As the 2022 season inched along, it was evident that the Oklahoma Sooners didn’t have enough depth or talent, on the defensive side in particular, to achieve what they wanted in 2022. The Sooners didn’t sit back in the transfer portal.
Brent Venables and his staff attacked the transfer portal and closed on their No. 4 recruiting class to improve the depth and talent for 2023. Although Oklahoma doesn’t rank well in returning production, the Sooners are banking on their transfer portal and freshmen recruiting class making an impact this season.
Speaking to the media on Thursday, [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] spoke about the improved depth.
“So we’re just a lot further along,” Venables shared with the media. “Strength, speed. I think this is a review compared to mid-years. I think that we got more depth than what we had a year ago, I think more impact players than we had a year ago.”
The Sooners brought in one of the top transfer classes in the country, led by [autotag]Dasan McCullough[/autotag] and [autotag]Rondell Bothroyd[/autotag]. They were highly productive players in 2022. McCullough was a true-freshman All-American for the Indiana Hoosiers, while Bothroyd put together a couple of seasons with Wake Forest.
It’s early in the 2023 offseason, but Venables has been impressed with what this group has shown so far in their time in Norman.
“And then, again, we’re further along, Venables continued. “Some of it because I think we’ve recruited a really good class of football players. Guys that have a very strong football acumen. That’s going to lend to a quicker transition if you will, and a group of guys that are hungry.”
Additionally, the Sooners that are returning have had a year in Brent Venables’ defensive system and Jeff Lebby’s offense. With time to review what went well and what didn’t in the 2022 season, those players have a better understanding of what’s expected this offseason in preparation for 2023.
Guys like [autotag]Danny Stutsman[/autotag], [autotag]Ethan Downs[/autotag], [autotag]Billy Bowman[/autotag], and [autotag]Jalil Farooq[/autotag] were first time starters for the Sooners. Each of them had some big moments as sophomores and are expected to make an even bigger impact in 2023.
The proof will come during the 2023 season, but there’s reason to be optimistic that Oklahoma will rebound from their first losing season since 1998.
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