Through recruiting, transfer portal, Venables' plan falling into place

Entering his second season since setting out to change the culture surrounding his program, Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables knows he doesn’t have a finished product yet.
During Oklahoma’s local media day on Tuesday, Venables used the phrase “under construction” to describe his team.
Just a quick glance at last cycle’s transfer portal and recruiting rankings would show that the Sooners are landing high-profile prospects. When the Sooners begin fall camp on Thursday, they’re expected to be far deeper than the team that took the field last fall.
Offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby, defensive coordinator Ted Roof and Venables mentioned the team’s improved depth 18 times on Tuesday. The preferred term from Sooners’ coaching staff has been “competitive depth.”
But two seasons removed from their last Big 12 championship, and coming off a 6-7 campaign last year, Venables knows it’s a long road back to being among nation’s elite teams.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do. A lot,” he said. “But our guys are putting put the work in and we’ll be there if they keep their head down and us as a staff continue to be honest with ourselves and find ways to constantly get better.”
Oklahoma’s 2023 recruiting class ranked fourth in the country by 247Sports composite rankings, its first top-five finish since 2010. The class included two five-star recruits and seven four-star recruits.
The Sooners also landed 17 players in the transfer portal, filling key spots with players that are expected to step in and compete for starting jobs right away.
But for Venables, the Sooners’ offseason haul can’t be measured with stars alone.
“The test of time will really tell,” Venables said about the newcomers. “But we brought in guys that have experience that again brought leadership qualities that you can develop. It takes time but they have some natural intrinsic leadership ability.”
The Sooners’ transfer portal additions offer a blueprint of what the program will look like moving forward under Venables’ lead.
Walter Rouse was studying biomechanical engineering at Stanford before transferring to Oklahoma. Not only was the Maryland native a four-year starter for the Cardinal, he made the Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll twice.
Linebacker Konnor Near chose to transfer to Oklahoma from Division II powerhouse Ferris State. Near was a two-time national champion at Ferris State, which posted a 42-2 record during his time with the school.
Defensive lineman Phil Paea spent four seasons at Michigan and appeared in three games before transferring to Utah State. After a promising 2021 season, Paea missed all but three games last season due to injury. Now in his seventh year of college, the Sooners’ coaching staff hope his experience and maturity will help reinforce the culture that Venables is hoping to create.
“It takes time but they have some natural intrinsic leadership ability,” Venables said. “And then again, the humility to blend in — the last thing I want is to deal with prima donnas or guys that want something for nothing, or I’ve got to promise them something to get them here. I’m not compromising who we are, and for our players, what I want them to know is competition is going to make everybody better. My job is to bring in somebody every year to beat you out. That’s the vision of a championship program.”
Venables has a vision for what the program needs to look like in order to get back to competing for national championships. He’s been adamant that in order to do that, the program needs to be populated by the right people.
Most of Venables’ coaching staff now has a full season together under their belts, and the Sooners’ roster consists of many players that were recruited by that staff. According to Venables, about 76% of the team’s scholarship players are in their first or second year.
Venables’ plan for the program is starting to fall into place.
Whether that leads back to national prominence or another disappointing 6-7 season, well, as Venables put it — the test of time will tell.