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ALERT

Weather Alert

...AIR QUALITY ALERT IN EFFECT FROM 10 AM TO 10 PM CDT FRIDAY...

The following statement was issued by the Oklahoma Department of
Environmental Quality.

An Air Quality Alert for Ozone has been issued for Friday, August 28
for the Oklahoma City Metropolitan area due to expected high
concentrations of ozone.

Public Health Recommendations: Persons with existing heart or
respiratory ailments should reduce physical exertion and outdoor
activity.

The general public is encouraged to help alleviate the problem by
reducing vehicle miles traveled by riding the bus, carpooling, or
avoiding unnecessary trips. The public is also asked to avoid
refueling during the morning and early afternoon hours, and to avoid
the use of two cycle engines such as lawn mowers, motorcycles, weed
trimmers, and outboard engines. It is also advised to limit outdoor
burning.

To view the latest air quality map, visit airnow.gov or the AirNow
app.

For hourly updates on concentrations and possible health warnings,
telephone the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality at
405-702-4100. For more information on health effects, call the
American Lung Association of Oklahoma at 405-748-4674
Featured

OU football: Sooners coach Brent Venables announces Jerry Schmidt, Miguel Chavis, Brandon Hall as staff hires

Brent Venables

OU football head coach Brent Venables during the celebration welcoming Venables inside Everest Training Center on Dec. 6.

 Edward Reali/The Daily

Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables announced the additions of Jerry Schmidt, Miguel Chavis and Brandon Hall to his staff in a press release on Friday.

Schmidt returns to be the Sooners' director of sports enhancement and strength and conditioning, the same role he held at OU from 1999-2017. The three-time national champion coach was most recently at Texas A&M, and previously with Florida, Oklahoma State and Notre Dame. 

“That's a critical hire on so many levels," Venables said of Schmidt. "Jerry’s values, expectations and standards align with mine and ours as a program. He's a detail guy, is super consistent and tough, but he's reasonable. ... I think it's important from a leadership standpoint that we have someone who has clear vision about what all of that looks like."

Hall, who was most recently the defensive coordinator at Troy, is returning to Oklahoma to coach safeties. The Newcastle native was an assistant at OU from 1998-2005. He spent time as both a student and graduate assistant and defensive quality control coach. 

"He was one of the first people I met when I came to Oklahoma in 1999 when he was a student assistant," Venables said of Hall. "To see him continue to bloom at each of his stops has been really cool for me, all the way to being one of the best defensive coordinators in college football the last few years at Troy."

Chavis, who spent the past five seasons as a Clemson assistant under Venables, was brought to coach defensive ends. The former Tigers standout aided defensive player development, assisting in the evolution of four defensive line draft picks in 2019. 

He's very passionate, he's intense, players love him," Venables said of Chavis. "He's very gifted as a coach, as a communicator, teacher and mentor. And he's high on life. We have a lot of similarities, even in our journeys. These players are really fortunate with what they're getting."

Following those additions, Venables lacks coaches for cornerbacks and the interior defensive line to complete his defensive staff.

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