Football has already slowed down just two games into the 2024 season.
As Florida State faced off against Georgia Tech and Nevada played SMU on Saturday, three of four teams had at least five fewer possessions during the game than they did on average in 2023. However, for OU head coach Brent Venables, it is not about prioritizing pace. Instead, it is about focusing on what he can manage.
“I don’t know what all of college football is or isn’t doing,” Venables said during his weekly press conference on Monday. “I do believe in putting pressure on the defense, but I also first and foremost believe in game control.”
Control, especially offensively, has been difficult to find in a sea of change for the Sooners.
After former OU offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby left for Mississippi State, co-offensive coordinators Seth Littrell and Joe Jon Finley to take his place. But with the hires also came the departure of veteran quarterback Dillon Gabriel and the addition of many offensive players from the transfer portal.
Now, in an offense led by sophomore quarterback Jackson Arnold, emphasis has been placed on learning the ins and outs of Littrell and Finely’s system.
“Being patient at times is a very good weapon to have,” Venables said. “But you have to be effective and efficient in all areas — running and throwing — to do that.”
The NCAA passed a rule in April allowing college football teams to use wireless communication with players on the field through their helmets — a motion that had the power to speed up play and increase productivity in-game. But Venables knows that for his offense, this does not eliminate the middleman and highlights the need for efficient sideline signaling.
“I think the headset communication is maybe looked at the wrong way,” Venables said. “They think that now that you can have headsets, then you don’t have to signal anymore, but that is not true unless you huddle every snap.”
Following the release of the week one depth chart, seven of the 14 potential offensive starters are new to OU, highlighting the importance of communication between players and coaches. Although four of the five spots on the offensive line will be filled with players from the transfer portal, unfamiliarity is not an area of concern for the position group.
“I am excited about what they can become, but we’re not there yet,” Venables said about the offense as a whole. “I think we’ve got fantastic playmakers at all our skill positions: tight ends, running backs, receivers, and I really like our leadership and the buy-in with our guys on the offensive line.
“They’ve been mature, they’ve been focused, they care for one another, they show up and they work every day. It’s not pulling teeth, you don’t have distractions off the field. It’s a very driven group of guys.”
Despite the offense having to navigate the newness, Venables is not concerned about the lack of time spent together.
“No, we haven’t had a season together,” Venables said. “But hopefully what you see from game one to game 12 is tremendous improvement and tremendous cohesion.”
Positional battles
Oklahoma has many starting spots up for grabs as the season opener is only four days away.
In Venables’ initial depth chart released on Sunday, nine positions are still yet to be determined, including both cornerback spots and the free safety.
Across all positions, 18 true freshmen are listed on the depth chart. While that number may be quite high for a Power 4, Venables considers it reasonable given the Sooners’ recent recruitment success.
“I think in this day in age, that’s probably appropriate,” Venables said. “That’s a lot, but we’ve recruited at a high level and I think there’s been somewhat of a trend.”
“I usually look at how many juniors and seniors are in that starting group or the two deep. We have 31 juniors and seniors with our kicking game, offense and defense. So we have this unique blend of experience and older guys that have played a lot of college football.”
In total, there are 22 spots listed with an “OR” according to the depth chart.
One spot that continues to be a battle is the starting tight end role between transfers Bauer Sharp and Jake Roberts. After OU’s tight ends combined for 20 catches and 252 yards in 2023, there is continued optimism around the depth of the room in 2024.
Although both are listed as potential starters, Sharp was named a captain ahead of OU’s season opener against Temple on Friday.
“They love to compete,” Venables said. “Those two guys have brought a spirit to the whole offense. But those are guys who just love it.”
Special teams
Oklahoma’s special teams is hoping to rebound after a disappointing 2023 season.
In response, Venables held a kicking competition in the offseason primarily between Zach Schmit and Tyler Keltner. Keltner, who transferred from Florida State in the offseason, won the starting job for field goals while Schmit, who made 27 of his 39 attempts in 2022 and 2023, will handle kickoffs.
Venables said he did not take into account Schmit’s struggles the past two years, and the competition was a “clean slate.”
“Zach’s got a big leg, he’ll be our kickoff guy. Keltner will start the season off as our field goal kicker,” Venables said. “I’ve got a lot of confidence in both of those guys based on what I saw from the spring and the summer.”
After Gavin Freeman, who returned 18 of OU’s 21 punts last season, transferred to Oklahoma State, the Sooners had a hole to fill at both punt and kick returner. Venables opted to give Billy Bowman kick return responsibilities and listed Peyton Bowen as OU’s punt returner.
While there’s plenty of injury concern around kick returning, particularly for prominent starters such as Preseason Coaches All-SEC First Team member Bowman and former five-star recruit Bowen, Venables was adamant about prioritizing getting his best players on the field at every spot.
“You look around, whether it’s the NFL or college football, the best players are out there in play making positions,” Venables said. “You can get hurt at any position, every position you’re a target. And we have, we’ve gotten hurt. Billy’s gotten hurt not returning and he’s gotten hurt returning. Peyton Bowen hurt his hand a year ago not returning.
“My responsibility is to put the best guys in a position to make plays. Those are guys that have a real knack for fielding the ball and getting vertical quick.”
