Venables Vibes: Oklahoma Still Looking For a Running Back to 'Establish Themselves'
NORMAN — One third of the college football season is in the books.
Oklahoma passed its first Big 12 test, beating newcomers Cincinnati 20-6 on Saturday at Nippert Stadium.
Now, the No. 14-ranked Sooners (4-0) will return to Norman to clear one final hurdle before OU-Texas.
Matt Campbell’s Iowa State Cyclones (2-2), fresh off a 34-27 win over Oklahoma State, will try and play spoiler for what could be the biggest Red River Shootout in years.
Brent Venables isn’t focused on anything but the Cyclones, however, as the series between OU and Iowa State has been close in the Campbell era.
Injury Report
Oklahoma left guard Savion Byrd is expected to return to the lineup this week against Iowa State.
Ryan Chapman / SI Sooners
A few notable Sooners missed the trip to Cincinnati.
R Mason Thomas and Reggie Pearson were both present at practice Monday evening, and Oklahoma will be full strength along the offensive line.
“He's back,” Venables said of left guard Savion Byrd during his weekly press conference on Tuesday.
Byrd exited the first half of OU’s non-conference finale against Tulsa, leaving Appalachian State transfer Troy Everett and true freshman Cayden Green to split snaps at Nippert Stadium.
Linebacker Jaren Kanak did play against the Bearcats, but he exited the contest due to an injury.
Venables confirmed Kanak was back at practice during his Coaches Show on Monday night.
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Establishing the Running Back Rotation
OU running backs coach DeMarco Murray will continue to evaluate the play of his position group through each week's practice.
John E. Hoover / AllSooners
DeMarco Murray’s running back rotation continues to confound.
Virtually everyone except Gavin Sawchuk got a chance against Arkansas State, with Sawchuk getting held out of the game to help mend a hamstring injury.
The Sooners then rode Tawee Walker against SMU, Jovantae Barnes against Tulsa and Marcus Major in Cincinnati.
Both Venables and offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby maintain that it would be great to get a running back into a rhythm, but that’s yet to translate into the rotations on Saturday’s.
“We’d love for somebody to establish themselves,” Venables said. “That hasn’t happened yet.”
Eric Gray was the unquestionable leader of the ground attack in 2022, leading to Murray and Lebby funneling the offense through his hands.
For now, the determination on who gets the call against Iowa State will be decided by how each runner performs on the practice field.
“I think it’s hard to play four running backs in the course of a game,” Venables said. “… DeMarco does a great job evaluating those guys through the course of the week and who’s practicing the best. And so that’s how we make a lot of those decisions.”
Last Saturday, Oklahoma ran for 105 yards against the Bearcats’ talented front.
As a unit, Iowa State has done a nice job corralling opposing running backs so far. The Cyclones enter the week ranked No. 47-overall in rushing defense, allowing 115.2 yards per game.
To get into a groove on Saturday, Venables said both the offensive line and running backs will have to be more efficient across the board.
“We need to be a little more detailed,” he said. “A guy here and there. It doesn’t take but just one guy not doing his job or being not as detailed as we need to be and everything can go to heck quickly.
“And Cincinnati was a really good front. And they did some good things schematically… That’s a really good, physical group of guys. But we’ve got to be a little more precise and detailed.”
Returning Cheetahs
Oklahoma linebacker Dasan McCullough finished tied for second on the team in tackles against Cincinnati.
BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN-USA TODAY NETWORK
If the first quarter against Arkansas State served as a soft opening, Saturday’s grand reveal of Dasan McCullough at cheetah was a huge success.
The Indiana transfer finished tied for second on the team with seven tackles, including 0.5 tackles for loss, while dividing time between playing the run and dropping into pass coverage.
As promising a performance as it was for McCullough, it wasn’t perfect.
Venables and defensive coordinator Ted Roof hope he’ll continue to grow into the season, especially as he just returned to action off an injury that kept him sidelined throughout the non-conference slate.
“He's a guy, coming out of spring, who had a really good spring and good finish,” Venables said. “He had an excellent summer. The first part of camp was great.
‘He hadn't played in a little while. He'll be the first one to tell you he's kind of getting back into the rhythm of what that looks like and what that process is. But he did a nice job, and I expect him to make improvements each and every week that he plays.”
In years past, the Sooners have struggled to contain Iowa State’s tight ends.
Now they’ll have McCullough to line up across from 6-foot-7 freshman Benjamin Brahmer, who has caught 11 passes for 125 yards and a score already in 2023.
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