How ready are the Oklahoma Sooners to compete in the SEC?

Brent Venables and co. did great job recruiting the past three years but are they ready to compete in the SEC?

The [autotag]2024 recruiting[/autotag] class for the Oklahoma Sooners is their first class in a new conference. The Sooners finished with the No. 6 class according to Rivals, which was good for No. 4 in the [autotag]SEC[/autotag].

While the 2022 and 2023 classes were top 10 classes as well, this was their best defensive haul, especially along the defensive line.

It’s obviously going to take some time to develop this class and continue to develop the 2023 class even though many members of that 2023 class received significant playing time this season. Brent Venables spoke about just how ready they are to compete in the SEC.

“We’re always working to be better,” Venables said. “We are certainly competitive. We want more. We’re going to need more. Whatever that means. It’s all-encompassing. It’s incredibly competitive. It’s relentless. It’s year-round. It’s challenging. There are some smart coaches, and there are a lot of programs that have a lot of resources. Just like Oklahoma. So, it’s a very real competition. One that’s not going to go away. You are going to win some and then not win some but you need to win some more than you lose.”

Oklahoma has had a class that would rank in the top five among SEC schools every year since Venables took over at Oklahoma. Gone are the days, however, where the Sooners have only one school to compete with in their conference.

This is a new challenge. A tough challenge. But it is one Venables and his staff are up for.

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