Brent Venables knows what it takes to dominate in the Southeastern Conference.
It starts with a strong, potent defensive line, which was a notable emphasis for the Sooners’ 2024 recruiting class. Led by five-star defensive lineman David Stone — No. 7 ranked player nationally, according to On3’s Industry Ranking — Venables signed five defensive lineman on Wednesday, capping off a recruiting class filled with 27 total commits.
"Probably the greatest responsibility of a coach is the development of young men."Brent Venables is looking to build something bigger than football at @OU_Football ⭕️🙌🏈 pic.twitter.com/7lI6WMgyBy
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) December 20, 2023
Previously, OU signed five defensive lineman in each of 2022 and 2023 recruiting classes. That means, in each of his three recruiting cycles as OU’s head coach, Venables has signed 15 former high school players on the defensive front — a clear indication how he wants to build his team in the future.
With the addition of five new recruits and the return of Jacob Lacey, Da'Jon Terry, Ethan Downs, R Mason Thomas and PJ Adebawore, Venables is excited about OU’s potential in the trenches.
“Really love the defensive line,” Venables said. “We've talked about that as being again, something (where) everything starts up front. … (I’m) really excited about that group of guys up front combined with the guys that we're going to have coming back transitioning into the SEC. We've got length, size and power. This is still a developmental game, but these are guys that have a tremendous foundation.”
Alongside Stone, the Sooners signed four-star defensive lineman Nigel Smith II, four-star defensive end Danny Okoye, four-star defensive lineman Jayden Jackson and four-star defensive end Wyatt Gilmore in 2024. Stone is the second five-star defensive lineman to sign with the Sooners in two years, following in the footsteps of Adebawore, a former five-star recruit and now-freshman defensive lineman, in 2023.
With their arrival, Venables expects to have a fast and physical defensive line in the SEC. The Sooners finished with 19 total sacks, 52 quarterback hits and 88 tackles for loss this season, a level of production that he wants to continue to improve on moving forward.
That’s why OU’s head coach went all in on the 2024 recruiting class.
“There's a lot of supply and demand,” Venables said of recruiting defensive lineman. “There's just not as many of them, and it's been that way since football became a sport. Rushing the passer and stopping the run in the lines of scrimmage is how the game has always been won and lost. That's not a new revelation thing, but there's just not as many of them.
“This is a hungry group of young men that have humility and physical toughness. They love the game, have all the right characteristics that you want. They're just going to help continue to promote growth and development quickly.”
Junior wide receiver Jalil Farooq and redshirt freshman wide receiver Nic Anderson during the game against Oklahoma State on Nov. 4.
OU continues to bolster receiving corps
Oklahoma added to its breadth of talent in the wide receiver room on Wednesday.
The Sooners saw seven players eclipse over 100 yards receiving this season. Redshirt senior Drake Stoops and redshirt freshman Nic Anderson led the way with 880 and 725 receiving yards, respectively. The pair also combined for 19 of OU’s 32 receiving touchdowns this season.
Venables is bringing in four new receivers in the 2024 recruiting class, which is led by four-star receivers Zion Kearney, Ivan Carreon, Zion Ragins and three-star receiver KJ Daniels. The Sooners also added Purdue standout Deion Burks in the transfer portal, who finished the season with 629 receiving yards and seven touchdowns.
“We have a great group of receivers,” Venables said. “They have (versatility and size). Zion Kearney and big (Ivan Carreon) from West Texas, these are guys that have speed and size, toughness that you want guys to play with. They have a physical maturity about them as well that's going to translate well.”
OU’s head coach is also excited about the addition of four-star tight end Davon Mitchell. Originally a five-star recruit in the 2025 class before reclassifying to 2024, Mitchell brings talent to OU’s tight end room, which saw limited production this season.
Mitchell will join Bauer Sharp next season, who recently transferred to the Sooners from Southeastern Louisiana.
“He's got the size, the speed, the athletic ability and the versatility at that position,” Venables said of Mitchell, “that really is gonna give us something that is unique in that tight end room moving forward.”
OU football offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh during the Sooners' spring open practice on March 27.
Replenishing the offensive line
After former OU offensive lineman Cayden Green surprisingly transferred to Missouri on Dec. 19, Venables was tasked with retooling Oklahoma’s offensive line.
Alongside the departure of Green, OU will be without Walter Rouse (eligibility), McKade Mettauer (eligibility), Savion Byrd (transfer to SMU), Andrew Raym (NFL draft) and Tyler Guyton (NFL draft) in 2024, all of which saw significant playing time this season.
OU’s head coach said he expects to bring in four offensive lineman from the transfer portal, which includes the addition of former Michigan State offensive tackle Spencer Brown. Alongside Brown, Oklahoma signed four-star offensive lineman Eugene Brooks and Eddy Pierre-Louis at the top of its recruiting class.
It also signed three-star offensive lineman Isaiah Autry, Daniel Akinkunmi and Josh Aisosa to fill out the rest of the Sooners’ recruiting class up front.
“When you sign guys out of the portal, sometimes it's because you've lost a lot of players,” Venables said. “Like we have up front but we've got five high school guys, and we look to sign four offensive lineman (in the transfer portal) to go along with the returning players that we have and to get to our numbers.
“Those numbers aren't ever going to change where we feel like we need to have hit those numbers to have competitive depth.”
