Several things stuck out from Brent Venables’ opening remarks when he was officially introduced as the 23rd head coach of the Oklahoma Sooners. But one of them has already played out in a big way over the last couple of weeks, even before Venables was brought on board. And that’s the value of alignment.
When the news that Lincoln Riley was leaving hit the Oklahoma Sooners, the leadership didn’t sulk or pout, Joseph Harroz and Joe Castiglione immediately got to work. Though their first call was to Bob Stoops to help as interim head coach during the transition, they didn’t stop there. They met with the current players, and they made sure they had assistants on staff to further the Oklahoma Sooners’ efforts on the recruiting trail.
Immediately after taking the helm, Bob Stoops was out on the road with assistants DeMarco Murray, Joe Jon Finley, and Cale Gundy to connect with Oklahoma commitments to see where they stood. They were gone, and there was nothing the Sooners’ contingent was going to be able to do about it. However, their in-home visits made a difference for a lot of kids whether they planned to stay committed to Oklahoma or not.
It was the mere reminder that there is only one Oklahoma and that the program is bigger than one man. The show of strength and the foundation of excellence helped carry the Sooners during the interim before Brent Venables, and his staff started coming together. And it was an alignment of vision that proclaimed the players are the program that allowed the Sooners to keep a steady focus.
It was that alignment. From the president of the university to the assistants making visits, the Sooners had a plan, and they’ve executed that plan as the early signing day approaches.
The alignment of the leadership is what made Oklahoma such an attractive place for not just Brent Venables but a host of coaches looking to land a job at one of the premier schools in college football.
It’s that alignment that has allowed for there to be a smooth transition, even as Venables and Lebby redirect recruiting efforts from the west coast to Oklahoma, Texas, and the southeast, namely Florida.
The leadership and the vision from the top down helped the program maintain focus even during a short season of turmoil. It’s the alignment that helped recover a 2022 recruiting class that was as low as 27th a week ago on 247Sports Team Rankings but has risen back to 12th in the country. On3 Recruiting has the Sooners at ninth in the nation as the early signing period gets set to bring in the next wave of Oklahoma Sooners.
The Oklahoma Sooners are in a great spot heading into the early signing period. Though they won’t end up with the top five class they were heading for, this still has a chance to be an incredible group of players that will have a significant impact on Saturdays.
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