The Oklahoma Sooners and head coach Brent Venables have agreed to a contract extension, the university announced on Thursday. OU Vice President and Director of Athletics Roger Denny announced that Venables has agreed to a new contract that spans six total years. The contract, which is pending approval from the OU Board of Regents, adds two seasons to Venables' current deal, and will run through the 2031 season.
Venables was hired as OU's 23rd full-time head coach in December of 2021. He replaced Lincoln Riley, who left to be the head coach at USC a week earlier. In his four seasons at the helm in Norman, Venables has compiled a 32-20 overall record.
In his first season in 2022, the Sooners went 6-7, but Oklahoma rebounded to a 10-3 mark in 2023, which was their final season in the Big 12 Conference. After Venables signed a contract extension ahead of the 2024 season, that year brought the program's first campaign in the Southeastern Conference, and with it, another 6-7 season.
In Year 4 in 2025, Venables posted his best season yet as a head coach. Oklahoma went 10-3 and made the College Football Playoff, losing in the first round. The Sooners won four big SEC games in the month of November that they absolutely had to have, making the CFP after going just 6-2 through the month of October.
Now, Venables is entering his fifth year as Oklahoma's head coach in 2026, and he's tied to the Sooners long-term. The new deal gives him more stability at OU, after the rocky 2024 season, when some questioned how long he'd be the head coach of the Sooners. His 2025 performance quieted many of his doubters, and now he has inked another extension. The board will meet in mid-September, with Venables' new deal on the agenda.

#venables #season #Sooners

NORMAN — Fresh off a College Football Playoff appearance, Oklahoma football has locked up its head coach.
The Sooners and coach Brent Venables have agreed to a new two-year contract extension, the program announced Thursday. The deal will keep Venables in Norman through the 2031 season.
"Coach Venables is elite at building culture — not just in the locker room, but throughout the entire program," athletic director Roger Denny said in a statement. "I believe strongly in Coach Venables, in the culture he has built and in the structure we have in place around our football program."
More: OU football RB Xavier Robinson finally healthy, ready to show improvements for Sooners
Venables, 55, is entering his fifth season as Oklahoma's head coach. He led the Sooners to their first CFP appearance since 2019 last season, when OU earned the No. 8 seed and hosted a first-round game.

#coach #norman #head

A College Football Playoff appearance has led to a significant pay raise for Oklahoma coach Brent Venables.
Per ESPN, Venables and Oklahoma have agreed to a two-year contract extension through the 2031 season. As part of the contract, Venables will have an average salary of $10.5 million over the remaining six years of his deal.
Oklahoma went 10-3 in 2025 and made the playoff for the first time since the 2019 season. The Sooners beat Tennessee, Alabama, Missouri and LSU in November to earn a layoff spot before losing 34-24 to the Tide in the first round of the postseason.
It was a four-win jump for Oklahoma from a 6-7 season in its first season in the SEC.
According to USA Today's coaching salary database, Venables made just over $7.5 million in 2025 and was the 23rd-highest paid coach in the country just behind Washington's Jedd Fisch and ahead of former Florida coach Billy Napier.

#season #coach #salary

Former Oklahoma Sooners tight end Jaren Kanak had an interesting career in Norman. Kanak was a four-star recruit who followed Brent Venables to Norman after being committed to the Clemson Tigers ahead of the 2022 season.
Kanak had never played linebacker before, but Venables thought his freakish athletic ability would make him ideal for the position. He showed flashes, especially as a sophomore, racking up 62 tackles, six tackles for loss and two sacks, starting multiple games for the Sooners. However, things just never fully clicked for him at linebacker, so he switched to tight end before his final season last year.
Despite being undersized, he had a strong year, catching 44 passes and finishing with 533 yards, which ranked third on the team. That led to his being selected in the seventh round of the 2026 NFL Draft by the Tennessee ***** ans.
Kanak was hoping to make the team and be a contributor in his first season in the NFL; however, he received some unfortunate news. ESPN reporter Turron Davenport, who covers the ***** ans, revealed that Kanak will miss the 2026 season with a torn pectoral muscle.
Kanak's Oklahoma career ultimately became a story of adaptation. He wasn't able to fully establish himself at linebacker, but rather than letting that derail his career, he embraced the move to tight end and quickly became one of the Sooners' more productive offensive weapons.

#Titans

There has been a lot made by the playmakers that the Oklahoma Sooners have added around quarterback John Mateer. Last season, the Sooners ranked No. 92 in total offense.
A major reason for the struggles was that the team lacked enough playmakers beyond wide receiver Isaiah Sategna. So, the Sooners attacked the transfer portal, adding Virginia Cavaliers wide receiver Trell Harris and Texas Longhorns wide receiver Parker Livingstone. Those two have received a ton of offseason buzz.
However, during fall camp, two sophomores are getting a lot of attention. That is Manny Choice and Elijah Thomas. Head coach Brent Venables spent time in his press conference on Friday, calling out the two young receivers.
"For the Oklahoma Sooners to be the team that we want to be, that we've talked about wanting to be, it includes Manny and Elijah Thomas being dudes," Venables said via SoonerScoop. "Not being freshmen, who, you know, are forgotten. They're now sophomores, like being dudes. Showing up and having some purpose to what they're doing. So far, camp's been good for those guys. They've taken another step from where we were in the spring."
Venables' comments are significant because Oklahoma needs more than just its veteran playmakers to emerge if the offense is going to take a meaningful step forward in 2026.

