Tag: Brent Venable

Brent Venables shares what went into offensive coordinator change

On his weekly coach’s show, Brent Venables shared more about what led to the offensive coordinator change.

There have been struggles on offense for much of the 2024 season. Sure, they scored 51 points against Temple and 34 against Tulane, but the Sooners haven’t looked like a team playing in a rhythm at all this season.

Saturday’s loss at South Carolina, spurred on by turnovers on their first three drives wasn’t what led to the decision, but it was likely the straw that broke the camel’s back. Before Saturday, Oklahoma’s offense wasn’t playing well. Saturday simply was the culmination of seven games of issues.

During his weekly coach’s show on Monday, [autotag]Brent Venable[/autotag]s revealed that his decision to make a change at offensive coordinator wasn’t a decision based on just one or two games.

“A lot goes into you making those types of changes and it’s over the last several months,” Venables said Monday on his weekly coaches show. “There’s a body of work that you look at all of it and evaluate it. Obviously, we haven’t played winning football on offense.”

Oklahoma started out 3-0, but it was a grind to get there. Since then, the Sooners are just 1-3. Their lone win came against Auburn, where they needed a big play on defense to pull off a miraculous comeback. Since SEC play has begun, the Sooners have made two quarterback changes and now changed their offensive coordinator structure.

Joe Jon Finley takes over as the playcaller because of his familiarity with the playbook and the offense as a whole. Kevin Johns, who was an analyst doing advanced scouting for the team, joins the offensive staff as co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Johns previously worked with quarterback Riley Leonard at Duke and and former Sooners offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson at Indiana.

There’s no telling how much the change will make a difference. The Sooners have several more really good teams on their remaining schedule. But Venables is still somewhat optimistic that they can see improvement.

“I do believe if we make some incremental improvement, play to our potential, do the things that the game requires you to do in order to execute and win (we can be successful),” Venables said.

The first big test for Finley, Johns, and the offense comes this Saturday when the Sooners make the trip to Oxford to take on the Ole Miss Rebels.

Best photos from latest Oklahoma Sooners spring practice

Spring ball is heating up and here are the best photos from the Oklahoma Sooners latest spring practice.

Spring practice is in full throttle as the Oklahoma Sooners prepare for the 2024 college football season. There are a number of intriguing storylines to watch this spring with [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag] taking over at quarterback and the turnover along the offensive line.

The newcomers are making a strong impression on the media in attendance. [autotag]Deion Burks[/autotag] and [autotag]Bauer Sharp[/autotag] have stood out in the passing game as Arnold gets acclimated to life as the starting quarterback.

Defensively, true freshmen [autotag]David Stone[/autotag], [autotag]Jayden Jackson[/autotag], and [autotag]Reggie Powers[/autotag] have mixed in with the first-team defense and looked good in the early going.

There are a number of players that the team is taking precautions with on the injury front, so it’s hard to know who exactly is leading the way in the most high-profile position battles.

What we do know is that this is a deeper team than what the Sooners took into the spring a year ago, especially at wide receiver, defensive back, and linebacker. The competitive depth across the board is better this spring than in any year of the [autotag]Brent Venable[/autotag]s era at Oklahoma, which should serve the team well as they try to work out their depth chart.

Here’s a look at the best photos from the Sooners most recent spring practice.

247Sports’ Steve Wiltfong issues crystal ball for OU to land 4-star CB Makari Vickers

The Oklahoma Sooners continue to trend in a positive direction for 2023 four-star defensive back Makari Vickers.

On the heels of a commitment from 2023 four-star athlete Jacobe Johnson, the Oklahoma Sooners continue to trend in a positive direction for another player projected to play defensive back in [autotag]Brent Venable[/autotag]s’ defense. This time, it’s four-star defensive back Makari Vickers.

Out of Tallahassee, Fla., Makari Vickers is a consensus top 120 player in the nation and ranks as a top 10 safety in the 2023 class. The latest crystal ball prediction for Vickers comes from 247Sports director of football recruiting Steve Wiltfong. This one after OUInsider’s Parker Thune and Brandon Drumm issued favorable crystal ball predictions for the Sooners to land Vickers in recent months.

Vickers is a versatile defensive back, lining up at safety and cornerback for Robert F. Munroe Day School. He does a good job as a deep safety reading the quarterback’s eyes and seeing where he wants to go with the ball before it’s released. Vickers plays the ball in the air and displays good hands at the catch point.

When he has the ball in his hands, he’s able to make plays in the return game. A natural and fluid athlete, Vickers would provide another playmaker on the back end for the Oklahoma Sooners.

Makari Vickers will make his commitment on August 26, but with how things are trending, it looks like the Sooners have another defensive back to add to the 2023 recruiting class. Vickers would join [autotag]Jacobe Johnson[/autotag] and [autotag]Jasiah Wagoner[/autotag] in the defensive backfield next year as part of the 2023 class.

Makari Vickers’ Recruiting Profile

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