WATCH: Oklahoma Coach Brent Venables at SEC Media Days

The Sooners' head coach took his turn on camera on Day 3 of media days in Atlanta.

SEC Media Day: Oklahoma Coach Brent Venables

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Brent Venables knows this is a big year for Oklahoma — and for his coaching career.

To put it bluntly, the Sooners’ coach is on the hot seat in 2025.

But Venables wasn’t showing any signs of nerves on Wednesday — only his usual relentless positivity.

Venables gave a long opening statement during his time on the dais Wednesday at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta — day three of the Southeastern Conference’s four-day media day kickoff extravaganza — then took some questions.

After going 6-7 last year for the second time in three seasons as a head coach, Venables went in-depth to describe the reasons for his positivity: his players and his coaching staff.

Of the 48-man two-deep, Venables said, 24 are freshmen or redshirt freshmen. But the rest are seniors and juniors, including new quarterback John Mateer and new running back Jaydn Ott, a couple of nuggets Venables and his staff found in the portal.

OU has been picked to finish near the bottom of the SEC again, although most projections reflect a more middle-of-the-pack result in 2025. Some, however, predict the Sooners could land a playoff spot.

Although he didn’t say as much, it’s safe to count Venables in that last group — again, because of how he feels about his team.

“I’m smiling because they’re good players,” Venables said, “and they’re a lot of fun. They like to work.”