Oklahoma Sooners coach Brent Venables spring game interview.
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00:00I'm not saying who you you tell me whoever's up. All right, good. Sorry.
00:10Yeah, no, he's been great. Uh, everything's been good all spring.
00:14He's, um, got adjusted quickly, like we anticipated. And, um, he's done a
00:21variety of things that have helped us continue to move forward and progress
00:26and get better. Um, a lot of it language wise. I'm trying to simplify
00:31some things from a language standpoint again. Sometimes when you get outside
00:35of a system and you got to go to several places and start completely
00:39over and everybody's new, you figure out how to be even more efficient. I
00:43did it when I left Oklahoma originally in 2012 to to go to Clemson and then
00:49he's been able to do it in some different ways and and some had some
00:52really good ideas to help people learn a little more efficiently and whatnot.
00:57But everything's been great. Um,
01:00the red red got the dub today, and that was that was awesome. And, um,
01:06defensively, I, you know, I told naked blitz had one blitz and a couple
01:10coverages, and that was it. So, uh, just kept things vanilla and got guys to
01:15play hard and play with fundamentals and guys get exposed and find some
01:19things that we got to get better at, you know, from a fundamental standpoint.
01:22But overall, top to bottom from beginning to end of since January has
01:27been fantastic.
01:37Yeah. And again, today was another day. And again, I always look at again a
01:40body of work, and I'd go all the way back to January and been incredibly
01:45pleased with the progress that leadership,
01:50you know, the things that he does from a decision making standpoint and taking
01:56care of the football. Those are the things that that I look for. And he's
02:00been a great leader as well, both in our out of season program and then once we
02:05jumped into spring ball and again, I expect another, you know, jump during
02:10the course of summer. A lot of player led things happen in the summertime,
02:14and so they've got to do a great job for us to be where we want to be. When
02:18we come back in August, he's got to do a great job, and everybody is not just
02:22one person, but he leads the way from, you know, being player driven and
02:29getting things done, being efficient and working together.
02:34And again, continue to build again our chemistry, our cohesion, our
02:39relationships, all those things that are incredibly important. You know, we
02:41have 30% of our of our guys that were in the locker room right now. This was
02:46their first spring game, and by the time you know we get back together in August,
02:50they'll be just under 40%. I think it's 38% percent will be first time, you
02:56know, fall participants eso really looking forward to that and really
03:01excited about the additions that we've made both through high school and a few
03:05of the portal additions as well. You know, I really feel like that's been a
03:12group of guys that have helped us, have created a value for themselves, have
03:17earned some trust and and again, the summertime will be another opportunity
03:21for them to continue to enhance that.
03:26Okay.
03:27What are some of the biggest
03:30practice one
03:33has had under
03:36Well, I think, you know, again, knowing the different personnel groupings that
03:43that that we're working with, there's, you know, it's more than just 11 guys.
03:47It's you're you're hopeful that you have, you know, 22 guys that you, you
03:53know, that you can trust and count on. But finding the right group of guys,
03:58you know, discovering, you know, again, the strengths and where some areas that
04:02you've got to get better at. And, you know, some of that takes some time. But
04:07again, looking for guys from an accountability standpoint, the
04:10leadership standpoint, you're developing that nonstop timing run past all the
04:16scheme wise, you know, you know, you're really trying to establish standards
04:20and, you know, how we do what we do from effort and toughness and straining to
04:25finish. Those are all really important things to make sure that you have
04:28several new guys involved. This is this is how we do what we do and making sure
04:33that that is where it needs to be. And you're kind of nurturing that the whole
04:37spring. So,
04:39you know, I'm again, I really like there's a whole bunch of guys in that
04:43and those three groups of guys that went out there that I think collectively
04:48will help us, you know, have a chance to be another really explosive
04:53offense and
04:55and we got a lot of weapons, both in the backfield and tied in at receiver
05:01quarterbacks have the ability to to run in the past. And so I really like the
05:06body of work, you know, coming out of the spring and again, have a great
05:10expectation that will will be a better version of ourselves when we start in
05:14August.
05:15That's
05:16Brent. Dion Burks is impacting the offense was really on display,
05:20especially that first half. Just how did you see him fit in the spring and how
05:24big was his first half today? Yeah, probably again, the best thing that he
05:27does is his work ethic. He's tremendous work ethic and he he's wide open when it
05:33comes to to practice and just passion for the game and incredibly competitive.
05:40And so again, he helps the guys he's lining up against. He helps the guys
05:44that he's lining up next to as well. And so he's been fantastic. Great
05:48playmaker. You know, he's got tremendous speed and quickness, got great hands,
05:53natural feel for the game at receiver and how he fits in with our offense.
05:58And whether it's the drop back pass game or RPO world, he's he's really done a
06:04great job of learning what to do and transitioning that within our system.
06:09Mhm.
06:11Yeah, we saw the defensive line get after quite a bit of quite a few guys.
