Cooper Witten commits to Oklahoma, 2 months after his father Jason joined program as TE coach

Cooper Witten is following his Dallas Cowboys great father to Oklahoma.

The four-star recruit announced his commitment to the Sooners on Tuesday, two months after the program hired Jason Witten as its new tight ends coach. His other three finalists were also SEC schools in Georgia, Texas A&M and his father's alma mater of Tennessee.

On3 and Rivals rank Cooper as the second-best linebacker prospect in the Class of 2027 and the 31st-best recruit overall. He joins an Oklahoma class that now ranks second in the country on On3's 2027 team rankings, behind only Ohio State.

Cooper praised both head coach Brent Venables and the Sooners' defense in an interview with Rivals' Sam Spiegelman, while noting his father's employment wasn't the most important part of the selection process:

"My dad has been my coach the past few years of this high school career, so getting coached by him again and playing for him would be pretty cool," he's said. "I don't want that to be the defining factor in where I want to go. I want to find the best fit for me."

Jason was an 11-time Pro Bowl tight end with the Cowboys and retired for good in 2021, after a brief broadcasting career with ESPN and return to the NFL. He began his coaching career as the head coach at Liberty Christian School, winning back-to-back Texas state titles in 2023 and 2024.

Cooper played under his father for both of those seasons, but will now be working on the other side of the field while his father handles the tight ends.