Report: Brent Venables Turns to a Familiar Face to Lead Strength Staff
The Oklahoma Sooners are getting the band back together.
Newly minted head coach Brent Venables has already filled one of the holes on his staff, and it’s an important hire.
Venables has found his strength and conditioning coach, and it’s a familiar face: Jerry Schmidt.
Aggies Today reported on Tuesday night that Schmidt would join Venables’ staff as the Director of Sports Performance.
Schmidt has served in the same position at Texas A&M since 2018, when he made the trek from Norman to College Station.
Before joining the Aggies, Schmidt followed Bob Stoops from Florida to serve as the strength and conditioning coach at Oklahoma from 1999-2017, working many of those years alongside Venables.
The strength coach is a key member of any coaching staff, as the training staff probably spends more time with the players than anyone.
Schmidt’s workouts are legendary for their difficulty, and he’s renowned across the country for molding some of the toughest teams in college football.
Many had hoped Venables would return a certain level of physicality to the Oklahoma program, and Schmidt is sure to deliver the toughness back to Norman.
Before his successful stints at SEC schools Florida and Texas A&M, Schmidt had also served on the strength staff at Notre Dame and Oklahoma State.
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