Can a Sooner Second Act Make Brent Venables Viable?
On an offseason upheaval, roster reconstruction and beefed-up backroom operation.
Brent Venables, Defensive Coordinator for the University of Oklahoma Sooners football team. - Wikimedia Commons
Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables is a man who never backs down from a fight.
When he was a football player under the famed Bill Snyder, Venables was known as the guy who was “always going 100%” and exerted enough energy to fill a room.
As an assistant coach at Clemson, he was such a handful that the team had to employ a “get-back coach” to keep him contained on game days.
But entering his fourth year as the head man in Norman, Venables is in for the fight of his coaching career. He’s 22-17 through his first three seasons, and faces the prospect of a pivotal Year 4 in a daunting league like the SEC.
After an offseason of upheaval, roster reconstruction and a beefed-up backroom, 2025 is looking like a now-or-never season for Venables and the Sooners. Can he answer the bell and ensure Oklahoma leaves its mark on the SEC? Or could another mediocre year be the end of Venables in Norman?
Roster Reconstruction
Off the back of a tumultuous 6-6 regular season finish in 2024, Venables knew the offense needed a jolt of life.
Last season, the offense saw quarterbacks Jackson Arnold and Michael Hawkins Jr. fail to deliver on the big stage. Arnold, a prized recruit in his own right and once the Sooners’ quarterback of the future, lost the job after a difficult start and consecutive losses. Hawkins Jr. came in for relief and offered mixed results.
The Sooners turned the page on both quarterbacks, instead opting for former Washington State quarterback John Mateer. Mateer had a whole host of suitors once he entered the portal. He spurned a ton of schools and instead opted to follow his former offensive coordinator, Ben Arbuckle, to Norman.
Just how good was Mateer in Ben Arbuckle’s offense?
Source: Hudl IQ
Using Hudl IQ Player Radar Data, we can see that Mateer was an exceptional quarterback in 2024, especially by Pac-12 standards.
Mateer was a big-play magnet, generating a high Explosive % and Chunk %. He finished the season with over 3,100 yards and 29 touchdowns, indicating just how much he was the sun and stars of that Cougar offense last season. It should be interesting to see him in a similar role on a bigger stage.
Outside of the quarterback position, the biggest problem for the Sooners’ offense in 2024 was the offensive line. Simply put, Oklahoma’s offensive line was atrocious and did a horrible job of protecting both Jackson Arnold and Michael Hawkins Jr.
Just how bad was the o-line last season?
Source: Hudl IQ
Using the Hudl IQ Line Pressures tool, we can see just how dreadful this group was last season.
Outside of RG Febechi Nwaiwu, the entire group was flat-out terrible. The offensive line gave up a ton of interior pressure through the A gaps and on the edge, making it virtually impossible to run the ball or protect the passer. It was an inexcusable showing and will certainly be an area of focus entering the 2025 season.
To combat the o-line woes, Oklahoma dipped into the transfer portal in search of reinforcements. The Sooners came back with Jake Maikkula and Luke Baklenko from Stanford, as well as Derek Simmons from Western Carolina. For everyone involved, I hope these guys can make a real impact and give this offense a fighting chance moving forward.
If it sounds like the Sooners were busy in the portal, well, you’re not wrong. Alongside the reinforcements I’ve already mentioned, the offense got another major weapon acquisition in the form of former Cal running back Jaydn Ott. Ott, a former All-Conference player, will add some much-needed experience and juice to an offense that can use all the help it can get. He was arguably the top spring portal window acquisition and signifies the all-in nature of the Sooners this season.
If the offense can click and the defense continues to be stellar, the Sooners could spice up the SEC in 2025.
A Beefed-Up Backroom
Alongside the flurry of business done in the transfer portal by the Sooners, arguably the program’s biggest acquisition came in the form of hiring new GM Jim Nagy.
