All Sooners

Oklahoma Linebacker Jaren Kanak Back at Practice Monday

Brent Venables said the Sooners' sophomore was able to practice on Monday after he "got hit in the chest" in Saturday's win at Cincinnati.

John E. Hoover

Oklahoma Linebacker Jaren Kanak Back at Practice Monday
Oklahoma Linebacker Jaren Kanak Back at Practice Monday /
In this story:

NORMAN — Oklahoma linebacker Jaren Kanak was back at football practice on Monday.

That’s according to head coach Brent Venables, who revealed the news Monday night during his weekly coach’s show.

Kanak was with the linebackers per usual after practice on Monday night before media interviews. He was fully suited out in shoulder pads and helmet.

“He’s all good to go,” middle linebacker Danny Stutsman said after practice.

Kanak went down with an undisclosed injury in the fourth quarter of the Sooners’ 20-6 victory at Cincinnati on Saturday.

The Fox broadcast showed him climbing into the ambulance parked off the corner of the end zone with some kind of tube or electrical leads attached, and said he was spitting up blood. It was unclear when Kanak was injured, although he appeared to take a leg or foot to the upper body area while attempting to sack Bearcats quarterback Emory Jones.

Kanak’s breathing then appeared labored for two plays before he sat down on the turf to get medical attention.

After the game, Venables said he “got hit in the chest. The early results are things will be OK. We had him checked out locally. Everything will continue to check out.”

Kanak was released from a Cincinnati medical facility and flew home with the team.

The Sooners host Iowa State this Saturday in a 6 p.m. Big 12 Conference game at Owen Field.

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.

Home/Football