Brent Venables explains current struggles with defensive line recruiting in college football

With the game of football continuing to be spread out with more of an emphasis on the skill positions than ever, a shortage of defensive linemen has occurred at the college level, as coaches have faced some struggles when looking to recruit and acquire talent on the defensive line.

The defensive line has always been a point of emphasis for defensive mastermind and Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables, who signed five impressive defensive linemen in his most recent 2024 high school early signing class. Headlined by David Stone, No. 1 ranked defensive lineman for the 2024 class according to the On3 Industry Ranking.

At Oklahoma’s Early National Signing Day press conference, Venables was asked about the challenges of recruiting defensive lineman, also speaking on what he looks for in the position and what he got in his most recent class.

“It’s a law of supply and demand, there’s just not as many of them and it’s been that way since football became a sport,” Venables said. “So rushing the passer, stopping the run, the lines of scrimmage, it’s where the game’s always been won and lost so that’s not a new revelating thing. But there’s just not as many of them that are able to play at a really really high level.”

Strong play at the defensive line was one of Venables’ trademarks during his tenure at Clemson prior to his arrival at Norman, a standard that he’s still looking to set with the Sooners.

Oklahoma was one of the Big 12’s top run stopping teams in the conference last season, but one of the bottom teams in regards to sacking the quarterback. Two areas of the defense that will rise in importance next season as the Sooners make the jump to the SEC, as Venables shared what he looks for in his d-linemen.

“So there’s a body, you’re looking for certain dynamics. Your length, your size, your power, your quickness, your ability from a refinement standpoint to rush the passer and recreate the line of scrimmage, block recognition, you know the fundamentals that go along with it,” Venables explained. “Not everybody’s developed the same way and so we’ve got a group of guys that really have a unique skill set but also have some tremendous foundation of fundamentals too.”

There’s no question that defensive line is one of the harder positions to translate from high school to the college level, with players often times taking some time to fully develop. But Venables is confident in the skillset of his most recent signing class as they look to own the line of scrimmage in year one in the Southeastern Conference.

“And probably when you look at the front seven, the area if it’s not strength and power that young people aren’t quite there, if it’s not that it’s usually the use of hands and block recognition. The linebackers on the second level be able to get off of blocks and same thing, the block recognition for the guys up front. Be able to play the different blocks the right way and then transition from run game to your pass rush, and those things usually take a little longer, but this is a group of guys that have been incredibly well coached.”

“This is a hungry group of young men that have humility, the physical toughness, they love the game, have all the right characteristics that you want that’s going to continue to help promote growth and development quickly,” Venables concluded.