Oklahoma Sooners head coach Brent Venables keeps it real with his team during spring football
Yes, the Oklahoma Sooners head coach, Brent Venables, is on the hot seat, and, let’s be real, it is a bit deserved. Prior to Venables, the last losing season was 1998. Now, they have had two in three years under Venables, and at Oklahoma, that can’t happen.
And, I’m sure Venables would agree with that statement. But let’s be honest once again, if there is anyone who is going to make sure this team works to turn things around, it’s Venables. He is relentless in trying to build a winning program, and sometimes you fail, but it’s about how you bounce back.
When you listen to him at practice this soring, you can feel the pressure he is applying to himself and the team. And man, he is keeping it real with the players.
“You’re going to earn trust and respect by your performance and your consistency on this practice field. Okay? You’re going to earn the trust and the respect of your coaches and your teammates by both your performance and your consistency,” Venables yelled. “Okay, you play like this — It’s going to be hard to earn any kind of trust. All right, the best players any of us have ever coached, any of you guys have been around, they don’t have to be, you know, way up here, as long as they’re like this.
“Okay, they show up every day is at a very high level. The most challenging and difficult moments out here are what we fall back on. Throughout the course of the year, practice, walk through, meeting rooms, we’re going to fall back on that the most challenging times of the game, let’s make sure that if it works in our favor.”
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The Sooners finished off 2024 in the worst way — losing their bowl game to Navy, a school they should beat handily despite having transfers and graduates. Instead, they blew the game late. That’s the last game most of these guys will remember, so it’s about how they bounced back.
The Sooners did just put on a show in practice for media to see instead of doing a spring game. The defense is going to do what they do — be elite. You can see that, even if it is just practice. They were one of the best units in the country last year, and they will likely be in the same position this year.
But the offense, man, they look very good with John Mateer and Ben Arbuckle running things. Yes, it’s the spring, and a lot can still happen. However, the Sooners look to be making the improvements they need to make.
