Sep 7, 2024; Norman, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma Sooners head coach Brent Venables reacts during the second half against the Houston Cougars at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images / Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images
Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables has a long history with the school he now leads as head coach.
He began coaching there in 1999 as a co-defensive coordiantor and linebackers coach and held those roles until 2003. For the 2004 season, Venables became the defensive coordinator and was also promoted to associate head coach. He remained with the university until he left for Clemson in 2011.
Now, for the last three years, he has been the head coach of Oklahoma. He has his Sooners ranked No. 15 heading into a week 4 showdown with No. 6 Tennessee. The stakes for this game are incredibly high, and a win would be huge for both teams. But there are more storylines besides the teams' rankings.
Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel used to play quarterback for Oklahoma and had a very successful career. He won a national championship and was a runner-up for the Heisman Trophy as well. After his playing career, he joined Venables on Oklahoma's coaching staff under head coach Bob Stoops. Heupel and Venables would end up working together for several years on opposite sides of the ball.
On Tuesday, Venables reminisced about when he and former Oklahoma offensive coordinator Mike Leach recruited Heupel out of high school. He started by talking about Heupel's first visit to Norman.
"We didn't know anything about Josh," Venables said. "There's a quarterback . . . and he was outside -- we had an old turf field down there -- he was playing catch. Again, I'm saying this with incredible appreciation and respect for Josh, couldn't have been more wrong. Don't judge a book by its cover. He was skinny and just frail and it was in the middle of winter . . . he was a southpaw, probably hadn't played in a couple months -- and the ball was wobbly. You know, Josh could occasionally do that. We're like, 'that ain't it'. And Leach didn't want to bring Akili Smith in on a visit. No, not interested. So, a lesson learned."
Leach was convinced that Heupel was a better fit for Oklahoma's offense than Smith, who was a higher rated prospect. Venables ultimately ended up listening to Leach about Heupel, which went on to be the right decision.
Venables went on to talk about how much he respects Heupel and what he meant to Oklahoma's program while he was a part of it.
"But Josh, amazing work ethic and humility, same guy every day," Venables said. "Didn't try to be anybody that he wasn't. Incredible humility, respect for his teammates . . . He brought people together, and he was able to relate to people regardless of where they came from. That's a cool thing about a locker room, but sometimes it's not easy to get it to mesh, everybody from all the different backgrounds and whatnot. But it was for him, and he led the way, offense to defense."
It will be an emotional and monumental game when Tennessee faces off with Oklahoma on Saturday night. Aside from the great game that could happen on the field, it will be a chance for people at Oklahoma to show appreciation for their former quarterback and coach.
"Josh led the way," Venables said. "He's always been a leader. He's always had this innate ability to have great poise, great focus, but also have some fun. You know that competitive balance that allows you to be loose and confident and precise."
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