Tyler Venables never imagined there would be a time during his football career at Clemson where he wouldn’t be coached by his father Brent Venables, so when the opportunity came about for the longtime defensive coordinator to make the move to Oklahoma, the safety had a lot to think about.
“After I had already committed to Clemson, I never thought I’d play for anybody else,” Venables said. “I was like, ‘Alright, I guess I’m playing for my dad’ and it just ended up turning out like it did and it’s been awesome. Just to watch coach Wes [Goodwin] take command, get to really understand his brain and his thinking and he’s actually a really smart dude, so it’s been cool.”
While Venables has enjoyed playing under Clemson’s newest defensive coordinator in Wes Goodwin thus far, he also had a lot to consider following his father’s move to the Sooners. To leave or not to leave was the question and it ultimately came down to the simplicity that surrounded remaining at Clemson.
“I thought about it for a little bit in December, thought that was what I wanted to do briefly, and then I just kind of realized that I like simplicity a lot, simple, its easy,” the South Carolina native said. “Clemson’s an amazing place, so I was like why would I ever want to leave something like this. Even though it was amazing playing for him for two years. It was a great experience and not many people get to do that — get to play for their father on the Division 1 stage — but I had a great two years with him, and this is my place to stay.”
Now with his junior season on the horizon, Venables is excited to jump into another season, but this time under a new coordinator. Though Goodwin differs in many ways from his predecessor, Venables loves the fight and excellence that his coordinator demands from his players — a similar demand for excellence that his father instilled in his 10 years with the Clemson program.
“He still demands excellence from you, and he does a great job of getting fight from his player because we love him,” Venables said. “We love fighting for him and understanding his scheme and he does a great job of explaining stuff to us.”
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