Brent Venables shares key to keeping young players invested in program

Oklahoma Sooners head coach Brent Venables shared the key to keeping young players invested in the football program.

As Venables explained, it comes down to making sure that the program is recruiting the right types of players.

“You recruit the right guys,” Brent Venables said. “They’ve got the right stuff. They’re not expecting something for nothing. So, you try to filter that in the recruiting process. Look at their network of whatever village they have and what their support system looks like and make sure they have clear vision of how difficult. This will be the hardest thing you’ve ever done in your life. If you’re not ready for that, then, this ain’t the spot. This is gonna be the hardest thing you’ve ever done in your life, but it’s gonna be worth it. This is a developmental game. The more you play the better you get.”

To make his point more clear, Brent Venables questioned the reporter who asked him the initial question about his own age.

“What were you like as a freshman? What were you like — how old are you now? 30 tomorrow? Happy birthday. How you think, how you work, how you competed, everything’s probably a little bit different when you were 17 than what it is as a soon-to-be 30-year-old, and that’s the way it is,” Venables said.

“I take these guys back to when they were freshmen in high school. What looked different? What they benched, what they squatted? You know, facial hair, girlfriends, no girlfriends, driving, not driving, their knowledge, their confidence, all those things. Everything changes. When you go to college, the same thing’s gonna happen. There’s a transformation that takes place. So, if you come to Oklahoma, that’s what you’re signing up for.”

According to the On3 Industry Rating, Oklahoma has the eighth-ranked recruiting class in the 2024 cycle. This comes after putting together the sixth-ranked recruiting class in the 2023 cycle.

“I think out of the top 20 ranked teams in college football to end the regular season, I think we had the most snaps of all freshmen and redshirt freshmen. So, we promote that. There is opportunity. We’re trying to get everybody ready to play. We’re not trying to redshirt nobody. You either show that you need a little more development or you don’t, but just because it’s not about where you start, it’s always about where you finish,” Venables said.

“So, you constantly stay connected. Just the talk I’m having now is the talk that we — that’s just who we are. That’s our environment and I’m only one person. The coach has got to do a great job of constantly educating and nurturing growth and development, improvement, the hard work, the ability to persevere. Things that come easy don’t last long. Period. There ain’t no shortcuts. So, guys are looking for a hole in the fence. I’m gonna help them, you know, get over the fence and we don’t really have that problem, and I think whatever number is in the portal.”

Brent Venables also emphasized that it’s good to play for as long as possible because football doesn’t last forever and he wants to make sure that his players are ready for life beyond it.

“I think seven of them were seniors, we weren’t counting on them coming back. Some of them chose to go play. I think that’s great. I think that’s a wonderful thing and I say play the game as long as you can. That day’s coming to an end. So, play it as long as you can but make sure you’re prepared for what’s next because that day’s coming too and if you look at what the NFL stats are, guys that are within three years of leaving the NFL guys that have left the NFL within three years they’re either bankrupt or divorced. It’s like 80%. It’s a terrible number. Just a lot of them have lived their whole life being catered to and living a life where people do a lot of things for them and they’re not thinking about what’s next,” Venables said.

“And just being around a college locker room for 30 plus years as a player and a coach, I know the value of trying to create a pathway and an opportunity beyond the field, and that’s not real popular in some places but I do think it’s attractive to the guys that we recruit. So, we find families that are looking for a little more than just ball, and I love ball, nobody loves it more than me. I love to compete, I love to win, but it’s dysfunctional if that’s all it is 24/7 when you come into the building.”

Brent Venables addresses changes of recruiting to SEC

Next season, Oklahoma will be in the SEC, which Brent Venables already knows is going to impact recruiting.

“You want great competitive depth. You want to be strong and physical. That’s the name of the game. So, it’s not — the SEC are those things. There’s great skill, great depth. The lines of scrimmage are a real thing,” Venables said. 

“If you’ve been coaching football, offense or defense, you’re gonna try to build your team or your program or your locker room on the lines of scrimmage and dominating there first. You usually don’t get whooped on the line of scrimmage and then win most games. It’s actually the opposite.”