We are days from the start of fall practice in Norman, Oklahoma. The Sooners hope for a bounce-back campaign after going 6-7 a season ago.
They have good reason to think they will after cleaning house and bringing in guys that fit the program. Brent Venables and his staff are hoping those transfer portal additions and the development of the guys coming back will turn around a team that suffered its first losing season in 25 years.
Losing is not something that Oklahoma is accustomed to. Nobody on the roster was alive the last time the Sooners had a season below .500. So it’s understandable why Brad Crawford of 247Sports believes there’s pressure on Oklahoma to rebound in 2023.
There is no hiding at Oklahoma and Brent Venables’ first season with the Sooners went south in a hurry. Oklahoma’s overhaul on defense is already taking place for a team whose bowl-season loss to FSU last fall clinched their first losing season since 1998. Signing a top-five recruiting class for 2023 is absolutely the best offseason news Oklahoma could have received, however. Not only did the program land five-star quarterback Jackson Arnold, who will be “the guy” in 2024, but the arrival of five-star flip Peyton Bowen, five-star edge Adepoju Adebawore and several immediate impact Day 1 starters in the transfer portal, including defensive end Dasan McCullough, were huge gets. – Crawford, 247Sports
Additionally, Crawford mentions the Sooners having to watch their former coach have success in his first season at a new place.
The Sooners gave up 461 yards per game and 30 points per game last season, their worst marks since the 2018 season under Lincoln Riley. And to rub salt in the wound, Oklahoma fans watched Riley show substantial Year 1 success at USC, where he finished one win shy of a conference championship and College Football Playoff berth with the Trojans. You’d have to go back a couple of decades to find the last time Oklahoma was considered a dark horse to win the Big 12, but this is where Venables stands this summer. After that, it’s off to the SEC where the matchups are only going to get tougher. – Crawford, 247Sports
The defense will be better than it was in 2022, simply because it can’t be much worse. However, there’s optimism because of the talent added to the roster this offseason. They’ve made significant additions at each level of the defense that should help add depth and raise the talent floor for a group that was inexperienced and didn’t live up to expectations.
While there’s reason to be optimistic, the pressure is definitely there for Brent Venables in year two. However, if he’s the guy the administration thinks he is, he will rise to the occasion and get the train back on the tracks.
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