Brent Venables has always gone by his book when it comes to recruiting.
Oklahoma’s head coach staunchly supports loyalty, commitment and — most, if not all — a player willing to stick through adversity. His foundation, and the rest of college football’s structure has rippled and evolved throughout the course of two years.
Venables, like many, has chosen to embrace the new NCAA world, rather than to stick to what is now an ancient program-building philosophy. Unlike his former Clemson boss Dabo Swinney, who lost to unranked Duke on Sunday night, Venables has embraced the transfer portal.
Following the Sooners’ 6-7 2022 campaign, their worst season since 1998, Venables was put to the test. How he would handle his first offseason would shape his success for the future in the SEC and OU’s final season in the Big 12.
OU's coach adopted the buzz word “competitive depth” and applied it to every roster move the Sooners made this offseason. Since Venables took the helm from former coach Lincoln Riley in 2021, he’s welcomed a combined 80 newcomers from the transfer portal and high school recruiting classes.
So what did Venables learn after one season?
“Maybe what you thought at the beginning of the year, by the end of the year, things reveal themselves," Venables said at his midweek availability on Tuesday. “You have an inkling with guys graduating and where young people are. You know what an immediate need is when you can bring a guy in that you feel like can make a difference.
“Where you feel like you might not have as many questions answered, maybe you can bring in a guy that is more of a safety valve. The biggest thing is where somebody can come at a position of need and make it better immediately.”
Using that knowledge, Venables put his new formula to the test. The 2023 recruiting class brought in three five-star players, which helped the Sooners land the sixth best recruiting class in the nation. Through the transfer portal, he bolstered OU’s defensive front with additions like Trace Ford, Rondell Bothroyd, Jacob Lacey and Da'Jon Terry.
Oklahoma’s defensive line was a major priority for Venables, as the Sooners finished 106th in run defense and 64th in total defense just a season ago. Colorado, who just beat the 2022 national runner-up, TCU, last week, tested the same formula by welcoming 86 new players to Boulder.
Head coach Brent Venables after the game against OSU on Nov. 19.
CU coach Deion Sanders’ approach might be an extreme example of roster turnover. But, like Venables and the rest of the NCAA, he knows the portal is here to stay.
“It's going to create parity,” Venables said. “I don't think that's a bad thing. The only part that I don't love is that we're again giving young people no reason to pause. … (An) 18, 19 or 20-year-old is impulsive by nature. Young people are (impulsive), and I would love to incentivize all of it, but it sounds self-serving.
“Look, it's benefited us. I'm just saying that coming from being a dad and somebody that believes wholeheartedly in, in loyalty and in building something and sticking through some tough moments.”
As No. 18 Oklahoma (1-0) looks toward its matchup with SMU (1-0) at 5 p.m. Saturday in Norman, Venables' measure of talent and depth will be put to the test once more. His new roster showed how deep and viable the Sooners can and want to be, given the right circumstance.
In OU’s season-opening 73-0 win against Arkansas State, the Sooners showed just how "competitive" their depth can be. On offense, nine different players received a carry, 10 different players caught a pass and two quarterbacks, Jackson Arnold and Dillon Gabriel, saw the most significant reps.
Defensively, 26 players had at least one tackle through four quarters, and six Sooner defenders had a tackle for loss. It was evident the offseason experiment was true, now it's up to Venables to find out what pieces fit the right places.
That doesn’t mean Venables has stuck to his roots in all places, however.
“I just believe in being attached to something for the rest of your life,” Venables said. “Intimately attach yourself to a group of people, to a place that you can go home, I believe in that from a collegiate experience. And so I think you're given that up and you don't know what you don't know.
“How you rep guys during the week and get them ready, I don't see that necessarily changing. Is it going to be at seven? I don't know. I think that developing your team, and developing depth is an ongoing thing that we've got to all be very conscious of. Regardless of what the next few weeks look like, I think it's important that we continue to develop our team.”
OU football head coach Brent Venables during the Sooners' open practice on April 10.
Injury Updates
Oklahoma saw several players garner injuries in its opening contest against the Red Wolves
Venables gave updates on each player on Tuesday. While he gave no direct updates in their status, he said Redshirt senior wide receiver Drake Stoops was “ready to go back in” after suffering an AC joint sprain.
He also said Dasan McCullough avoided what was initially thought to be a high ankle sprain. Backup quarterback Davis Beville will be out “a couple of weeks” with a high ankle sprain.
Finally, Gavin Sawchuk and R Mason Thomas will each be full participants for the Sooners’ matchup against SMU after not playing in the season opener due to not being 100%.
