Sad News: Oklahoma Sooners to face the worst disappointment ever

The Sooners were in the running for outstanding local tight end Nate Roberts when the 4-star prospect withdrew from Notre Dame last summer, but they were unable to secure his commitment.
Four-star tight end Nate Roberts committed to Ohio State on Saturday morning.

The 6-foot-4, 235-pound pass catcher is from Washington, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma had been actively pursuing him since he renounced his commitment to Notre Dame in the summer.

Roberts was a top target for Joe Jon Finley and colleagues in the next cycle, ranked as the No. 7 tight end and No. 139 overall talent in the 2025 recruiting class. The Sooners were unable to sign the highly sought-after tight end prospect, who ranked OU among his top five colleges on March 11, despite making many trips to Norman since he announced his decision to leave the Fighting Irish.

Roberts went with the Ohio State Buckeyes over Mississippi, Penn State, Oklahoma, and Oregon.

Jake Roberts, the older brother of Roberts, was added by Oklahoma over the offseason after the former Baylor and North Texas tight end used the transfer portal. The veteran was added, but the Sooners were still unable to sign the four-star 2025 tight end who lives fifteen minutes away.

Late in the 2024 recruiting season, Finley and company sent an offer to Cooper Alexander, a standout player for the Warriors and OU alumni, but Alexander went to Iowa State, so they lost out on Roberts’ teammate as well.

Now that Roberts is not available again, the Sooners will concentrate on acquiring one of the three gifted tight ends in the 2025 class—Da’Saahn Brame, Linkon Cure, or Chase Loftin—who have expressed interest in Oklahoma.

Finley was able to sign Davon Mitchell, one of the best tight ends in the 2025 cycle who reclassified and enrolled at OU in January, even though they missed out on Alexander in the 2024 class. Given that tight ends like Mitchell, Kade McIntyre, Josh Fanuiel, Kaden Helms, and even Bauer Sharp are eligible past 2024, Oklahoma should have a strong tight end corps for the upcoming few seasons.

To continue adding depth at a position that was weak in 2023, the Sooners will still need to select a strong tight end in the 2025 class.