(Copyright by Mike DellaVecchio and OUInsider.com)

With the graduation of tight ends James Hanna and Trent Ratterree and the defection of Austin Haywood, the Oklahoma Sooners found themselves in desperate need to find replacements at the tight end position and had no time to waste. So the coaching staff scoured the country in search of the very best and for their efforts, signed the top ranked tight end class in the country.

Sooner Coach Cale Gundy described the importance of the tight end position at Oklahoma.

"Our offense needs the tight end position, to do what we do," said Gundy. "We think of it as needing what we'd call an 'in-'line' guy and a 'downfield' guy. One primarily assigned to block, the other capable of stretching out the defense."

"So, if you have one guy that can do both, you're in better shape than with two tight end that excel in one area, but may not be accomplished in the other. We think we know, but until we're certain what any of these guys can do, we had to have what we think is two guys for each skill."

Welcome the newest Sooners:

BRANNON GREEN, 6-4, 260 4.7 FORT SCOTT COMMUNITY COLLEGE, ALTAMONT, KS

Green was named to the All-Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference Second Team as he had 15 receptions for 213 yards in 8 games this year. He is a great run blocker and will be come into the spring no worse than a co-starter along the offensive line.

SAM GRANT, 6-6, 240 4.7 of Saint Edwards High School in North Royalton, Ohio.

He was ranked the #18 TE in the country by ESPN.com. Known for his signature pancake blocks, Grant is a physical player that is a great blocker and will do a great job of sealing the edge for Oklahoma. Grant is already receiving compliments as he was recently describes to have soft hands and is great in sealing the edge department. That compliment came from the man who will be throwing him passes this next fall; Landry Jones himself.

TAYLOR McNAMARA, 6-5, 235 4.65 WESTVIEW HIGH SCHOOL,
SAN DIEGO, CA

McNamara was an U.S. Army All-American and was a four star recruit by ESPN.com. Ranked as the #7 TE, Taylor had 33 receptions for 526 yards and 7 touchdowns his senior year. He also carried the ball 27 times for 113 yards and a touchdown. A versatile player that is probably the best receiver out of this group but can block as well. McNamara will also go through spring practice and will enter the season no worse than the co-starter along with Green.

LAITH HARLOW, 6-5, 240 4.7 GODBY HIGH SCHOOL, TALLAHASSEE, FL

Harlow comes to OU with some uncertainty about his medical status. The OU coaches will honor is scholarship even if he isn’t able tom play football but along with Harlow himself, hope that he can recover from his back injury and join the Sooners in the near future. Laith was rated as the #12 TE prospect by ESPN.com and is known as a great blocker as well. He had 13 pancake blocks as a junior.

Oklahoma has two walk-on tight ends as well and one was actually on the roster last year .

JOHN-PHILIP HUGHES, 6-4, 245 EDISON HIGH SCHOOL, TULSA, OK

OU coaches will tell you that this kid is still a work in progress but can see
some promise as he works hard and is a smart football player.

CONNER KNIGHT, 6-5, 210 RONALD REAGAN HIGH SCHOOL,
SAN ANTONIIO, TX

Conner is the brother of Sooner QB commit Trevor Knight and has chosen to walk-on at Oklahoma and if you listen to the coaches, this could be an excellent find as Conner is a good receiver who is very athletic. Conner looked at Alabama, TCU, Texas A&M and Texas before deciding to walk on at OU.

So with the addition of some much needed help at the tight end position and possibly the best corps of wide receivers that OU has ever brought in, there should be plenty of targets for Landry Jones and his fellow QB’s to throw to. With Green and McNamara sealing the edge, the OU running game will also receive a much needed boost.

Head Coach Bob Stoops couldn’t be happier with his newest group of tight ends. Two will be thrust right into the spotlight and Stoops says that he thinks that they will not only do well but make a major impact next year.

“I feel like we have a great group of kids coming in and we are encouraged by the film we have watched on these guys but most of all the type of people they are. Every one of them are intelligent, athletic kids that have a chance to do something special while they are here,” said Stoops.

“Obviously if we didn’t feel like they could play, we wouldn’t have brought them here and we are going to see early on what they have because two of them will see some time from the get go.”

You can bet that Landry Jones will get them in here and start watching film to get them familiar with the Oklahoma offense as soon as possible. Oklahoma[/tag] hasn’t had a legitimate receiving threat at the tight end position since Jermaine Gresham’s days as a Sooner. Stoops says that although he isn’t comparing any of these guys to the former Sooner All-American, they do have a chance to make a major impact and could blossom into a great group of tight ends.

“Well, we are hoping we have something special here and like I said, after watching film and scouting these guys, we feel like we do. It’s a maturation process coming from high school to major college football and we have a guy that is a JUCO guy so we will see but we are encouraged that these guys can do it.”