Brent Venables Agrees with Pat Narduzzi about Deion Sanders
PITTSBURGH -- Pitt Panthers head coach Pat Narduzzi made headlines earlier in the offseason when he called out his counterpart at Colorado, Deion Sanders, for how he's built his first roster as head coach of the Buffaloes.
Narduzzi was not a fan of how Sanders forced players out to make room for his own incoming transfers, saying that it "looks bad on college coaches across the country". And at Big 12 media days in Dallas, Texas, Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables made it clear that Narduzzi wasn't the only Power 5 head coach who thought that.
“We’re another year in establishing our standards and our culture and our values. That matters. A year ago, I challenged the guys. I wasn’t like Deion that gave guys a bunch of pink slips,” Venables told OUNightlySports, a student-run television station associated with the journalism school. “I gave guys 12 months of grace to go to class, live right off the field and show up with a great urgency and respect for your opportunity at the University of Oklahoma.”
Venables, the former defensive coordinator at Clemson, was himself a first year head coach last season and the traditionally mighty Sooners struggled, going 6-7, but he's preached patience. He tried to draw a contrast to Sanders, who has led the early his rebuild at Colorado, a program that won one game last season, with more urgency.
“I gave guys 12 months of grace. I was unlike Deion,” Venables said. “I gave guys 12 months of grace to figure it out. Here’s three: Go to class, live right off the field and when you show up here you show up with respect and appreciation with your opportunity. And if you go 0-for-3 for 12 months, you need a fresh start, so we helped 21 guys, give or take, find a fresh start.”
Sanders arrived at Colorado with 51 players on scholarship and just 10 remain on the current roster.
Sanders responded to Narduzzi's comments during an interview with 247Sports in June, saying the Pitt head coach is still bitter over losing Biletnikoff-winning receiver Jordan Addison to USC last summer.
"What was his situation when he came to Pitt?" Sanders said. "He had a different situation than me. He is not mad at me, he is mad at the situation in football now that allowed his best player to leave a year ago. He’s not mad at me, he’s using me to shoot bullets at another coach who he has an issue with. I don’t know who he is; if he walked in here right now I wouldn’t know him.”
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