When Lincoln Riley left Oklahoma for the USC Trojans, taking Alex Grinch with him, it seemed inevitable that the Sooners would lose some coaches off of their defensive staff. Now, as they’ve hired a defensive-minded head coach in Brent Venables, the changes have begun.
According to The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman, outside linebacker and defensive end coach Jamar Cain will be joining Riley and Grinch on the west coast.
SOURCE: OU's Jamar Cain is expected to join Lincoln Riley's staff at USC. Cain who has coached in the Pac-12 and has a lot of West Coast ties, is considered one of the country's top recruiters.
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) December 6, 2021
Feldman mentions in his report that Cain is a great recruiter, but he’s also an excellent coach. Under his tutelage, Ronnie Perkins and Nik Bonitto experienced breakout performances at Oklahoma. Both became two of the most feared edge rushers in all of college football.
Cain’s departure is undoubtedly a loss, and at the same time, one would assume Venables has some guys he’d like to bring in to be on his staff. The question, which we’ll get an answer to in the coming days, is how will this affect the Oklahoma Sooners recruiting classes.
The Sooners already lost the commitment of edge rusher Derrick Moore, who Cain recruited to Oklahoma. Will he cross the country and join Cain at USC? Only time will tell.
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