• last year
Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables speaks to the media following OU's practice on Monday, Oct. 9.
Transcript
00:00 >> Update on some injury guys, McCade and Andrell.
00:03 >> Yeah, McCade, we're looking at best case scenario for him.
00:07 He'll be back sooner rather than later.
00:11 And Andrell is gonna have to have season ending surgery.
00:14 >> What about Jim Tree, we saw him.
00:15 >> Yeah, he's good.
00:17 Yeah, practice today.
00:18 >> In good shape.
00:18 >> Troy? >> Yeah.
00:19 >> Yeah, he's good.
00:21 >> But Brent, you ended up with backup guards in the game and things like that.
00:24 But yet you still won the battle, it looked like in the offensive line to me.
00:27 But so how do you feel like your offensive line did in this game?
00:30 >> Yeah, no good, we kept the quarterback clean.
00:32 The one sack that I think they put from a statistical standpoint was really
00:37 a quarterback run and for minus one.
00:39 They did a great job, not much disruption, had a good firm pocket.
00:44 And again, Dylan did a great job from a pocket awareness standpoint.
00:50 But those guys did a nice job.
00:51 And again, we feel like we got eight or nine guys that can play winning football.
00:56 And so that's a group of guys that got in there and got a chance to do it.
01:00 I thought they did a nice job.
01:02 >> Andrel's been so good for you guys.
01:04 How tough of a loss is that?
01:05 >> Yeah, it's tough.
01:06 Now you hate it for him.
01:07 We have other guys and hate it for Andrel, how hard he's worked.
01:12 We got to 6-0, he had a big part in helping us get there.
01:17 But again, all of his best football still in front of him.
01:21 He'll have a great career on the back end of this surgery.
01:25 He doesn't have much swelling.
01:27 And so that usually means it's a little quicker recovery form.
01:32 So hate that form, but this gives some other guys some opportunity.
01:36 >> Brent, the day, the practice today, talk about that a little bit.
01:42 >> It's good.
01:43 They'll probably tell you they felt like they might have lost.
01:46 We got a lot to clean up and a lot to get better from.
01:48 And it's great to do that after a win.
01:52 I loved, again, there's a lot more that was good than not.
01:56 But man, we got to focus on the things that we can get better at.
02:01 And they'll be the first ones to tell you there's a lot, and especially on defense.
02:06 And all things considered, we had several things.
02:12 We just had too many busts, too many missed tackles,
02:15 not enough urgency to execute with the precision and
02:22 the timeliness that we have to have.
02:23 We have some guys that haven't played as much, and we've got to do a great job as
02:28 a coaching staff getting these guys in a position where they can play winning
02:32 football consistently, and we've got to develop our depth.
02:36 We got really thin at corner fast.
02:38 We had three or four corners that were out in the game, and
02:42 we had to play key Lawrence there.
02:43 And I'm really proud of all the guys that stepped up, and proud of, again,
02:48 the fight and the toughness, the physicality.
02:52 Really liked how we played from a physical standpoint.
02:55 But we got to get better fundamentally.
02:57 We got to get better with the understanding of our defense.
02:59 It takes one out of the 11 to not do his job.
03:03 And people like Texas, and
03:05 people that aren't quite as good as Texas will expose you.
03:08 And I felt like we way too many times, particularly in the second half,
03:13 that that happened.
03:14 We gave up two touchdown busts on the fourth and two, and
03:19 on the long touchdown run, and we've got calls that we're not executing.
03:25 And so we got to, and these are basic calls, day one installation calls.
03:28 So we got to do a better job there coaching and
03:31 getting our guys to understand and to execute.
03:33 And so that's what we worked a lot on today.
03:35 >> You mentioned situation at corner.
03:37 Is that something, the health, something that can get you-
03:39 >> Yeah, it was, and so
03:40 we're a little bit healthier now.
03:44 We're much better today.
03:45 We got three guys back today.
03:47 >> And Brent, I know a lot of people talked about clock management,
03:50 game management last year.
03:51 Two time after kicker, we're a half and a half, and you get three points.
03:54 How much did you spend in the offseason going on those scenarios?
03:58 And who on your staff do you credit for working on that?
04:01 >> We all, we spent a lot of time.
04:02 We got, there's a lot of material that's out there to
04:08 help teach you all those moments within the game.
04:11 We spent a lot of time teaching our players all the same moments.
04:14 Here's a lot of different scenarios in football,
04:17 both collegiately and in the professional football, even through now.
04:22 So we did that all through the spring and the summer, and then even this fall.
04:27 Try to learn from other people and learn situations.
04:30 And again, that was something that you lose five games by one score,
04:34 everything matters.
04:34 And so peeling that back, that was something that helped us this weekend.
