If Kentucky Football fans were hoping Saturday night in Norman would open the door for Seneca Driver, the Boyle County star may have just closed it.
Driver, the 5-star tight end from Danville and the top-ranked prospect in the Commonwealth for 2027, was in attendance Saturday as Kentucky went into Norman and beat Oklahoma 21-13. It was the kind of road win that makes a recruit look twice, and it came against the school he has been committed to since March.
One day later, Driver told Josh McCuistion
of SoonerScoop.com (On3) exactly where he stands: “I’m staying [with] Oklahoma.”
So, does that mean this recruitment is over? While Kentucky is a long shot, there is one key factor to monitor going forward.
The Jason Witten factor
The biggest reason is Jason Witten. The former Dallas Cowboys great and 11-time Pro Bowler is Oklahoma’s tight ends coach, and Driver has made it clear Witten sits at the center of his decision.
SoonerScoop’s staff visited Driver earlier this fall and came away with that message. On Sunday, he took it a step further in an interview with McCuistion. Asked whether he would stick with OU as long as Witten is there, Driver answered, “Yes sir.”
Witten has turned Oklahoma into a landing spot for tight ends in this class. The Sooners’ 2027 group also includes his son, 4-star linebacker Cooper Witten, and 5-star offensive tackle Kaeden Penny. For a player who wants to be coached by one of the best to ever do it at the position, that’s a hard sell to beat, no matter what the scoreboard said Saturday.
Who Seneca Driver is
Driver is a 6-foot-6, 240-pound senior at Boyle County, and he’s one of the most physically gifted tight ends in the country. Rivals’ scouting report highlights his in-line size, his explosiveness, and his ability to win at the catch point, and notes he has Power Four ability as a pass rusher too. He’s also a high-flying basketball player for the Rebels.
The production backs it up. As a junior, he caught 49 passes for 875 yards and 11 touchdowns, ran for three more scores, and added 67 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, five interceptions, and three sacks on defense. He helped Boyle County win the 2025 Class 4A state title and was named Kentucky’s 4A Player of the Year.
His senior season has had some noise. Driver was ejected against Lexington Catholic after two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties and sat out Boyle County’s loss at Highlands. He then went viral for a body slam tackle on an interception return in a 38-3 win over Ballard.
Football runs in the family. His uncle, Tony Driver, played running back and defensive back at Notre Dame from 1997 to 2000 and was a sixth-round NFL Draft pick in 2001.
How Kentucky got here
Kentucky made Driver a top priority as soon as Will Stein took over in December. He made several trips to Lexington, and Stein’s staff pitched how tight ends were used in the Oregon offense. Notre Dame, with the family connection, was once seen as the team to beat, and the race eventually narrowed to Kentucky and Oklahoma.
Oklahoma won it. Driver committed to the Sooners in March while on a visit to Norman, and Kentucky simply didn’t have enough runway to make up the ground OU had built.
That’s why Saturday felt bigger than one win for Big Blue Nation. Kentucky went into a hostile environment and handled business, beating an Oklahoma team coming off a win over Texas.
It was Kentucky’s fifth straight win since the Alabama loss in September, a run that includes a win at Texas A&M and one-point thrillers over South Carolina and LSU. Stein’s program is giving in-state kids real reasons to pay attention. In Driver’s case, it just wasn’t enough to move him.
What’s next for Kentucky
Never say never in modern recruiting, and Kentucky has kept recruiting Driver since his commitment. But his own words tie his future to Witten, not to wins and losses, and that’s about as clear as a committed prospect gets.
Unless something changes on Oklahoma’s staff, the Cats should not count on a flip for this 5-star recruit.
