Oklahoma Sooners

NORMAN, Okla. -- In Bob Stoops’ first season in 1999, Oklahoma spread everyone out and threw it around.

In 2004, the Sooners put Jason White under center and handed off to Adrian Peterson.

As Stoops pointed out last week, the Sooners have often "played to their personnel." That includes last season, when, after it became abundantly clear the Sooners’ fourth-best receiver was better than any tight end, OU went almost exclusively with four-wide formations.

“We had some young [tight ends], a new guy from junior college,” Stoops said. “We weren’t the same with them on the field. Our best grouping was with wide receivers, which was quite obvious to anybody who watched us.”

In recent weeks, the Sooners have taken criticism from ESPN analysts Trent Dilfer and Jon Gruden for not using tight ends. They say it put too much pressure on quarterback Landry Jones to throw the ball downfield.

In several OU victories, Jones’ arm was good enough to overcome the limitations of not having a tight end checking off a route underneath the coverage, streaking down the middle of the field or helping to block in the run game.

But in the Sooners’ three 2012 losses, not having a tight end came back to haunt them, as OU was unable to maintain balance with the run or attack the Kansas State, Notre Dame and Texas A&M defenses off play-action.

The OU coaching staff recognized this liability and tried to lure another junior-college tight end to Norman before signing day. But after losing out on Beau Sandland and Emmanuel Bibbs -- the two juco tight ends they thought could provide an immediate impact -- the Sooners were forced to go with what they have.

Only this time, they won’t have Jones’ arm to fall back on. To be successful in 2013, the Sooners will have to run the ball with better efficiency. And they’ll have to also be lethal with play-action. Which means Sam Grant, Taylor McNamara and Brannon Green, whom the Sooners deemed weren’t ready last year, had better be ready to play this time around.

“I feel much better about it,” Stoops said. “The two freshmen [Grant and McNamara] have come along, are stronger blockers, have a stronger presence about what they’re trying to do. Same thing with Brannon Green, more experience in what we want him to do.

“I believe they’ll have more opportunities.”

Despite losing Kenny Stills and Justin Brown, the Sooners figure to be strong at wideout again. Jalen Saunders and Sterling Shepard should be prolific, and Trey Metoyer, Durron Neal, Dannon Cavil, Jaz Reynolds and others have big-play ability. But as OU transitions to an offense more reliant on the ground game -- as well as the running ability of its inexperienced quarterbacks -- tight end play will be paramount.

It’s no coincidence that when the Sooners have run the ball best, they’ve had stellar tight end play.

Quentin Griffin had Trent Smith.

Chris Brown and DeMarco Murray had Brody Eldridge and Jermaine Gresham.

Even Adrian Peterson had James "Bubba" Moses and Joe Jon Finley.

Stoops says he likes what he saw from the tight ends in the spring. After redshirting last year, Grant showed promise as a blocking specialist. McNamara has put on weight and is finally healthy after undergoing shoulder surgery last season, then tweaking a hamstring after being cleared for spring ball. Green has come along, too.

They’ll never be confused with the 2007 tight end grouping of Gresham, Eldridge and Finley. But if they can be just solid enough to be used, that might be adequate.

The Sooners are always going to play to their personnel. But OU has always been better when the tight ends are included.

Not only did the Sooners seldom use the tight end position in 2012, they altogether abandoned it. Offensive coordinator Josh Heupel leaned on four-wide sets and lined up fullback Trey Millard at tight end whenever the situation called for it.

The Sooners scoured the recruiting trail for a junior college tight end but struck out with their top two targets, Beau Sandland and Emmanuel Bibbs.

Despite not landing a juco tight end, Bob Stoops said he wants the tight end packages to be a bigger part of the offense next season. And he feels that, with an extra year in the program, freshman Taylor McNamara and Sam Grant could be ready to hold down the position, along with juco transfer Brannon Green.