#Sooners #wide

Arkansas transfer defensive lineman Danny Saili has committed to Oklahoma, On3's Pete Nakos reported. Saili will be playing his final season of college football in Norman for Brent Venables and the Sooners after receiving an extra year of eligibility.
Saili's career began at Hutchinson (KS) CC, where he played from 2022-2023. He then transferred to BYU for the Spring 2024 semester, before subsequently transferring to Arkansas ahead of the 2024 season. Across two seasons at Arkansas, Saili played in 18 games and recorded 14 tackles and 2.5 TFL.
The Topeka, Kansas native heads to an Oklahoma program fresh off an appearance in the College Football Playoff. He joins a Sooners defense that was tabbed as the best in the country by Crain & Cone heading into the 2026 season. Last season, Oklahoma ranked first in the SEC in YPG allowed (272.5 YPG) and PPG allowed (15.5 PPG).
At SEC Media Days last month, head coach Brent Venables opened up about not taking his defense for granted this season. The Sooners are seeking their second consecutive College Football Playoff appearance in 2026, and their defense will be key in making that happen.
"Defensively I don't take anything for granted," Venables said. "I say that to remind certainly myself but everybody that every year there's a new storyline when it comes to players emerging, players coming out of nowhere.

#season

The Oklahoma Sooners' defensive front seven has become one of the best in college football after a disruptive and productive 2025. Despite the losses of Gracen Halton, Damonic Williams, Marvin Jones, Jr., and R Mason Thomas, there's an expectation that the unit will once again be one of the best in the sport.
CBS Sports ranked their top front-sevens in college football, and the Sooners came in at No. 1 in the nation.
Oklahoma's front seven is led by All-SEC second-team defensive end Taylor Wein and preseason All-SEC selection David Stone at defensive tackle. Fellow defensive tackle Jayden Jackson will play a huge role for the Sooners and be as impactful as anyone on OU's defense.
The Sooners need guys like Nigel Smith, Trent Wilson, Bishop Thomas, and James Carrington to raise the talent floor in the defensive tackle rotation. Smith, Wilson, and Carrington were four-star prospects coming out of high school and have the talent and ability to be disruptive in Oklahoma's defense. But they haven't played meaningful snaps at the collegiate level.
To round out the starting lineup, a competition between Adepoju Adebawore, Danny Okoye, Kenny Ozowalu, and others will determine the snap distribution opposite Wein. But in Brent Venables' defense, you can expect the defensive line to make plays in the backfield throughout the 2026 season. There may not be an answer, but the Sooners like the talent they have to work with in 2026.

#Sooners #smith

NORMAN — Brent "Double Nickels" Venables is the oldest head coach in the SEC, but he was once a 28-year-old co-defensive coordinator on Bob Stoops' first OU staff.
Even younger than Ben Arbuckle, then 29, when Venables hired the former Washington State offensive coordinator to run OU's offense. Arbuckle, who's since turned 30 and is a month shy of 31, is set to enter his second season as the Sooners' OC.
Year 1 was as rocky as the mountains that bear his name. Oklahoma ranked ninth in passing, 13th in rushing and 14th in yards per play in the 16-team SEC. Quarterback John Mateer, who followed Arbuckle from Wazzu to OU, was ineffective after injuring his hand. OU's offensive line was green. The running game stagnated. The passing attack was void of big plays.
But now Mateer is healthy, and his supporting cast is more experienced.
Arbuckle included.

#mateer #coordinator #passing #norman

NORMAN — The University of Oklahoma announced its football tailgating plans for the 2026 season on Wednesday.
The school is keeping the North Oval as the centerpiece of Sooners gameday and will continue to keep the area free and open for public tailgating, according to a release. Fans are encouraged to continue bringing their own tents, chairs and tailgating equipment following the success of last season's debut in the area.
OU also announced a new addition to its tailgating scene — turnkey packages at nearby Boyd Lawn. Fans looking for a hassle-free experience can now reserve professionally managed turnkey tailgating packages, which includes fully furnished tailgating setups, allowing groups to simply arrive and enjoy gameday without the work of setup or teardown.
"The response to opening the North Oval for public tailgating last season exceeded our expectations," OU president Joseph Harroz Jr said in a release. "Sooner Nation embraced the opportunity to gather on one of the most iconic places on campus, creating an incredible gameday atmosphere. As we continue to enhance the fan experience, we're excited to add a new turnkey tailgating option at Boyd Lawn while preserving the North Oval as a free tradition that every fan can enjoy."
More: OU football coach Brent Venables' seat has cooled, but not his intensity to succeed

