There’s something to be said about how exciting this particular spring game will be for Oklahoma Sooners’ fans far and wide. A new head coach ushers in a new era with a new defensive staff and a fresh, proven mind at offensive coordinator. A new vision will be on display while the Sooners have an abundance of position battles that need to be sorted out.
For now, we’ll focus on the defensive side of things where there’s been significantly more turnover and also the heaviest influx of new faces that will debut in Crimson and Cream for the first time this weekend.
Brent Venables’ wizardry as a defensive coordinator is widely known. It’s no stretch to say he’s probably been year in and year out the best defensive coordinator in college football for the last decade. He returns to the school that really catapulted his career in Oklahoma as the head coach but you can rest assured he brought his elite defensive coaching with him. He retooled the defensive staff entirely and led the charge into the transfer portal as the Sooners went shopping for defensive bodies to fit Venables’ scheme for the immediate future and the years to come.
With that said, here are five players to watch for as we see a glimpse at what Brent Venables and defensive coordinator Ted Roof have in store for Big 12 offenses this fall.