Brent Venables answers why Oklahoma can compete in the SEC this season

SEC Media Days are underway in Dallas, TX, and in 2024, for the first time with both Oklahoma and Texas involved, meaning those coaches were some of the stars of the week.

Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables enjoyed his spotlight at then podium on Tuesday, where he provided a state of the union of sorts on Sooner football and fielded questions on the program’s first season in the SEC coming up. Afterward, he hopped on with the SEC Network crew to talk some more.

As part of his appearance on the SEC Network set, Venables was asked about the roster turnaround since he arrived and what gives him confidence the Sooners can compete in the league in year one.

“Well, it’s a lot of things, you know, what I feel good about,” Venables answered. “It has been a roster transformation. Within the first 15 months, we lost 75 scholarship players. That’s a lot. I’m not complaining, that’s just what it has been. So, in a perfect world, for us to get the roster where you ideally want it, you’re going to have continuity, you’re going to have stability, certainly, you’re going to have the competitive depth, starting with the trenches.”

That theme of building from the line of scrimmage and then out is big for Venables as he continues to construct his ideal vision in Norman.

“This is a league that’s going to challenge you there. To me, that’s like the jugular,” Venables said. “If you want to compete at the highest level and be able to sustain week in and week out, you’re going to be challenged there and you got to win in that space more than you lose. That’s the challenge.”

Personnel-wise, Venables wants the beefy bodies up front. But from a big picture standpoint, he also wants to cultivate a roster that grows and develops together, rather than being thrown altogether. In year three, that goal is starting to come to fruition.

“I do feel like we have a great blend of youth and some transfers,” Venables said. “But what I like the most is the guys who have been here for at least two years. I think we have like 25 guys where this will be their third year. So, there’s been a lot of turnover, but we’re building it the right way.”

The right way for Brent Venables is accumulating the right level of talent in the right areas, but also making sure to keep a solid core together to provide that valuable continuity.

“We’ve got a long-term vision,” he added. “Certainly, every season, every game is incredibly important, but there’s no shortcuts to what we’re trying to do. I would prefer to have something where year to year, we have a little more stability than not.”