“I see it being a bigger part,” Stoops said. “I think it was more the inexperience. We tried it and there were too many, just overall, we didn’t feel they were quite ready to play at the level we needed.”

Coupled with the tight end inexperience, Stoops added that the emergence of transfer receivers Jalen Saunders and Justin Brown swayed the Sooners to run more four-wide sets, too.

“I think [that's the case] more than anything, and the experience that the wide receivers all had,” Stoops said. “As odd as it sounds to say, considering where we started with all of them, they were so productive and doing so well, we felt that was taking advantage of our personnel and experience the best.”

But with Brown and Kenny Stills gone, Stoops said he sees the Sooners returning to more tight end sets in 2013.

“We like our young guys and our guys coming up,” Stoops said. “We want our tight end packages to be more involved, definitely.”

Midway through December, Oklahoma knew it had to address the tight end position immediately.

James Hanna and Trent Ratterree were seniors, Austin Haywood had left the team, Max Stevenson was ailing with a pectoral injury and commitment Laith Harlow had suffered a back injury, putting his future in question.

OU quickly went to work on the recruiting trail, securing three new tight ends for the 2012 season.

Brannon Green (Altamont, Kan./Fort Scott) is a physical tight end who reminds people of Brody Eldridge thanks to his blocking mentality.

“I'm going to look them in the eye. Pancake them, then stand over them. That's my mentality,” Green said on signing day.

But he could surprise in other aspects of his game as well.

“He’s catching the ball extremely well for a guy who you think of as the most physical of those [three] guys,” offensive coordinator Josh Heupel said.

Taylor McNamara (San Diego/Westview) was an important signee for the present and the future. The spring enrollee is already on campus and will get to participate in spring football. He could have the most potential of the trio.

“He has the ability to stretch the field vertically and with a big long frame,” Heupel said. “He’s an extremely talented kid that is competitive.”

Sam Grant (Lakewood, Ohio/St. Edward) was a late pickup, choosing the Sooners over Michigan on Monday. A long, lanky tight end prospect at 6-foot-5, 230 pounds, Grant could bulk up and be a solid blocker and red zone threat.

“He hasn’t scratched the surface of what he’s going to be,” Heupel said.

As national signing day approaches on Feb. 1, Brandon Chatmon is breaking down every commitment and signee in the Sooners' 2012 recruiting class. View all of our profiles here.

Name: Sam Grant

Position: Tight End

Height, Weight: 6-foot-5, 230 pounds

Hometown/School: Lakewood, Ohio/St. Edward

Committed: Jan. 30, 2012

Scout grade: 78. Three star prospect.

Scout rankings: No. 18 tight end, No. 53 in Midwest Region, No. 30 in Ohio

Picked OU over: Michigan, Boston College, Arkansas, North Carolina State, Louisville, Indiana and others.

State of the position: The Sooners need to secure as much talent as possible at the tight end position. With newcomers Brannon Green and Taylor McNamara as the lone scholarship tight ends expected to participate in spring football, the opportunity to earn playing time at the position is wide open.

Pros: “He will likely contribute best as a blocker especially as he continues to physically develop. Once he gets locked on he can be tough to beat. He can contribute some as a short-range / outlet target in the passing game. He displays the ability to extend and catch the ball with his hands at times.” - ESPN analyst

Cons: “After the catch he is a big kid who will fight for yards but is not a kid that will make defenders miss and create big plays after the catch. He gets his hands on and shows a little tenaciousness once engaged, but needs to develop his technique from beginning to end to allow him to be a better blocker.” - ESPN analyst

Similar to/potential role: Trent Ratterree. Grant is a solid tight end who will contribute as a blocker and could develop into a solid red zone and short yardage target but won’t stretch defenses with his speed.

Expected impact: 2012. He could be used in short yardage situations as a freshman thanks to his blocking ability and OU’s dire need at the position. However it wouldn’t be surprising to see him take a redshirt season to put more weight on his frame and/or eventually move to tackle if he’s not making an impact at tight end early in his career.