Watch: OU head coach Brent Venables' initial camp thoughts
The initial week of OU football preseason camp has come and gone. Sooners on track after the first three practices.
Now we start to hunker down more on the execution, said head coach Brent Venables.
Venables had a 28-minute media session Saturday morning.
Opening statement
“Really good. I know probably every coach in that building and every coach in the country would be the first one to tell you that you’re going to get a lot of energy and enthusiasm in the first several days of camp. I really want to find out what we’re going to be in the middle of camp. Of the things I wanted to see at the beginning, because I expected to see the energy and the enthusiasm, I was really focused on the execution as much as anything.
“That was really good on both sides of the ball. It’s been a really good first three days. Yesterday we put on shoulder pads, uppers or shells as we call it, it was another good day of flying around and getting adjusted to fall camp and the tempo and those types of things.”
Competitive depth was the phrase du jour last season. Hasn’t been uttered as much so far, but OU probably actually has more depth this season.
That, of course, would be a great thing. And it just has to be guys pushing other guys. Don’t be content being a two, keep working.
Competitive depth
“I don’t want guys satisfied with being behind another guy. That’s the wrong mindset, the wrong attitude. Exact opposite of what we want from our guys. I want ambitious, driven. ‘I wanna run out there first.’ That should mean something to these guys, and it does. But at the same time, man, they’ve got great respect and love and appreciation for one another, and for me, that’s where the real growth happens. And where they’re not looking over their shoulder, they’re confident in themselves.”
Hear from Venables and watch the reaction from SoonerScoop’s George Stoia and Eddie Radosevich.
