There’s been so much talk about the challenge that the Oklahoma Sooners and the Texas Longhorns face moving to the SEC. The challenge is real, but so are the Oklahoma Sooners.
This is the program that’s won seven national titles and 50 conference championships. They have seven Heisman winners, including four in the last 20 years. This is a program that’s recruiting better than all but four teams over the last three recruiting cycles.
The week-to-week grind of the SEC will be different, but Oklahoma is entering the SEC with clear eyes about what lies ahead. And to hear [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] talk, the program is ready to meet the challenge head-on.
At [autotag]SEC media days[/autotag], Venables said, “Oklahoma isn’t intimidated as a football program. We’re running towards the SEC. I think that goes without saying. We’ve looked forward for the last several years for this partnership, to be a part of an amazing conference, the best conference in college football.”
The talent level is different in the SEC. For the 18th year in a row, the SEC was the conference with the most players taken in the NFL draft. They typically recruit on average better than any other conference. Venables and his staff were aware of that reality when they took over back in December of 2021.
That’s why it’s so important for the Sooners to have the success they’ve had on the recruiting trail. Because the only way that you’re going to compete in the SEC is to have talented rosters.
“We know the challenges from a roster standpoint, “Venables said. “The trenches are where this conference is decided, usually year in and year out. Incredibly challenging from that standpoint. The length, the speed, the play at quarterback, the coaching acumen from top to bottom.
“Again, you’re not going to sneak up anywhere, any week, in any venue, and show up and luck up and win. And so it’s a conference that’s about earning what you get, and I think going through it a season, you’ll figure that out. You’ll figure out what was good, what wasn’t good. The areas of your program, your roster that need improvement so that you can match up and have an opportunity to compete for championships.”
Challenge accepted 🫡#OUDNA | @SECNetwork pic.twitter.com/awDMXriN4Y
— Oklahoma Football (@OU_Football) July 16, 2024
At the podium, Brent Venables was confident. But again, he’s had success against the SEC in the past.
Clemson’s two national title wins over Alabama served as the springboard for what Venables wants to build Oklahoma into. A team with an “exciting, fast, explosive and diverse offense, combined with a physical, punishing, relentless, suffocating defense.”
And they’re getting there. The way they’ve recruited from the high school ranks and in the transfer portal has set the Sooners up to have one of the highest blue-chip ratios in the country. It’s a talented depth chart that gives the Sooners an opportunity to make a statement in year one in the SEC.
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