had a strong freshman season, and Shane Whitter will continue to impress with his speed and raw talent. But, with a new head coach in Venables and a new linebackers coach in Ted Roof, it would seem everyone has a clean slate. In his first stint at OU, Venables occasionally showed a reluctance to feature young linebackers too soon (even talented players like Box and Rufus Alexander redshirted, while Ryan Reynolds and Curtis Lofton got almost exclusively special teams reps as true freshmen). Kanak has a high football IQ, natural instincts for the position, and loads of ability. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see him rotating in with the second unit in 2022.

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Meet Oklahoma's 2022 Early Enrollees

Published
John E. Hoover
JOHN E. HOOVER

John is an award-winning journalist whose work spans five decades in Oklahoma, with multiple state, regional and national awards as a sportswriter at various newspapers. During his newspaper career, John covered the Dallas Cowboys, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Arkansas Razorbacks and much more. In 2016, John changed careers, migrating into radio and launching a YouTube channel, and has built a successful independent media company, DanCam Media. From there, John has written under the banners of Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Fan Nation and a handful of local and national magazines while hosting daily sports talk radio shows in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and statewide. John has also spoken on Capitol Hill in Oklahoma City in a successful effort to put more certified athletic trainers in Oklahoma public high schools. Among the dozens of awards he has won, John most cherishes his national "Beat Writer of the Year" from the Associated Press Sports Editors, Oklahoma's "Best Sports Column" from the Society of Professional Journalists, and Two "Excellence in Sports Medicine Reporting" Awards from the National Athletic Trainers Association. John holds a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from East Central University in Ada, OK. Born and raised in North Pole, Alaska, John played football and wrote for the school paper at Ada High School in Ada, OK. He enjoys books, movies and travel, and lives in Broken Arrow, OK, with his wife and two kids.

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