Former Dallas Cowboys tight end Jason Witten hung up his cleats in 2021. Since then, he has been coaching at the high school level, and now his next chapter has him leveled up.

At the 9th annual Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year Award banquet in Frisco, the two-time All-Pro addressed his transition into a college TE coach.

"Building that programme, I knew that was something I wanted to coach at the college, NFL later on, but as in moving forward," Jason Witten said. "Such a special time. I think one of the things that I experienced over those 5 years when an opportunity you have to positively impact that age group."

The 2012 Walter Payton Man of the Year recipient turned down NFL coaching offers to take up a tight end's job at the University of Oklahoma.

This is his first job at the collegiate level in 2026 with Oklahoma's head coach, Brent Venables. 

Witten believes that the players of the age group from 18-23 "hang on every word you are saying.” And that made him take the next step in his career.

"As time kinda progressed, you kinda really look back on it and say it like ‘alright, I understand I wanna get into more competitive football next level, but you know, still get that in college," Witten added.

Before Oklahoma, Witten spent five seasons as head coach at Liberty Christian Academy in Argyle, Texas. There he won back-to-back state championships in 2023 and 2024. 

Across 17 NFL seasons, he played a total of 271 games. He accumulated 1,228 receptions for 13,046 yards and 74 receiving touchdowns.

These numbers place him as the second in all-time career receptions and receiving yards by an NFL tight end, trailing Tony Gonzalez. 

Witten is also a Pro Football Hall of Fame finalist this year in his first year of eligibility. So, there's a reason that an award carries Witten's name.

Inside Jason Witten's Leadership Award

The Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year Award is a college football honor built entirely around leadership rather than statistics.

Witten himself established it through the SCORE Foundation in 2017. The winner receives a $10,000 contribution, made in the player's name, to his school’s athletic scholarship fund.

Shaquem Griffin (2018), D’Cota Dixon (2019), Trey Smith (2020), Sam Ehlinger (2021), Joshua Paschal (2022), Deslin Alexandre (2023), Mike Hollins (2024), J. J. Weaver (2025), and the most recent winner, Jacob Rodriguez.  

Rodriguez took home the ninth annual award on April 16 at The Star in Frisco.

Jacob Rodriguez has drawn attention as a potential Cowboys target ahead of the 2026 NFL Draft, according to staff writer Tommy Yarrish of Dallascowboys.com.

With the NFL Draft hardly a week away and teams finalizing their boards, winning this award speaks volumes. What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments.

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Written by

Archana Ramakrishnan

Edited by

Shubhi Rathore