04:40 And managing that the right way, players play a big part in that.
04:44 They've gotta make stops so that you can do that and utilize.
04:46 And then offensively with the time, all the situations that we practiced
04:51 all spring and summer and fall camp, it paid off there just before half.
04:56 And got us in a good position from a middle eight standpoint and
04:59 really could have widened that margin.
05:03 >> Brent, last season when you got to the bye week,
05:05 you were really having to reevaluate some stuff.
05:08 How is it different this year going into-
05:09 >> Yeah, we're a little healthier than what we were.
05:13 Obviously, we've gone through several players that have had season ending
05:17 surgery over the last several weeks.
05:20 But we're in a good position from a health standpoint outside the,
05:24 Makeda, he's got an ankle sprain and Andrell.
05:30 So we're better there, a lot more experience.
05:33 And again, the depth is different, our confidence and
05:39 understanding of what we do, everything's different.
05:42 And so we're in a much better place.
05:44 Obviously, I think we're bowl eligible.
05:48 Somebody wanted me to bring that up to the team.
05:49 I actually didn't bring it up to the team cuz I'm proud of it,
05:53 they have taken care of business.
05:54 But this is Oklahoma and we're not entitled to win and
05:59 they're not entitled to be 6-0 every year.
06:02 But that's the least of our concerns right now.
06:05 But that's our second goal is to win that game.
06:10 And so we've gotten two of our several goals.
06:13 And then again, I wanna get a hungry, committed football team.
06:17 I love the humility that we had today.
06:19 We've got great self-awareness.
06:22 Mismanaged success is a very normal thing when you're in these positions.
06:29 And so keeping two hands on the wheel, white knuckle,
06:33 grip with both hands is something that we're really focused on and
06:36 counting on the leaders in this team to stay hungry, driven, humble.
06:42 Wanting to show up every day and work their butts off and
06:45 try to get better cuz we got a lot that we can get better at.
06:49 And that's what it's gonna take to have the kind of finish that we want to
06:51 this season.
06:53 I think the back half of our schedule from top to bottom is much more challenging
06:56 than what the front part of our schedule was.
06:59 And we should have an expectation of improving and getting better.
07:03 And you do that by just having a great Monday.
07:05 And I thought our guys had the right mindset, the right humility, and
07:09 the right focus to them to be able to do that.
07:14 >> During two days later, you got any new perspective on the goal line stand?
07:18 >> I mean, in the moment, I mean, I got on the bus afterwards and
07:20 I'm like, y'all understand what, we wanna build a program on that.
07:26 And what is that?
07:27 That's mindset, attitude, physicality, toughness,
07:32 we're gonna spot the ball at the one and put everything on who we are
07:38 from a DNA standpoint, a standard standpoint on that series right there.
07:43 And that should transcend in every part of our program, belief, toughness,
07:48 physicality, attitude, all of that.
07:51 And you don't give them an inch, you don't concede anything.
07:54 And so to me,
07:59 the win was really important from a credibility with our guys and
08:05 moving forward and building the program the right way.
08:07 But that was a moment that you wanna capture and
08:12 you don't want that one to slip by.
08:15 And to me, that's the standard and we talked about that both right after the game.
08:19 I got back on the bus with the defense and we had a moment,
08:23 that was freaking, that's what it's about to me.
08:25 And then we talked about it first thing to start today,
08:29 we wanna build a program on that.
08:30 And it's not just defense, it's everybody.
08:34 >> You guys, go ahead, Eli.
08:35 >> By week, does your approach to a week like this change from when you were
08:39 a younger coach in terms of what you want your guys to get out of it, mental,
08:42 physical, taking a break?
08:44 >> I think years and years ago, you practiced like it was a game week.
08:50 And because football's year round now, back when I was in college,
08:55 when I was coaching just out of college, I look back,
08:59 I had some notes from my notebook from Coach Snyder.
09:03 A couple weeks back, I was looking through it, it was 1998.
09:06 And I looked at the summer program and we were proud.
09:11 We had 38 players that they had 30 workouts for the summer.
09:17 And summer's like 10 weeks, 30 workouts, you just do the math.
09:22 And we were proud, half the team did about three quarters of those days.
09:26 So back in the day, people went home, they had jobs, and
09:29 the accountability wasn't there, you couldn't make them be there.
09:33 Most guys didn't do summer school, and so everything's changed.
09:39 So because of the calendar year, you start sooner, you finish later, and
09:44 you do keep them on campus year round.
09:46 You wanna be smart about letting them recharge and refocus,
09:51 renew their mind, their spirit, their bodies.
09:53 At the same time, get work done fundamentally, scheme,
09:57 look ahead a little bit.
