Oklahoma LB Jaren Kanak Has 'No Idea What He's Doing' But Made Winning Plays vs. Huskers

Kanak, a freshman from Hays, KS, led the Sooners with 10 tackles and also delivered a key takeaway after being forced into emergency duty against Nebraska.

LINCOLN, NE — Brent Venables and Ted Roof asked Jaren Kanak to go out and play some football on Saturday.

Boy, did he.

In Oklahoma’s first road game — a 49-14 victory over Nebraska at Memorial Stadium — Kanak, a true freshman, got his first extensive action when senior starter DaShaun White was ejected for targeting.

Kanak, a freshman from Hays, KS, responded by leading the Sooners with 10 tackles, stripped and recovered a fumble at the start of the third quarter, chased after Huskers quarterback Casey Thompson and generally wowed his coaches and teammates.

“He's just learning how to play linebacker,” Venables said. “He has no idea what he's doing yet. But he's made a lot of improvement from fundamentals and the language — and I know things are going a million miles an hour for him. But he did a nice job.”

Starting at Venables’ “cheetah” linebacker position, What was having the game of his life knocking down ballcarriers at the line of scrimmage and chasing Thompson around Tom Osborne Field.

But White got a little overzealous putting pressure on Thompson coming off the goal line, lowering his head at the last second and hitting Thompson in the facemask.

He was ejected for targeting and missed the second half, but he’ll be available next week against Kansas State.

But Kanak showed that if something does happen to White — or the other starting linebackers, David Ugwoegbu or Danny Stutsman — he can fill in quite ably.

“I think it was great that he had an opportunity to play as much as he did,” said linebackers coach and defensive coordinator Ted Roof. “That's a win-win for everyone because of their growth and their development.”

Kanak said he wouldn’t have chosen to have his breakout game with White having been disqualified.

“Wouldn’t want that to be the circumstance,” Kanak said. “But, exciting and always staying ready for when your number is called. Capitalizing on that opportunity.”

Kanak plays 100 mph, so whatever mistakes he makes, he makes going full speed. There’s almost no hesitation in his game. He reads and reacts almost simultaneously.

“I thought that was great for Jaren,” said defensive end Jonah Laulu. “I thought this whole game was great for Jaren because he’s a true freshman. And coming in as a true freshman and playing straight out of high school is pretty difficult. And I think this was great for him because he got to learn. He got to play and see the real tempo of the game. And he got to make that great play which was awesome for him.”

Venables said Kanak’s takeaway earned him the “Swift Sooner Award” for the first takeaway of the game.

“He played good,” Venables said. “I’m super proud of Jaren. He’s one of the most unassuming guys in our locker room. … Great job. The tape’s gonna be great for him to learn from.”

Kanak said the game has “definitely” slowed down for him and said the experience he got in the Sooners’ first two games helped prepare him for Saturday. He credits the coaches for his ability to step in and be ready.

“Definitely our coaching staff and the positive pressure they put on us,” he said. “How much they want us to be great. They want it almost even more than we do, sometimes, some might say. The pressure they put on us, how encouraging they are, how hard they coach us, makes it a lot easier.”

Venable said he and Roof have the easy part.

“He's really hard on himself,” Venables said. “He is an easy guy to coach because he's really demanding on himself as opposed to being a young, immature freshman that doesn't want to be told when he's terrible. And he wasn't terrible today, but he made some mistakes. He'll be the first one to admit that.”

“The mistakes that he made,” Roof said, “he's going to learn from it and grow from it because he cares so much and works so hard.”

Said Laulu, “I was really hyped for him. He’s just going to keep getting better and better.”