Brent Venables on being able to coach Drake Stoops

Brent Venables has known Drake Stoops almost his whole life. Now, he’s coaching the son of Bob Stoops as he returns to Oklahoma as the successor to Lincoln Riley. Aside from being an awesome story, it also serves as a reminder for Venables about life outside of football.

In a press conference earlier this week, Venables spoke about what it means to coach Stoops.

“Yeah, it’s a lot of fun,” stated Venables, regarding coaching the Oklahoma wide receiver. “It reminds me of just being around my own sons, and knowing what their dreams are. Watching them as little kids, pretending they were Mark Clayton. You know, some of those guys that we had. Some amazing players. So, it’s a reminder to me, that these are people’s kids. They’re on their journey. It’s not all about just winning. There’s more to it than that. You can help facilitate all their dreams on and off the field. So, for me, it’s a reminder that his dad’s around here. He’s got a statue out here, out front. It’s a reason I was afforded the opportunity originally to come in the first place. Because of their family.

“But what I love about Drake Stoops, you’d never know. One of the most humble, hard working, tough — he’s a high performer. He over delivered with everything, on and off the field. You’ve seen other young people in his position have a sense of entitlement. Want something from nothing. And that couldn’t be further from the truth. Just a great person, great teammate, thankful that he’s on our squad. He’s a baller.”

Brent Venables recognizes Drake Stoops could use his last name to open up a lot of doors in Norman. However, the new coach of the Sooners believes the wide receiver’s hard work outshines all.

Brent Venables: Dillon Gabriel has ‘special qualities’

Moreover, Drake Stoops isn’t the only player Brent Venables is all in on. Continuing, Venables sung the praises of Dillon Gabriel as the Oklahoma quarterback, who projects to be the Sooners starter in 2022 after transferring from UCF.

Gabriel is a former three-star recruit and doesn’t enter the year as one of the premier NFL quarterback prospects, but brings college experience as a starter the past three seasons with the Knights. In a press conference, Venables had nothing but positive things to say about Dillon Gabriel’s performance.

“In my opinion, he has those ‘special qualities,’” Venables said. “He’s very humble and he’s not loud and braggadocious and making any kind of proclamations. He doesn’t need to. He does it with his work, his competitiveness, his toughness. Obviously he had street credibility with the players because of what he has done at a high level. All he’s done since he’s been here is work. He inspires, he encourages, he leads by example, he takes responsibility even when it’s not his fault like the good ones will do. Again, just brings out the best in people. Like I said before, he’s been a pro in every way.”

Gabriel earned the starting job as a freshman at UCF under Josh Heupel in 2019, where he then played under new Sooners offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby. He impressed by throwing for 3,653 yards and 29 touchdowns as the Knights finished with a 10-3 record. He followed that up with 3,570 yards and 32 touchdowns as a sophomore, as it appeared primed to become a star in 2021. However, Gabriel suffered a broken clavicle in the third game of the season and sat out the rest of the year.

How he bounces back from that injury will be a major storyline to watch throughout spring and into next season. Nevertheless, Brent Venables is expecting big things from Dillon Gabriel.