Nagy brings an incredible wealth of experience and a wildly impressive Rolodex of contacts to the job, fresh off his time as the Executive Director of the Senior Bowl. In a press release, the university said this about the hire.
Nagy will lead OU's roster management and talent acquisition, including player recruitment, evaluation, retention, and compensation as part of his duties. He also will manage the impact of rules governing name, image, and likeness, the transfer portal process, revenue-share allocation, scholarship limits, and eligibility requirements.
The new model is intended to meet the emerging challenges of college football and mirrors many aspects of professional sports teams. It allows for the general manager and head football coach to work side-by-side in partnership, each focusing on a specific area of expertise. To facilitate the implementation and operation of this new model, Randall Stephenson has been asked to assume the role of Chair of Football and Special Advisor to the President and the Director of Athletics. In that role, he will provide day-to-day oversight of the general manager and head football coach. In addition, he will continue offering his oversight and expertise of the budgeting, strategic planning, and business planning functions during this unique time of change in college athletics.
The professionalization of college football isn’t slowing down anytime soon, which makes this type of hire that much more important.
In particular, I think Nagy will be an incredible asset when it comes to evaluating talent, especially via the transfer portal. He spent years watching college football to evaluate players for the Senior Bowl, which makes him uniquely equipped to handle this responsibility. Couple that with an SEC-level budget, and I think there’s something there.
It remains to be seen whether Nagy sits atop Venables on the depth chart or not. And that could be a factor this fall, especially if Venables and the Sooners fail to produce. But perhaps that’s a discussion for another day.
A Daunting Road Ahead
For all of the positive steps the Sooners’ program took this offseason, things are far from guaranteed this fall.
Oklahoma plays arguably the toughest schedule in the country. The slate features a non-conference game against Top 25-ranked Michigan, along with games against the likes of Texas, South Carolina, Ole Miss, Alabama and LSU, to name a few.
Even if the Sooners are much-improved up front and Mateer is a real-deal upgrade at the quarterback position, the win-loss record might not change much compared to last season.
Let’s say Oklahoma goes 7-5 or 8-4 (which would be pretty good all things considered)…is that enough to get Venables off the hot seat? I have a hard time believing seven wins will be enough for him to keep his job.
I think the Oklahoma football community is incredibly invested in this program and desperately wants to see success. So far, the jump from the Big 12 to the SEC has been far from easy. But the investment is there. The passion is there. And now with a proper backroom operation, the Sooners should be firing on all fronts to handle the business aspect of big-time football. Now, the on-field success needs to follow suit.
"Every game's that way, every day I show up something's on the line. My job's on the line," Venables said. "Every day for the past 30 years.”
"Nothing's changed for me."
Throughout his life. Venables has been no stranger to adversity. With every challenge came a choice—to fold or fight.
Thus far, he’s answered the bell every single time.
As we creep closer to the start of the 2025 season, Venables is prepping for a 12-round, knockdown, drag-out fight against some of the toughest teams in college football.
Can he once again answer the bell and turn his team into a contender? Or will the SEC get the best of him and send the Sooners into a rebuild?
What I’m Reading
SID Sports - Don’t forget to subscribe to Griffin Olah’s SID Sports newsletter. As a former Division I sports information director, Olah has a great grasp of the sport and I really enjoy his work.
2201 Kimball Ave | Cameron Morgan - 2201 Kimball Ave is essential reading for all followers of Kansas State football. As a lifelong K-State fan and former player, Cameron brings a unique and thoughtful approach to the analysis of the Wildcats' football team. His newsletters are rational and insightful and I genuinely learn something new with every newsletter.
Split Zone Duo | Alex Kirshner, Richard Johnson and Steven Godfrey - SZD is essential reading and following for CFB ball knowers. Godfrey, Richard and Alex are the Holy Trinity for college football analysis and insight. Each member brings a unique flavor to the conversation, which makes for insightful and downright hilarious banter about the sport we all love. If I had someone ask me where to start for smarter college football coverage, SZD is where I'd send them.