Brent Venables reveals how much NIL impacts recruiting at Oklahoma

Brent Venables is aware of the impact new NIL rules have on college recruiting. But for the Oklahoma football coach, it shouldn’t be a top priority for incoming Sooners.

If it is, Venables said on Early Signing Day, then something is wrong.

“It was probably smaller rather than a big part,” he said. “It’s something that we’re out in front of that we like to address in the things that we’re doing from an educational standpoint and facilitating that process. It is something that you have to have a plan for and we certainly do. But typically, with the right guys, that’s not one of the first, second or third things that is discussed. If that’s one of the first or second things, then you have to be cautious moving forward.”

The Sooners signed the No. 10 overall recruiting class in 2022 according to On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. They failed to sign a five-star, but added 13 four-star recruits to their team.

Venables was named the next Oklahoma coach on Dec. 5 after Lincoln Riley bolted for USC. Given that he hasn’t even been the coach for two weeks, this class really can’t be attributed to him.

However, he wanted to set the record straight heading into future seasons.

“There’s nothing wrong with making a little short-term cash,” Venables said. “There can be a lot of good in that. But you have to look at the long-term investment opportunities and investment on return from education. That’s really going to have more generational change than a little bit of short-term money. But there’s nothing wrong with those opportunities. It’s theirs. It’s the landscape we have and one we need to promote that needs to be an advantage for us.”

With Riley’s departure, the Sooners lost a few of highly touted recruits to the Trojans. That includes 2022 prospect Raleek Brown, who signed with USC on Wednesday.

Venables, a former Oklahoma assistant under Bob Stoops from 1999-2011, is about to enter his first season as a head coach. He bring plenty of experience as a recruiter both with the Sooners and Clemson Tigers, routinely landing top players.

Recruiting will certainly play a big role in his Oklahoma legacy, and if Brent Venables is to have success, he knows the NIL rules are an inevitable part of that. Even so, he made it clear Wednesday there is plenty more to gain from signing with OU.