Brent Venables shares how Oklahoma will handle recruiting commitments

Oklahoma Sooners head coach Brent Venables is going to take a different approach to recruiting than his predecessor Lincoln Riley. The former Clemson Tigers defensive coordinator is not interested in seeing his commits take visits elsewhere, wanting them to be 100% locked into the Oklahoma program from the time they announce their commitment.

Venables explained his thought process on his philosophy after a recent spring practice. He started by using a reporter as an example, likening it to marriage and going through the proposal process. Eventually, the head coach explained he wants to teach the high schoolers exactly what commitment is.

“What’s commitment mean to you?,” Venables said. “Are you married? So you asked your wife to marry you, right? So in that moment, when you asked Brittany to marry you, was your intention after she said yes — there’s a commitment that takes place — is to go date other women and do your thing? Did you try that? You waited until you were ready though. That you knew that you knew that you knew that you knew, right? So that’s what we want to be as a program. Hey, we are not trying to force commitments.

“Do not commit here until you’re ready to make a commitment because a commitment is not a reservation. If you say ‘hey Brittany, let’s get married Nov. 30,’ in the meantime, I’m going to go see Sally and Michelle and Lisa. She ain’t going to meet you there. Good luck on Nov. 30, right? So why is it any different? Teach young people what commitment means. I’m not going to apologize. And that’s what we tell them. ‘Do not commit, take as many visits as you want.'”

Venables is bringing a similar mindset from Clemson, where head coach Dabo Swinney was particular about going through the recruiting process. Luckily for Oklahoma fans, it was able to start a run for the Tigers, winning two national championships in a three-year span — something the Sooners desperately want to accomplish.

Brent Venables calls out coaches in recruiting process

Continuing his explanation, Venables went on to call out coaches who are not faithful to their commitments as national signing day draws closer. He said if recruits are able to be attached to your program for a significant amount of time, coaches should be able to do the same and it’s a bad example for the young men.

“I think, personally, that the Oklahoma brand will stick out,” Venables said. “You may not come here but you’re really going to like it. You may not come here but I am glad you didn’t if you’re not ready to make a real deep-seated commitment. It’s a two-way street. Even the coaches are bad examples. They’ll take a commitment and then three days before signing day, they call a kid that’s been committed for a year, ‘oh, by the way, we don’t have a spot for you because I found a guy better than you and you’re only opportunity to come here is if grayshirt or pay for your first year.’

“What kind of example is that? That’s bad form but that’s kind of where we are, people that lack a moral compass. I’m not going to apologize for having a moral compass. I want to teach our young people what commitment is, what it looks like. Certainly, things can change.”

Venables closed out his explanation by saying they’re trying to do it “the right way” at Oklahoma. He said if their commitments are taking visits elsewhere, especially to some of the biggest programs in the country, managing his roster could become difficult. But teaching them about what all of it means was the constant message throughout for the head coach.

“Maybe there’s flaws in that thinking but I know this, there’s a lot of flaws in taking a commitment, making a reservation, and then going and doing your thing,” said Venables. “How can I manage a roster or who else I need to offer if I got nine guys committed but they’re going to Bama and Georgia and LSU and A&M. How can I manage? How can I take commitments? How will I know what my numbers are? So that’s just my way of trying to manage the roster to the best of my ability. Again, teach our guys ethics and morality. We could sit here and try to diminish that whole process. I’m just saying, we’re trying to be the example. We’re trying to do it the right way.”

Where the Oklahoma Sooners sit in 2023 class

As things stand, Oklahoma has four commitments in the 2023 recruiting class, with On3 Consensus four-star quarterback Jackson Arnold out of Denton (TX) Denton Guyer High School being the highest rated. Four-star wide receiver Ashton Cozart recently shut down his recruitment as well, pledging to play for the Sooners under Venables.

Under the head coach’s new philosophy, neither player will be able to go see other programs. As Venables said, whether it’s for better or for worse, it’s the way he will run things while at Oklahoma, wanting to show the high school kids exactly what commitment is.