Playing For His 'Dream School,' Returning to Oklahoma was a Homecoming for Jake Roberts

Roberts, a Norman North product, spent three seasons at North Texas then a year at Baylor before finishing his college career with his hometown Sooners.

Oklahoma tight end Jake Roberts / Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

Oklahoma tight end Jake Roberts is livin’ the dream. 

A Norman North High School alumnus, Roberts returned home this offseason after transferring from Baylor, where he spent last season. His homecoming also set up a reunion. He started his career at North Texas for three years, playing under then-head coach Seth Littrell, who is now OU’s co-offensive coordinator and play caller. 

“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.” 

After two different destinations and four years away from Norman, family ultimately drew Roberts back to OU, now living only minutes away from his parents. 

“That’s been a huge part, just being back with my folks,” Roberts said. “There’s nothing like having your parents 20 minutes down the road. …

“It’s awesome. I’ve had so many people reach out with encouragement and stuff. I’ve been to so many games here as a young kid. Just to be back, it’s gonna be a really exciting moment for me and everybody close to me.”

Roberts was a 3-star recruit in the 2020 class out of Norman North. He didn’t put up monster numbers as a senior, catching 18 passes for 197 yards and a pair of touchdowns. That led to Colorado, before the Coach Prime era, being his only Power 5 offer. He originally committed to Tulsa, but after an offer from UNT, Roberts flipped his commitment to Littrell and the Mean Green only 15 days later. 

Once at UNT, Roberts immediately saw the field, playing in all 10 games of the shortened 2020 season and starting in three. He eventually found a groove in Littrell’s offense, and by the end of his junior season, Roberts was an honorable mention on the All-Conference USA Team. Starting in 13 of 14 games, he caught 28 passes for 394 yards and three scores that season. That ended up being Littrell’s last round in Denton, though, and when his head coach left, so did Roberts. 

“A lot of people have asked a similar question, and first of all, they play great football down there,” Roberts said of his time as a Group of 5 player. “The competition is great. I think the biggest thing for me is I was able to get a lot of good experience as a younger player. You know the best teacher is repetition and experience. I think coming from North Texas, being able to get on the field a lot, get a lot of snaps, in-game experience, make mistakes, learn from them, I think that’s what’s helped me the most.”

He finally got that Power 5 experience with Baylor, where he recorded 23 receptions, 231 yards and a TD in his lone season there. He then entered the transfer portal again, ultimately landing him back to where it all started, and playing again for Littrell, too, for his final year of eligibility. 

“It's been awesome,” Roberts said. “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 kind of just picked up right where we left off.” 

Homecoming for the Sooners won’t be until Oct. 19, but for Roberts, it will be the first time he finally plays in Memorial Stadium, just down the road from his old high school and his parents’ house. 

“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.”