Brent Venables Right at Home During Saturday's Spring Game
NORMAN — In Brent Venables' return to the Owen Field sidelines, the new man in charge looked right at home.
"It was a great day, it really was," said Venables. "And I'm just thankful, first and foremost. That crowd today was on fire."
Venables manned the arena emcee job to perfection Saturday, bringing a nearly-packed stadium to its feet on multiple occasions.
The former defensive coordinator was more than pleased with the turnout as OU set a spring game record with 75,360 fans in attendance. The fans showed out in numbers, and it paid off as the players and coaches took notice.
"Just shows the passion, the love, that sooner fans and supporters have for their university," said Venables. "It was like a big game."
After Venables’ first live game action as head coach of the Sooners, he can finally take a deep breath. In one of the most eventful days of the year, he was able to meet Baker Mayfield, walk the team through warm-ups, catch up with his former players and host a recruiting extravaganza. And he never lost a step.
His upbeat personality and contagious energy led the Sooners to a successful all-around weekend and the most attended spring game around the country.
While the attendance was impressive, the play on the field was enough to receive the praise from Venables, too. The players are still learning and the product was still raw, but the spring game was promising.
"Every opportunity that we have to go to practice, go to meetings, we have to have the right mindset," said Venables. "And our guys have bought into that through four and a half months. The most pleasing thing that that I've seen from our guys is just 100 percent buy-in.
"And that doesn't mean that we're where we need to be from a development standpoint, scheme standpoint, physicality standpoint, or precision standpoint... but the guys are starting to learn the value of what being player-driven looks like."
With Venables back in the saddle, he was able to reunite with many Sooner greats in attendance this weekend. In trying to restore historic tradition, he’s also trying to make Oklahoma place for players to come back to for life.
The story on offense was new quarterback Dillon Gabriel, but receiver play caught the eye of Venables. Jayden Gibson led the way among the young group with a 95-yard touchdown, while Marvin Mims caught a 33-yard strike for a score.
On the defensive side of the ball, Oklahoma was equally as busy. The cornerback room, while thin, looked like they took a leap forward Saturday. With more help on the way soon, this group could be a strong spot for the Sooners in September.
"This spring, we've seen these guys take advantage of the tools that we're giving them," said Venables. "Our guys have done a really good job of getting them to understand the variety of schemes that we've employed. And then the fundamentals and the technique that go along with those schemes. Really excited about the group. It's not a deep group right now, but we've got a couple of additions coming real soon in the next several weeks. I've seen real improvement by every single one of them."
While it wasn’t necessarily a milestone day, it was key in laying the groundwork for what the new coaching staff wants to build in Norman. For the Sooners, Venables' energy and passion combined with his clear-cut organizational skills are displaying why he's the perfect man for the job.
Saturday's spring game was a peek into the future for what's to come. Venables’ passion-filled first game day won't be the last time he looks at home manning the Oklahoma sidelines.
