Brent Venables excited about 'push and shove' between offense, defense in fall camp

NORMAN — Oklahoma’s disastrous offense last season could be traced back to fall camp. The defense routinely won essentially every battle in practice, and there wasn’t much back and forth between both sides of the ball.

It’s been a different story this fall.

The Sooners have had two scrimmages so far through fall camp, and the offense and the defense have traded their fair share of blows. The offense, in particular, had the edge in the second scrimmage on Wednesday. That’s huge, considering the offense ranked as one of the worst in the country last season.

The competitiveness this year has been a lot similar to how things were in 2023, Brent Venables said on Friday.

“(In 2023), our offense again was top-five in the country, in ’22 really, really good — and I think in every category in ’23: scoring, total offense, passing offense,” Venables said. “So, they were really good. So, (it’s) probably a little more like that, push and shove, and punch and punch back. It’s good. Really good competition.”

The biggest reason for that increase in competitiveness? For Venables, it’s John Mateer.

The former Washington State quarterback has clearly injected much-needed energy and intensity into practices, in addition to the clear upside he brings as a playmaker. He finished with nearly 4,000 total yards and 36 touchdowns in 12 games last season — proven production the Sooners haven’t had since Dillon Gabriel departed after the 2023 season.

“I’d be negligent if I didn’t say it starts and ends with the quarterback,” Venables said. “Any good offense has gotta have good quarterback play. We’ve had that. It starts with the leadership, the work, the investment, the consistency, handling the good and the bad. John is a great leader. He’s natural at all the things we’ve been talking about. So everything starts with him.”

“Had a scrimmage, our second scrimmage, and really pleased with a lot of things we saw. A lot of competition is ongoing coming out of that scrimmage, which is a great thing for the Sooners, in my opinion. A lot of young guys where the game is—they’ve had some amazing moments, some tough moments, but a lot of the young guys, I think, are going to have a chance to be in the two-deep or maybe even start. I think at times the game is starting to slow down now for them, and having some success and building confidence.”

Venables has also liked the competitiveness along the offensive line and the wide receiver room. Up front, the Sooners still have several spots up for grabs, and players like Heath Ozaeta and Logan Howland have stepped up in recent days. At receiver, the Sooners have had young players like Elijah Thomas and Ivan Carreon provide highlight moments in the scrimmages.

“Starting inside out, I really like where we’re at guard to guard,” Venables said. “We’ve got a great group there. We’ve shown really good things at tackle, as well. That’ll be the spot that — we’ve gotta continue to grow and improve everywhere. I like the camaraderie, the cohesion, the chemistry, the mindset, the toughness of the guys up front. (Bill Bedenbaugh’s) done a great job. The players have done a wonderful job taking ownership of their work every single day. That’s a group that has really strained and put a lot of work in. 

“Elijah made some great, competitive plays. Carreon, he made a crazy, turning the whole body, one-handed catch on a back shoulder. Deion (Burks) made a couple really good plays, as well. That group of guys is really coming along well.”

But there’s still a lot to figure out, on both sides of the ball. Venables made it clear that the next few days will be figuring out the depth chart and zeroing in on which guys the Sooners can rely on. But from an offensive perspective, there’s a lot to be excited about compared to a year ago.

“(I) really just want to see the guys for the next several days before we get into our game prep at the end of next week, want to really see the consistency and who can we truly trust?” Venables said. “Not who’s a good guy, but who can go play winning football… We’ll give grace where it’s deserves, but really excited about the team—the lines of scrimmage, playmakers on both sides of the ball in our skill people, quarterback play. Had a really good day at quarterbacking and catching the ball in our scrimmage, so exciting to see guys make competitive plays.”

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