LINCOLN, Neb. — Jaren Kanak was ready for his name to be called.
When Oklahoma’s starting strongside linebacker DaShaun White was ejected in the second quarter for targeting, the time came for the freshman linebacker to make his mark in a road rivalry game. As White exited the field, he offered his replacement some advice: treat the game like it was practice.
As Kanak entered the game and began to settle in, veteran safety Key Lawrence was also in his ear, offering words of encouragement.
“When he came in (the game) with me,” Lawrence said, “I was trying to tell him to just think like you were in your backyard again, man. Just go out there and have fun, it’ll come straight to you. And he did that.”
Kanak took his teammates’ advice and proved he belongs on the biggest stage, battling a historic rival at an elite program. The Hays, Kansas, native led the Sooners in total tackles with 10, had a quarterback hurry and forced a fumble on the first play of the third quarter, which led to a touchdown.
With White disqualified, Kanak stepped into the Cheetah role seamlessly and helped the defense deliver another dominant performance. Led by Kanak, No. 6 OU (3-0) finished with four sacks and nine tackles for loss to annihilate Nebraska (1-3, 0-1 Big Ten) 49-14 in Lincoln, six days after the Huskers fired coach Scott Frost.
“I'm super proud of Jaren,” Venables said. “He’s one of the most unassuming guys in our locker room… He’s just learning how to play linebacker. He has no idea what he’s doing yet. But he’s made a lot of improvement from fundamentals, language and I know things are going a million miles an hour for him. But he did a nice job.”
Kanak is right where he wants to be, which is playing for Venables, a fellow Kansan from Salina. The former four-star recruit created a special bond with the then-defensive coordinator and committed to him at Clemson. However, after Venables decided to take the Oklahoma job and promised coach Dabo Swinney he wouldn’t poach any of his recruits, Kanak was stuck in the middle.
After realizing following Venables was what Kanak truly wanted, Swinney finally agreed to let him decommit and go to Norman. Now, Kanak is not only playing under the right coach for him, but he’s making the strides necessary to take his game to the next level.
“He did a nice job,” Venables said. “The tape is going to be great for him to learn from. He's really hard on himself. He’s an easy guy to coach because he's really demanding of himself as opposed to being a young immature freshman that doesn't want to be told when he's terrible.
“He wasn't terrible today, but he made some mistakes. He'll be the first one to admit that, but so did a bunch of other guys. So I’m really proud of him and the progress that he's made.”
Head coach Brent Venables and freshman linebaker Jaren Kanak during Sooners' fall open practice on Aug 23.
Kanak acknowledged his work ethic and determination stems from his desire to be successful. He mentioned doing little things, like making the extra effort to poke the ball out of his opponent’s hands, as part of what will help him going forward.
“I just want to be great just like anybody else,” Kanak said. “And just trying to do every little thing possible is the way to do that I believe, giving your all in every little circumstance to get to that point.”
To begin the second half, Nebraska looked like it was starting the drive on a high note after quarterback Casey Thompson completed a pass to wide receiver Trey Palmer across the middle for an apparent first down.
But, Kanak reached over Palmer’s shoulder and ripped the ball out of his hands for a turnover.
REMEMBER THE NAME ➡️ JAREN KANAK. pic.twitter.com/3RF0BFVpFB
— 𝕆𝕂𝕃𝔸ℍ𝕆𝕄𝔸-𝕍𝕊-𝕋ℍ𝔼 𝕎𝕆ℝ𝕃𝔻 (@soonergridiron) September 17, 2022
“He got to make that great play,” senior defensive end Jonah Laulu said. “Which was awesome for him, I was really hype for him. He's just gonna keep getting better and better.”
Every game, Venables rewards the player who creates the first turnover and Kanak was the recipient Saturday. Kanak didn’t want to talk about his accomplishments postgame, as he was focused on learning from his mistakes and improving ahead of next week’s game against Kansas State.
After journeying to OU, and now getting the chance to show what he’s capable of, Kanak is just scratching the surface of his potential, and players and coaches have said his future is bright.
Whether he cements himself at the Cheetah position or elsewhere, Kanak will undoubtedly be a focal point of Oklahoma’s future plans on defense.
“As a freshman there’s going to be a lot of mistakes and a lot of little things to learn from,” Kanak said. “But getting into a game like that and getting the opportunity to make the mistakes is great for me because I just have a lot to learn from and it'll continue to make myself a better player for years to come.”
