Jake Roberts

Sophomore tight end Jake Roberts during OU football newcomer availability on March 6.

 Olivia Lauter/OU Daily

It has taken Jake Roberts four years to make the two mile trip from Norman North’s Harve Collins Stadium to the University of Oklahoma.

However, despite making several stops along the way, Roberts will finish his collegiate career in the place where he established its foundation.

“I want to leave a legacy here,” Roberts said on Wednesday. “I am a hometown guy.”

But for the fifth-year senior tight end, Norman is not the only familiarity. 

Roberts, who was a three-star recruit while playing for Norman North, signed at North Texas out of high school, where he played for OU co-offensive coordinator Seth Littrell from 2020-2022.

The transition to Oklahoma, in terms of scheme and environment, has been smooth, and after making 22 starts for UNT under an offense Littrell conducted, his choice to come to OU as an experienced veteran was the obvious one to make.

“It’s been really nice to be back home and be with familiar faces,” Roberts said. “But I think a big part in my decision was my relationship with Coach Littrell and being with him for three years at North Texas. It’s just been really nice to be back, be around people that I know and just play at the highest level.”

After the Sooners lost tight end Brayden Willis, who caught 39 passes for 514 yards during his senior season with OU, to the NFL Draft two years ago, they struggled to find a replacement. Redshirt senior Austin Stogner was meant to fill that role last season, but after playing 709 snaps, the tight end recorded just 17 catches and 196 yards.

Now, Roberts, who transferred after one season with Baylor and is entering his fifth year of collegiate football, has an opportunity to revitalize the position by bringing a level of experience and implementing a sense of consistency, especially for younger tight ends like freshman Davon Mitchell and sophomore Kade McIntyre.

“I want to add the toughness back to the tight end room,” Roberts said. “But I think Coach (Joe Jon) Finley is doing a good job at developing those younger dudes. They’ve got a lot to learn … But they are hard workers and great athletes, so I think it is definitely in good hands.”

Roberts played in all 49 games during his four seasons with North Texas and the Bears and pulled in 66 receptions for 772 yards and four touchdowns.

The tight end poses as someone who is familiar with both Littrell’s system, the offense and the position, but also understands the growing pains that accompany the move to a new program. In his final season, Roberts is hoping to use his experience to impact the team both on and off the field.

“I’m just trying to spread my knowledge as much as I can,” Roberts said. “As a new guy you have to establish rapport, come in and put your head down, work hard and earn the respect of your teammates. Then, once you do that, you start to have more of a voice, and I’m just trying to help the guys as much as I can with the experience that I have.”

In an era of the transfer portal, for most programs, the only constant is building a team composed of players who are more familiar with the game than they are the school. But for Roberts, who eventually made his way back to the town that watched him develop, it’s both.

“I don’t know if I’ve learned anything completely different than what it’s taken to get me here, but it just reinforces that hard work is what drives a player,” Roberts said. “I am just so grateful to be back home. This has been my dream, and I am getting to live that out.”

This story was edited by Louis Raser. 

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