Hayden Hansen walked out of the visitor’s locker room in Gainesville with a game ball tucked under one arm and an Oklahoma polo on his back, and for a moment the whole scene said plenty about what Saturday meant.
The former Florida tight end had just watched the Sooners beat his old team 23-7, and he was grinning from ear to ear after scoring against the program where he spent four seasons. For Hansen, the return hit differently.
He called it home once. Now he was back in it wearing different colors.
“It meant everything to me,” Hansen said following the Sooners’ 23-7 win over Florida.
The emotion started well before kickoff. As the OU bus arrived at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Hansen said his eyes got misty. He had not only played for the Gators; he started at tight end in 34 games and earned his bachelor’s degree in education sciences at Norman Hall, just over a mile from The Swamp.
“You never realize how much a place means to you until you come back for the first time after leaving,” Hansen said. “You pour your heart and soul into a place for four years and you come back and you want it so bad.”
The touchdown itself came with a little extra setup from interim offensive coordinator Jason Witten, who told Hansen during the week that if Oklahoma got near the goal line, the tight end would get his chance. That promise paid off less than five minutes into the second quarter. John Mateer faked to Tory Blaylock, then sold a reverse to Isaiah Sategna III before finding Hansen wide open in the end zone.
Witten’s first touchdown call at Oklahoma went to a tight end. That fit Hansen just fine.
“Hayden’s a great guy,” Witten said. “When you spend so much time with him, over the course of the season, I challenged him early on.
He’s played a lot of football. Started a lot of games.
You don’t see that in the SEC very often. He’s all about the team.
The team, the team, the team. That’s what he stands for.”
Hansen has spent most of this season doing the dirty work as Oklahoma’s blocking tight end, with Rocky Beers handling more of the pass-game shine. Through nine games, Hansen’s 70 grade from Pro Football Focus is the best run-blocking mark of his career.
That kind of value is part of why Oklahoma made him its first portal commitment after Brent Venables fired tight ends coach Joe Jon Finley and looked to strengthen the roster at the position.
“It was cool for Hayden,” Venables said. “I know it meant a lot to him.
There are lots of levels to that. I don’t want to speak for him, but he’s been a great leader for us.
When he made the decision to come to Oklahoma, Coach (Billy) Napier reached out and said, ‘Man, you’re getting one of the best leaders I’ve ever been around in coaching.’
“He’s overdelivered. He’s been everything we wanted and then some.”
Hansen won’t be forgetting this one anytime soon. He already has the keepsake to prove it.
“I’m going to put it in my house for the rest of my life,” Hansen said.
Elsewhere in the Sooners’ stock report, offensive lineman Michael Fasusi earned SEC offensive lineman of the week honors after his work against Florida. He played every snap at left tackle and did not allow a pressure on 38 pass-blocking snaps, according to PFF. After missing most of the season, he looks like himself again.
Wide receiver Jacob Jordan also made a move. He posted season highs with four catches for 36 yards, including an 18-yard grab on Oklahoma’s 20-play touchdown drive.
Every one of his four receptions came on third down and moved the chains. Over the last two games, Jordan has seven catches for 61 yards, and all 11 of his receptions for 74 yards this season have come in the Sooners’ last four games.
Isaiah Sategna III landed on the down side of the report, though he still found the end zone. He caught four passes for 34 yards and a touchdown against the Gators, but he was quieter than usual by his standards.
The week also brought a full slate of updates on former Sooners around the country. Jackson Arnold was benched in UNLV’s loss to Wyoming after throwing for 83 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Jovantae Barnes ran seven times for 48 yards in Kentucky’s loss to Tennessee and also lost a fumble.
Cincinnati wide receiver JV Gibson was carted off after taking a hard hit to the head against Houston, but the school later said he was discharged from the hospital and had movement in his arms and legs. Michael Hawkins Jr. put up 303 passing yards and a touchdown while adding 88 rushing yards and three scores in West Virginia’s near-upset of Texas Tech.
Northwestern linebacker Kobie McKinzie led his team with nine tackles in a loss to Iowa. And Texas running back Hollywood Smothers was reported last week to likely be done for the season because of a torn MCL.
In Other News...
Oklahomas New SEC Schedule Leaves One Rivalry Choice Open To Debate
The SECs move to a nine-game conference schedule has already changed the way Oklahoma has to think about the calendar, trimming nonconference flexibility and making every permanent opponent matter a little more. From 2026 through 2029, the league will have each team visit and host every other school once, while still preserving three annual rivals, and for the Sooners that list now includes Texas, Missouri and Ole Miss.
The first two choices make obvious sense in the context of the league and the programs history, but the third has sparked plenty of curiosity because Ole Miss is a newly designated rival despite no prior history between the schools. It is the kind of scheduling wrinkle that can shape the feel of a conference slate for years, and it leaves one open question hanging over Oklahomas SEC future: whether this is the rivalry setup that best fits the Sooners, or just the one the league settled on for now. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahoma Suddenly Has A Bowl Path Fans Will Want To See
The upset win over Florida changed the conversation around Oklahoma in a hurry, putting the Sooners one victory away from bowl eligibility and keeping alive a streak that has stretched for 27 straight seasons. What looked like a murky late-season picture now has some real shape to it, with the program suddenly within reach of another December trip and a chance to keep the postseason run going.
Several bowl projections are already floating around for Oklahoma, and the possibilities have a little extra appeal for fans watching the path ahead. Among the scenarios being discussed are a Las Vegas Bowl matchup with USC or Arizona, along with a Texas Bowl pairing against Oklahoma State, though everything still depends on how the rest of the season plays out. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahoma Just Got A Troubling Trell Harris Update
Trell Harris recovery has become one of the more sobering storylines around Oklahomas season. The wide receiver has been dealing with a lacerated internal organ suffered in the game against Michigan, and Brent Venables said Harris also had a post-surgery infection that required antibiotics. Even so, the coach said Harris remains in good spirits as he continues the long road back.
Harris is expected to return to Norman by the end of next week, which at least gives the Sooners a clearer timeline for the next phase of his recovery. The bigger reality, though, is that a return to play this season is unlikely, leaving Oklahoma to keep waiting on one of its more difficult injury situations to fully resolve. [Read more 🡒]