Brent Venables provides injury updates ahead of Week 1
With four days until a season opening bout against Arkansas State on Saturday, Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables had some health updates on a pair of offensive linemen. And it was a mixed bag from the Sooners head coach.
The good news is that Stanford transfer Walter Rouse is healthy and should be good to go at left tackle. He’s listed as the starter on the depth chart that Oklahoma released on Tuesday.
However, further down the left tackle depth chart, Venables remained cautious about third-string tackle Jacob Sexton.
“Walter’s — he’s on there as a starter and he’s doing great. Really worked hard to overcome his, just rehabbing. So he’s been fantastic since the start of fall,” Venables said. “Then Sexton is really close to getting the green light and we just want to make sure. He’s had no setbacks whatsoever and we feel really good about his progress. Probably would be available here in the next week or so.”
In lieu of Sexton — or any of the linemen, Venables is high on the depth that the Sooners have.
Venables highlighted Jake Taylor, Cayden Green and Aaryn Parks as linemen who could step in at tackle in a pinch.
And with a chance to lose both starting tackles from the 2023 team to the NFL, Venables is happy to slow-play things with Sexton, a sophomore, knowing he’ll have the lineman for years to come.
“Typically speaking on an ACL, it usually takes you about 12 months. Everybody’s different. But, 12 months to get back to where you were from a confidence, from a strength and flexibility — so we don’t have this 12-month plan but just want to be mindful of that,” Venables said. “And then losing a couple of tackles after this year, in all likelihood, we’re just trying to play the long ball, across the board.”
The Sooners have increased depth at quarterback in 2023
Dillon Gabriel doesn’t mind extra competition in the quarterback room. On Monday, Oklahoma‘s QB1 discussed the benefits of having talented backups waiting in the wings.
“In general, you can do more when you got a lot of guys being able to contribute,” Gabriel said. “But, I think that just comes together being in Year 2 and everyone knowing the system just allows you to go more in-depth in what you already know and then try some new things.”
Year 1 was certainly a success for Gabriel. In 12 games, the 5-foot-11 quarterback tallied 230 completions for 3,168 passing yards and 25 passing touchdowns. Gabriel also recorded 317 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns. For his efforts, Gabriel was named the Big 12 Newcomer of the Year.