It’s maybe the greatest moment Jason Witten has had, his own words after OU defeated No. 24 Florida 23-7 at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on Saturday.
Witten played 17 seasons in the NFL, recording over 13,000 receiving yards and earning 11 Pro Bowl selections. He coached his sons at Liberty Christian School as the program’s head coach for five seasons, a time in his life he “will always cherish.”
But re-igniting the OU offense on Saturday may beat all else for OU’s interim offensive coordinator.
“Tonight was pretty special,” Witten said. “In all the years I've been around football, maybe the greatest moment I've had.”
Witten guided the Sooners to 351 yards of total offense (averaged 337 going into the game). OU scored on the first two possessions of the game against a Southeastern Conference opponent for the first time since joining the conference. Witten devoured the clock in the end. OU’s touchdown in the fourth quarter lasted 20 plays for 89 yards (12:45), making it OU’s longest drive since 1972.
“The efficiency and the confidence, … certainly, it all starts with him,” head coach Brent Venables said. “And as I said on Monday or Tuesday, bragging on his ambition and his excitement for the opportunity, you can't fabricate that. And I certainly didn't want anybody to put a toe in the water, willing to do it. I wanted somebody that saw how good that we can be. … I thought our guys just looked like a really refined unit offensively.”
Fifth-year quarterback John Mateer had a turnover-free game with 207 passing yards and a season-high 56 rushing yards. Five wide receivers recorded a reception, with three having at least 20 receiving yards. Fifth year Isaiah Sategna and junior Parker Livingstone finished with 34 and 26 receiving yards, respectively. Junior Jacob Jordan recorded a season-high 36 receiving yards. Witten also leaned heavily on the tight ends; in the first half, tight ends were targeted on more than 30% of Mateer's pass completions and accounted for 51% of his passing yards.
There are some clear differences compared to how Arbuckle used OU’s offensive personnel. Jordan had only five receptions on the season going into the game but recorded four against the Gators. Livingstone also had a third of his season total in receptions (nine) against the Gators. Sixth-year tight end Rocky Beers had 66 receiving yards in just the first half despite averaging 55 through the first eight games.
“Ultimately, we haven’t coached very well and haven’t gotten the results we wanted,” Witten said. “I told them what they could expect from me.”
Witten gave the offensive staff a clear message.
“Told them, ‘Hey, listen, you don't want to be here. I understand that. Go see coach Venables. But here's what we're (going to) do — we're (going to) figure it out.’ And throughout my journey, I think just in life, and, when adversity hits, how do you respond? What do you want to look like? And you (get) one shot at it. And so for me, it was like, ‘Hey, attack it head on.’ … We had to have an intentionality to how we approached it. … This wasn't one person doing this. This is about the team.”
The players rallied around Witten. They trusted him and, at the end of the game, showered him with Gatorade.
“Nobody flinched, the coaches (or) the players,” Mateer said. “It was really good. And we came out and we believed. And we made it happen.”
Saturday felt different than usual for Mateer.
Mateer had played under former offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle for three years, dating back to their time at Washington State. He was with Arbuckle when the offensive coordinator received the news that he had been fired. Then Mateer had less than a week to develop the offensive coordinator-quarterback relationship with Witten.
“It's super important — offensive coordinator-quarterback relationship,” Mateer said. “We had never done it. Thursday night, it wasn’t cordial being around him; just talking, it wasn’t all about the game plan. Some of it was — what I like, what he likes, why he’s doing it. I thought he called a good game.”
The support of the players was a major reason why Venables chose Witten as OU’s interim offensive coordinator, and the former NFL tight end looks forward to continuing to build relationships with them. He has a passion for leading young athletes, which strengthened in his time coaching at the high school level.
“Coaching high school football reminded me of why I fell in love with football,” Witten said. “It's about the relationships and the lessons you learn through the game of football. And so, yeah, college football and the landscape of college football is changing, but they still need mentorship. They're 18-to-23 years old. They need mentors. Invest in them, show them the way. And I felt like I was equipped to be a strong voice in that. … There's a business aspect and, of course, handling that. We all want a little bit more money and all that, but that doesn't make them a bad person. And how do you navigate that? I felt like I was well equipped to handle that. At the same time, what allowed you to win 50 years ago still allows you to win today in football.”
Venables trusts Witten’s schematic vision and his love for the players. He demonstrated it by giving him the keys to lead the offense for the remainder of the season, starting with a ranked opponent on the road.
“I have so much appreciation for him to, in a short amount of time, trust me and believe in me,” Witten said. “And, after this long week, I was coming in today and the 18-wheeler was out front when we were coming in. And I was walking, and I saw seven national championships, 50 conference championships on the back of the 18 wheeler. And I just kind of smiled because I've been on the biggest of stages, and I know what the expectation is at Oklahoma.”
