The Oklahoma Sooners are in the midst of arguably the most significant transition the team has faced in more than 20 years. The change in the coaching staff, coupled with the loss of 12 starters (six on offense, six on defense), mixes in uncertainty to go along with the typical optimism that comes with spring practice.
As the Oklahoma Sooners and the rest of the Big 12 work through spring practice, CBS Sports’ Shehan Jeyarajah asked a question about each team in the conference. For the Oklahoma Sooners, Jeyarajah asked, “Can [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] rebuild a defensive culture?”
After five years of offensive focus under [autotag]Lincoln Riley[/autotag], Oklahoma opted to turn things around by hiring defensive mastermind Brent Venables. The former Sooners assistant under [autotag]Bob Stoops[/autotag] has helped put together 12 consecutive years of 10-win seasons between his time at Oklahoma and Clemson, but starting over in Norman comes with complications.
The Sooners have a proud history of hard-nosed defenses, but things slipped mightily under Riley. The Sooners gave up nearly 400 yards per game in an average Big 12. Plus, six top starters are gone, including nearly every leader in the front seven from last year’s team.
Oklahoma has recruited well on the defensive side of the ball and Venables has six defensive transfers on the way. However, the defensive struggles in Norman have seemed to transcend personnel and scheme. Venables has a critical spring to start building trust on the roster and assemble the kind of defensive culture that can get OU back to contention for national titles. – Sheahan Jeyarajah, CBS Sports
I don’t see why Venables wouldn’t be able to create a defensive culture at Oklahoma.
Venables has been one of the more successful defensive coaches in the country in the last two decades. While things weren’t always dominant during his final years at OU, he showed at Clemson the ability to build a sustainably dominant defense. And those defenses helped Clemson win two national titles, play in the second-most College Football Playoff games and accumulate the second-most wins. The team they trail is the team everyone’s chasing; the Alabama Crimson Tide. And the Tigers beat the Tide twice during the Dabo Swinney-Brent Venables run.
Sure, there’s been turnover, but the Sooners look more than capable of addressing those losses with returning players and guys they brought in through the transfer portal.
What they did in the transfer portal was a strategic attempt to replace the snaps lost on the defensive side of the football. The Additions of [autotag]Jeffery Johnson[/autotag], [autotag]Jonah Laulu[/autotag], [autotag]Trey Morrison[/autotag], Kani Walker, C.J. Coldon, and T.D. Roof will pay huge dividends in 2022 and beyond. Johnson, Laulu, and Morrison could all end up starting for Oklahoma. The experience they’re bringing to Norman will be a huge boost to a team relying on some younger players to fill the void left at several other spots.
Oklahoma’s defensive issues weren’t a talent thing, and at times they weren’t even a scheme thing. Alex Grinch helped improve Oklahoma’s defense in the time he spent in Norman. Was it perfect? No. But it was better than it had been, and the Sooners resembled a team that could win with their defense, like in the Iowa State and Nebraska games last season.
And the expectation is that things will go a step further with Brent Venables back in Norman. The Clemson Tigers became one of the best defenses in the country during his time in South Carolina, and that’s why he’s been a hot name for coaching jobs for several years. But beyond the scheme and the ability to recruit top defensive talent, it’s the mindset and the attitude that Venables brings to the table that will help reestablish Oklahoma’s defensive philosophy.
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