06:17P. J. How do you feel like that unit has really progressed so far? Yeah, we've
06:22had a lot of guys that have gotten better. You mentioned two of them or
06:26three of them there and they all have made really great improvement to
06:31volunteers. I think we gave him the most improved award of guys up front
06:36inside in particular. But Grayson has made tremendous improvement. P. J. Uh,
06:42you know, our mason, those guys have really gotten better. Ethan is a better
06:46player right now than what he what what he was to finish the season, had a
06:49really good all conference type of season. And then we got some really
06:53good young guys that we feel really good about. And um, and some of them are
06:59guys are returning. Whether it's a marker strong, uh, have a guy or David
07:04stone and jayden Jackson. Uh, some other young guys that are into the
07:09system. Champ Sanders had a excellent spring along again. You mentioned
07:13Grayson and he's really coming into his own. Uh, it's around £290. I think
07:19stone and jayden both tipped in over £300 yesterday. So we got quite a few
07:25guys that again, I expect to make another big jump in the course of the
07:29summer, the weight room being in great shape, the strength, uh, our size, all
07:34those things. And, um, again, all spring, they had a great spring, not a
07:38good spring. We had a great spring up front.
07:43I'm trying to put that around. Those guys are going to get the opposite
07:46supply of that evolution. Yeah, I probably, um, you know, I was most
07:51excited about the improvement from, uh, Josh Bates, you know, and again,
07:57there's a whole bunch of guys. But Josh, Josh Bates had a again. I just
08:01remember where he was, you know, during the season last year and certainly last
08:05spring as well. We, we couldn't get a good snap off and had a great spring
08:09and tough guys. He's made tremendous improvement and leadership and effort.
08:15Uh, everything goes through him. He touches the ball every snap. So I
08:19really liked the things that he was able to do and improve at the spring. Um,
08:23for betchy was another tremendous addition and he was a leader early on.
08:29Uh, great competitor, a natural leader and had a really, really good spring.
08:34Heath Ozieda, another inside guy, really strong. We had a bunch of young
08:38guys that got, uh, you know, a bunch of quality reps. So whether it was a Sosa
08:43or Brooks, uh, you know, those guys did a great job this spring and
08:49and, you know, Garen Hatchet is a young man that obviously we're really
08:54counting on and has great experience has played at a really high level. He
08:58can play lots of positions and he'll be cleared to start working, doing
09:04drill work and those types of things all controlled. But starting in june
09:07here shortly and excited about the leadership that he'll bring. It's hard
09:11to lead when you're not able to able to go through just the simple things like
09:16like Indy and things like that. But in due time, he's gonna, uh, he'll be a
09:22fixture from a leadership standpoint and bring a lot to the table. But young
09:27guys, Logan Highland and, um, you know, really excited about the improvement
09:33that he made and again, expect him to have another big jump. But Jake Taylor
09:37and Jacob Sexton again, we're fantastic all spring. They're all playing their
09:44best football right now. Michael Tarquin, Spencer Brown again, same
09:51thing. Mike Tarquin made great, great improvement from the moment that he got
09:55here to where he's at right now. Spencer has done a really good job.
09:58They're mature guys. They've played a lot of football. Uh, and so that, you
10:03know, that brings a lot to that group that overall in Oklahoma uniform, we
10:07don't have a ton of experience. So those guys have really blended well.
10:12And again, chemistry wise, they've spent a lot of time together. I think
10:15the whole line group went to Maui together, did a service trip together
10:19to continue to build those relationships. They understand the
10:22importance of that. Again, that cohesion there and they spent a lot of
10:26time together. It's, um, they've done a great job from a leadership
10:31standpoint and being again, um, uh, just taking the initiative, uh, to, um,
10:39spend the type of time together watching tape and those types of things
10:42getting on the same page. And, uh, I don't know if I missed and leave
10:46anybody else out there up front.
10:50Okay.
10:51So,
10:53you know, Brent, you always want to play a lot of guys on defense. We saw a
10:57lot of guys today. Did this spring give you an indication you're going to be
11:00able to do that next year? No doubt. Um, we're again a year ago. I think one of
11:04the keys to, uh, the, you know, the depth of improvement that we made was
11:09the competitive depth that we had. Obviously, we got, we've got one guy
11:13that has started, uh, you know, a college football game returning
11:17interior wise. And so that's always a little bit concerning. Uh, you know, I
11:22think the next most reps are around like 98 snaps of our next most, uh, snaps
11:27from a defensive tackle standpoint everywhere else. We've got, uh, again,
11:32tremendous, um, experience and, um, playmaking really like where we're at.
11:37We've made great improvement in our back seven, particularly that corner
11:42and that safety developing the depth there. Um, not just having guys and go
11:47in and play, but play at a high level. I really like what we've done in the
11:50spring at corner. Uh, just feel, I feel great about where we're at doing the
11:56little things better than than what we were doing a year ago. And, uh, but
12:00there's no doubt that, you know, top to bottom, particularly at defensive end
12:05at linebacker safety in that corner, we've got more guys that can play at a
12:08really, really high level. And, uh, and again, we have great leadership and in
12:13all those groups as well.
