Feb. 16—Last season was a tough one for Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables and his team, but he’s still got a lot of excitement for what’s to come.

That’s a big reason why, after Venables spoke for nearly an hour at his Thursday press conference, he made all mid-year enrollees and new transfer portal additions available to the media for interview sessions. It was an unprecedented amount of access compared to past seasons, and it came several weeks before the Sooners start spring practices.

His excitement stems from the newcomers in the Sooners’ 2023 class, which ranks fifth nationally per 247Sports composite. But with the Sooners’ 6-7 record last season, and the amount of roster turnover, he also knows that they’ll likely play a big role next season.

The media sessions essentially served as an early introduction of what’s to come for the newcomers.

“We’re going to be more dependent on this group of players than (normal),” Venables said about the prespring availability. “... I’m trying to expedite their maturation process.”

Venables talked about several of the Sooners’ new players and a lot more during his Thursday press conference: Early move to the SEC Thursday marked the first time Venables spoke publicly since the university announced it will leave the Big 12 for the Southeastern conference in 2024, one year earlier than previously announced.

Venables’ message was clear: the Sooners are up for the challenge, but there’s a lot they have to do to get ready.

“I think it’s gonna be great for Oklahoma, but our focus and our football team’s focus is the Big 12,” Venables said. “We have to get better and that’s where our focus is. We have to get better to compete in this league before we can worry about the SEC.

“To me, I go back to where we are right now. Regardless of the conference affiliation, these are the improvements we need to make,” Venables added. “We need to make improvements in every single area in regards to this program. We have to continue to develop our roster through recruiting and development of our program (like) strength and conditioning, fundamentals, scheme development, football intelligence, continue to support all the areas of our program... There are all things that are important for Oklahoma to be a championship program, regardless of the transition from one conference to the other.”

Emmett Jones praised by Venables The new OU wide receivers coach received a stellar review from Venables.

Venables announced Jones’ hire last month and explained why he is a good fit with the program. A key reason is Jones’ track record of developing players.

“I’ve known Coach Jones for several years,” Venables said. “He’s incredibly wellrespected in the state of Texas as a leader of men. I recruited his schools and got the chance to know him several years ago and got to watch his growth and development as well as his path... He values a lot of the same things that I do in terms of coaching and developing people.”

Jones previously served at Texas Tech in a similar role prior to arriving at OU. He also has 14 years of experience coaching high school football in Texas.

Jones replaced L’Damian Washington, who served as the team’s interim receivers coach last season. Washington was recently named as passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach at Western Kentucky.

Jackson Arnold leading OU incoming freshmen Venables raved about the five-star quarterback’s leadership, which has only increased since Arnold arrived on campus.

Arnold is one of 14 midyear freshmen enrollees, and Venables has been impressed with his work ethic during winter workouts.

“He’s a doer, very ambitious,” Venables said. “He’s not waiting on anybody, not waiting to be great. In his mind, from a humility standpoint, he feels like he’s got a long way to go. He’s a confident guy, great teammate and he’s trying to learn and grow. That’s just a very refreshing thing to be around.

“He’s been a great, great leader. He makes everyone around him better, but he’s in the back of the line right now. Probably not for long. I say that not having to do with anybody else, it’s just how he competes and how he works.”

Venables likes ‘versatility’ of incoming defensive backs In the secondary, the OU coach likes what’s coming into the program. That includes five-star safety Peyton Bowen and other highly-touted recruits such as Makari Vickers, Daeh McCulloug and Jasiah Wagoner.

Venables is confident that the incoming defensive backs have the talent to succeed and play several positions in the secondary.

“I love the versatility,” Venables said. “Where they start may not be where they finish. Maybe I’m not necessarily talking about this year. Maybe it’s in two years. You look at guys who won the Butkus Award. (Former OU linebackers) Teddy (Lehman) and Rocky (Calmus) are both multi-year starters at different positions. They had incredible success. That’s the type of versatility this group (has).

“I think we’ll be an improved group. We lost a bunch of guys. We know that. We didn’t lose a lot of production in the secondary but we lost a bunch of bodies.”