All Sooners

Brent Venables' Confidence in Oklahoma to 'Hang a Banner Up' Isn't Far Fetched

After a season of close losses, the Sooners brought in impact players all over the field.
Ross Lovelace|
Brent Venables' Confidence in Oklahoma to 'Hang a Banner Up' Isn't Far Fetched
Brent Venables' Confidence in Oklahoma to 'Hang a Banner Up' Isn't Far Fetched

In this story:

Oklahoma Sooners

After an underwhelming season all around, Oklahoma seems to be in a prime spot to bounce back in 2023. 

The Sooners limped towards the finish line last year, recording a 6-7 season in Brent Venables’ inaugural year in Norman — and the defense was the team’s achilles heel.

Although some fans expected it, the defensive turnaround was never going to be a quick and easy fix. It’s been years since Oklahoma boasted a fearful defense, and even longer since the Sooners relied on stops to win games. Even still, the unit probably wasn’t supposed to struggle as much as it did. OU ranked 121st in the nation in total defense (461 yards per game) and 98th in scoring defense (30.0 points per game), good for PFF’s 79th best defense in the country.

Through the struggles, however, the Sooners had a chance to win all but two games on the schedule — blowouts against TCU and Texas in back-to-back weeks.

“If we just get better on defense, we’re going to win 10-plus games and have a chance to compete and hang a banner up at the end of the year,” Venables said during Wednesday’s schedule reveal show. “But talk’s cheap.”

The quote garnered national attention and social media poked fun at the obvious claim, but in reality, Venables wasn’t far off at all.

The other five losses on Oklahoma’s schedule were one-possession games, and four of those fives were decided by a field goal. The Sooners were just a few defensive mishaps away from a much more acceptable season on paper.

After a strong semester of improvement in the spring and bringing in necessary depth through the transfer portal, the 2023 outlook seems to be trending in a positive direction.

“We've had a great spring,” Venables said after Oklahoma’s Spring Game. “I told the team again, you know it when you see it and you know it when you don't. The improvement. Some positions and players, it's more incremental.

“And then I saw a lot of guys who made tremendous improvement. A lot of that is from the guys who just got here. And then other guys who are maybe coming out of their freshman year and going into their sophomore year or a redshirt freshman year, you saw a lot of guys get better. That's just that phase.”

In addition to the successful transfer portal haul, the Sooners reeled in the fourth-ranked recruiting class in the country, headed by three 5-star prospects — two on the defensive side of the ball.

This fall, Oklahoma’s schedule is certainly lighter — on paper — with a handful of winnable games throughout the slate. With the Big 12’s newest additions, the Sooners avoid Kansas State, Baylor and Texas Tech — three games the team lost in 2022.

West Virginia, Oklahoma State, TCU, BYU, and UCF will all be starting fresh faces at quarterback, giving the Sooners’ defense a leg up on competition. The Cowboys and the Horned Frogs will be replacing Spencer Sanders and Max Duggan, who were statistically the best and most experienced signal callers in the Big 12 a season ago.

Oklahoma beefed up the defensive line by adding impact transfers in Rondell Bothroyd and Trace Ford off the edge with significant depth additions in the trenches. Davon Sears, Jacob Lacey, Da'Jon Terry, and Phillip Paea are all experienced newcomers that can compete for playing time immediately. Dasan McCullough drew rave reviews throughout the spring after earning ESPN Freshman All-American honors at Indiana, and has a chance to help the Sooners out at Venables’ signature cheetah position. Reggie Pearson was a key contributor at Texas Tech a season ago and brings 37 games of experience to Norman, adding serious depth in a loaded safety room.

If the spring game was any indication, Peyton Bowen could be an immediate game changer in the secondary, too. The 5-star safety snagged an acrobatic interception and looks to be competing for a starting spot in Brandon Hall’s room, adding to the excitement and energy around Venables’ year-two group.

The defense certainly couldn’t get much worse last fall, but in theory, Oklahoma’s head coach is right. Improvement on that side of the ball, combined with a light schedule on paper offers room for a big bounce back in 2023.

“I see it at all three levels, the potential for playmakers at all three levels,” Venables said. “Really across the board, inside and outside, up front and at linebacker.”

Hanging up banners is always the expectation at Oklahoma, and with a few critical stops a season ago, three or four games could’ve resulted in a different outcome. After bringing in high-end talent through the transfer portal and a star studded recruiting class, it’s hard to envision some of those games not tilting in Oklahoma’s favor.

Loading recommendations... Please wait while we load personalized content recommendations

Published
Ross Lovelace
ROSS LOVELACE

Ross has covered the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Oklahoma Sooners since 2018. He's made guest appearances on various radio stations and the Sooners On SI podcast. Ross enjoys public speaking and has done so at multiple churches and high schools across the OKC metro area. In addition to writing, Ross has been the Play-by-Play announcer for Crossings’ basketball and football programs since 2020. In high school, Ross started with Thunder Digest, where he discovered his passion for writing. From there, he worked for the OU Daily as a women's basketball reporter and worked for Sooners On SI and Thunder On SI. Ross holds a bachelor's degree in Public Relations and a minor in Communication from the University of Oklahoma. Born and raised in Oklahoma City, Ross played basketball and wrote for his own Thunder blog at Crossings High School in OKC. He enjoys reading, New York Jets football and a week at the beach. Ross and his wife live in New Orleans, where he is a Marketing and Volunteer Coordinator at the Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation and the New Orleans Super Bowl Host Committee. His Twitter handle is @Rosslovelace.

Share on XFollow Rosslovelace
Home/Football