12:17Brent, how do you feel about your quarterback room as a whole exit? Yeah,
12:23again, I feel better than, um, you know, really, you know, with Dylan by himself
12:30last year and Jackson, you know, being a true freshman where he was, you know,
12:36he felt great about Dylan and, and, um, there's a lot of unknown, uh, after
12:41Jackson and feel like we have more guys there than what we had a year ago. Um,
12:46Mike, Mike Hawkins was really good all spring and anybody that saw us play, it
12:54was easy to see. And, um, again, it's not always fair to get one, uh, one
13:01opportunity to watch him here today to make judgment on him. He's had a really
13:05good spring and again, he'll have another opportunity to make a big jump
13:08here over the course of summer, but we feel good about it. Um, again, great
13:13leadership. Um, guys got the arm talent and the ability to run and the
13:18instincts and the leadership, all those things that you want. And, uh, you know,
13:22with, uh, you know, Casey Thompson's also somebody that'll, he'll start being
13:27cleared to throw with the guys. And he's a guy that started a lot of college
13:30football games as well. And so that's, that's, that's the depth and at that
13:35position more so than what we had, you know, a year ago, not even close to
13:38where we were a year ago.
13:43Uh, a Koya, I didn't realize he was all the way up to 2 50 or 55 says he still
13:48runs the same. What, where do you see him? I know he's on the edge now. What
13:52are you projecting there? And when and Javante Barnes, I guess wasn't didn't
13:56play today and he, where was, where was he? Yeah. So, uh, Danny's had a really
14:01good, um, uh, spring. And since he got here in January, Danny's again, a
14:07tremendous talent, got great size and speed. He's just learning how to play
14:11the game, you know, from a process standpoint and doing all the little
14:16things right. Uh, you know, he flashed nonstop throughout the course of the
14:20spring and he's still got a lot to improve. Like a lot of the young guys,
14:24um, you know, a lot to learn still in the course of the summer, but really
14:29excited about, you know, what he's gonna, uh, become over the course of
14:35the next few years. But hopefully he'll he'll continue to make improvement
14:40where he we can count on him to be a rotation guy. But he's long, he's fast,
14:45he's explosive, he's really competitive and he's a really smart guy from, you
14:51know, learning the defense. He's put in a lot of time, uh, to learn. So it's,
14:56um, it'll pay off. And, uh, Javante again, again, he's had a good spring
15:01and, uh, you know, I think we wanted to focus on some guys that haven't played
15:06quite as much and give them an opportunity to, to, uh, you know, to
15:11come out of the spring, know where they're at and what they're going to be
15:14able to help us do in, uh, in this, you know, going into fall camp next year.
15:19Yeah. Yeah. Same question about Ali said what you saw out of him, what you
15:24like about him, how things are different. And also, are we going to
15:27get to talk to Seth and and or Zach at any time? Maybe
15:33still, we're still thinking that through now. Um, uh, yes, Seth and Joe
15:38john, the rest of the offensive staff, they were great, you know, again, feel
15:42really good about where we're at and, uh, really trying to again establish,
15:46um, you know, the fundamentals of what we're doing, the effort of what we're
15:50doing, the systems and how the systems operate. You know, we've got a lot of
15:54flexibility within those systems to, um, to be right on offense with a lot of
16:00the things that we do systematically. And so getting that group of guys, the
16:05players at all the positions that that applies to to get on the same page. And
16:10so really excited about, uh, again, the things that we've been able to tinker
16:14with and, uh, things that, you know, they've both joe john and Seth have
16:20brought to the table that are going to put our guys in position to be
16:23successful. Um, again, we have a few guys that, um, that weren't able to
16:27participate in the spring that once they get cleared here this summer, that
16:32we'll be able to continue to work with our guys and put together a great
16:35product and have another explosive offense. We had great explosive plays
16:40all throughout the spring. I'm really excited about the playmaking, both at
16:45running back at receiver at tight end. Uh, and then when we get again the
16:50depth of the guys that, you know, several guys that were banged up during
16:53the during the spring, when we get them all together, I really like the group
16:57of guys that, you know, Seth and joe john, the rest of office staff have to
17:00work with.
17:01One thought about the explosive.
17:05It's been there forever. Great. You see the possession. Get a first down
17:09incendiary. Very often. How does it change things when you get a deep
17:12threat coming out of slot? Yeah, I mean it, the ability to throw both
17:16underneath and deep at your coverages are affected. Um, you know who you're
17:23you're matching things up with, whether it's a quarter safety or spin down
17:27safety or it's a, you know, it's a, you know, uh, an additional corner or
17:33whoever that additional defender is, your star, your, your fifth db if you
17:39will. And so, you know, it makes the matchups a little more difficult when
17:45you got somebody that can challenge you vertically, um, as well as underneath.
17:49So, um, you know, he'll again, drake was a high producing receiver, you know,
17:56it didn't matter what you asked that guy to do. That was beat somebody, you
18:00know, uh, on an over route or get open on an underneath crosser or something
18:05like that. You know, drake would make all the competitive plays. And so we'll
18:09need to continue to have that in that type of production come out that out of
18:13that position in order for us to be successful, you know, systematically.
18:19All right, you'll have a good one.