Familiarity with OU football OC Seth Littrell shows for Febechi Nwaiwu, Jake Roberts

NORMAN — Seth Littrell hasn't changed a whole lot since his days as North Texas' head coach.

OU offensive lineman Febechi Nwaiwu and tight end Jake Roberts see a lot of similarities between their former Mean Green coach and the Sooners' new offensive coordinator. Nwaiwu and Roberts played together for Littrell from 2021-22 in Denton, Texas, and while some of the verbiage in Littrell's current playbook has changed, they're running similar concepts.

"It's been awesome," Roberts said of reuniting with Littrell after practice Saturday. "He's the same ole guy. We're running a lot of the same stuff and it's just good to be back with him and just pick up right where we left off."

Roberts recorded 394 receiving yards and three touchdowns in 2022 before transferring to Baylor when Littrell was fired. The Norman native jumped at the opportunity to return home and be coached by his old coach.

Nwaiwu and Roberts flourished in Littrell's system, which used a lot of run-pass option and emphasized pushing the ball down field. Nwaiwu was voted onto to the Conference-USA All-Freshman Team by the league’s coaches in 2022.

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"There's a lot of differences and a lot of similarities, (about Littrell)" Nwaiwu said Saturday. "Over here, there are a lot of high class guys and it's very intense. Seth's still got that fire in him, he's still bringing that energy to practice, that physicality. He runs (things) similarly to when he was at UNT."

Roberts, who missed the spring due to injury, is battling for the starting tight end spot during camp and is expected to be a contributor on a team that lacked consistent tight end play a season ago. Littrell's offenses at North Texas uniquely utilized tight ends and ran the ball effectively.

For Nwaiwu and Roberts, having familiarity with Littrell to begin preseason camp has given them a boost in learning the offense.

"(He's) real laid-back," Roberts said. "If you guys have been around him, you know. A man of few words. He's not going to say a ton but his words are meaningful and he's a real personable guy so our relationship was really strong at UNT and that's carried over to being back home. (We're running) some of the same stuff."

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Familiarity with OU football OC Seth Littrell shows for Febechi Nwaiwu, Jake Roberts