09:58 And we're gonna do a service project tomorrow with the guys.
10:02 And we're gonna make a bunch of bunk beds for foster children here in the state.
10:06 There's a law that every foster child, in order to stay in a home,
10:09 has to have their own bed.
10:10 So we're gonna make over 200 beds tomorrow as a team and
10:16 have some fun and give back.
10:17 And then we're gonna practice Wednesday and then practice briefly on Thursday and
10:22 then give them the weekend off.
10:23 So much deserved for these guys.
10:25 >> You've had so many transfer guys come in and step in right away.
10:30 What steps went into from evaluating those guys in the portal to getting them to buy
10:34 in so quickly and also learn what you're trying to teach them?
10:37 >> Yeah, I think identifying obviously our needs where we needed the most help.
10:42 And then guys that fit both our scheme and our culture.
10:46 That's not an easy thing to do, cuz again, the transfer portal,
10:50 everything happens really fast.
10:51 So you don't have as much time to build relationships and find out as much.
10:55 But we try to use all the resources that we have, and we have a lot,
10:59 to find out who these young guys were.
11:01 Whether or not, what their roles were,
11:03 what their positioning on the team was from a leadership standpoint.
11:06 So we try to find leaders, guys that were accountable, guys that were starters.
11:09 And maybe something about Oklahoma attracted them.
11:13 Maybe there was a coaching change.
11:16 Maybe what they were doing scheme wise, they weren't being utilized as much.
11:21 Something that would make sense as opposed to,
11:23 [BLANK_AUDIO]
11:28 We wanted to make sure they came here for the right reasons.
11:30 That they understood that if they come here, this is Oklahoma.
11:35 And there's gonna be competition.
11:36 They're gonna have to earn what they get.
11:38 And so all those things, those are the intangibles that we really evaluated.
11:44 >> After the game, Dylan is one of the, if not the calmest quarterback you've
11:49 been around in your coaching career.
11:53 When did you start noticing that when he got here?
11:56 >> Yeah, right away.
11:58 Really, I'm unassuming, but again, he shows up every day.
12:02 He's the gym rat.
12:03 He's here early, stays late, and loves ball, loves his teammates.
12:10 Easy going guy, but he's always working on his craft.
12:12 >> What was going through your head watching that final touchdown?
12:16 >> Well, I was thinking about how much time was on that clock and
12:22 so which defense we're gonna have to run out there.
12:24 I had all the confidence in the world we were gonna score.
12:27 Didn't know if we would score a touchdown or not.
12:30 And obviously, I told him, hey, let's go for the touchdown.
12:34 Let's don't hold back.
12:37 There's risk involved with that in regards to turning the ball over and
12:40 not getting an opportunity to play and doing overtime.
12:43 But really felt confident in that group.
12:47 We'd actually had a, the first drive of the second half was outstanding.
12:51 And then we had four drives that we were just off.
12:55 And so they got back into a great rhythm right away.
12:59 And really I was thinking about what defense that we're gonna have
13:03 based on how much time they had on the clock.
13:06 So just trying to coach up a lot of guys that we went through things in fall camp.
13:10 Went through a few things in the last couple of weeks to get ready for
13:15 that moment.
13:16 And so you're really just trying to make sure that those guys could execute.
13:21 That's really where my focus was, trying to stay in tune to what was going on from
13:25 the clock management and those things, but that's what it was.
13:29 >> How often do you guys work Hail Mary defense?
13:32 >> Not a ton.
13:33 >> [LAUGH] >> So
13:36 you're probably give or take once every three or four weeks.
13:40 Did it feel like that ball was in there a long time?
13:41 >> I did, and I wondered why the quarterback was able to step to his left
13:45 because our DN was supposed to long stick all the way over there.
13:47 So we let him go where he shouldn't have been able to go.
13:50 We brought five guys there and
13:52 I didn't feel like he built a climb in the pocket, but he was.
13:56 PJ did a nice job of countering that quarterback depth and
14:00 rushing it a little bit.
14:01 And then, but we got a lot to coach off of just in that situation again off the tape
14:05 and being a little cleaner and some of the things we're doing in the end zone.
14:10 >> What do you think- >> Seems like more pressure on that,
14:11 it's kind of become the norm now on that.
14:14 When did that kind of change?
14:16 >> Watching people lose games.
14:18 It just takes one time to say, my God, did they do that?
14:22 What's gonna be our plan?
14:24 And if you look and you're right, it's, you don't see-
14:27 >> You don't need eight guys to knock one ball down.
14:29 >> Right, that's right.
14:30 And again, you don't want them to have all day to throw the ball firmly either.
14:36 So we did make a move a little bit to the left, but typical zone blitz.