#tailgating #north #gameday #boyd

The Oklahoma Sooners have a total of seven Heisman Trophy winners in the program's storied history. Running backs Billy Vessels (1952), Steve Owens (1969), and Billy Sims (1978) took home the coveted award in the 20th century, while quarterbacks Jason White (2003), Sam Bradford (2008), Baker Mayfield (2017), and Kyler Murray (2018) captured the trophy in the 21st century.
However, the last time OU had a player finish the season as a Heisman finalist came in 2019. That means Oklahoma has yet to have a Heisman finalist in the Brent Venables era.
One ESPN **** yst thinks that could all change this season. Jordan Rodgers highlighted his top five Heisman Trophy candidates coming into the season, and he placed OU starting quarterback John Mateer at No. 5 on his list. Mateer finished behind Ole Miss QB Trinidad Chambliss, Texas QB Arch Manning, Indiana QB Josh Hoover, and Ohio State QB Julian Sayin.
"He's gonna be 100% healthy," Rodgers said. "When he is, he's one of the more dynamic dual-threat quarterbacks in the country ... John Mateer's gonna put up massive numbers."
Of course, Mateer was the Heisman Trophy favorite through the first month of the season last year, but his broken hand derailed that train. His play dropped off after having surgery, and he couldn't place the ball the same way he had in September.

#rodgers #john

Oklahoma Sooners quarterback John Mateer has a chance to be the first Sooner quarterback since Josh Heupel in 2000 to win a national championship. This comes after Mateer elected to return to Norman rather than pursue an NFL career.
Mateer had a down year in his first year in Norman. He completed 62.2% of his passes for 2,885 yards, 14 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, while rushing for 431 yards and eight scores. This comes after leading college football in 2024 at Washington State with 44 total touchdowns.
But there is some optimism for Mateer as the Sooners revamped the playmakers around him. It's due to those new players that ESPN's Greg McElroy believes Mateer could be in for a bounce-back season.
"He had to do a lot of it on his own," McElroy said on 'Always College Football.' "The run game last year was not what you were looking for. I mean, Venables even described it as not good. So, they go out and hire a great running backs coach who helped develop Ashton Jeanty and Jeremiyah Love... They upgraded the receiver room with Parker Livinstone from Texas and Trell Harris from Virginia. Remember those two names. I think those two names will be really good."
Mateer's 2025 season showed the challenges of transitioning to the SEC, especially when an offense lacks consistent playmakers around its quarterback. This season should look much different. Oklahoma has improved its running back room, added more weapons at receiver and returns an offensive line that gained valuable experience last season.

#year #mcelroy

Ever since Brent Venables became the head coach of the Oklahoma Sooners in December of 2021, he's worked tirelessly to build the kind of defense in Norman that Sooner Nation can be proud of. It took time, but that vision has been realized over the last couple of seasons.
Venables' defensive chops are well-known in college football circle. Oklahoma general manager Jim Nagy claimed he was the best defensive play-caller in the nation back at SEC Media Days during an interview with Brooks Austin of "The Film Guy Network."
"I mean the two years he's coordinated the defense at Oklahoma (2023 and 2025), they've won 10 games," Nagy said. "As the defensive coordinator, I don't want to hear any argument who the best one is. We can have the argument who the second-best one is."
Nagy isn't the only one who thinks highly of Venables' defensive prowess. On3's Crain & Cone ranked the top defenses in college football for 2026, and they placed the Sooners right at the very top of the list.
Of course, Venables is only part of the recipe. He's got a great staff around him on the defensive side of the ball, and there are some truly terrifying players that the Sooners will trot out this fall.

#defensive #best #nation

The Oklahoma Sooners went 6-7 in 2022, the first year of the Brent Venables era. Then, OU went 10-3 in 2023. However, a regression in 2024 led to another 6-7 mark on the head coach's record. Then, the Sooners bounced back with another 10-3 season in 2025, making it to the College Football Playoff for the first time under Venables' watch.
As Oklahoma enters its third season in the SEC and its fifth season with Venables at the helm, the focus isn't just on avoiding regression again and breaking the pattern. The focus inside the Switzer Center is all about going from good to great in 2026.
To exceed what the program accomplished last season, OU will first need to navigate a very difficult SEC schedule to put themselves back in the CFP. The Sooners have learned the hard way that this league is much better and deeper than the Big 12.
Athlon Sports' Steve Lassan placed each of the 16 teams in the SEC into tiers ahead of this season. Out of his five total tiers, Lassan placed the Sooners in Tier 2, a grouping labeled "Playoff Contenders".
This tier showcases the depth of the SEC. Six teams outside of Georgia and Texas should be playoff contenders, including four — Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Ole Miss and Alabama — that earned a spot in the 12-team field last season ... Will Oklahoma's offense take a big step forward with a healthy John Mateer returning at quarterback?" - Steve Lassan, Athlon Sports.

#playoff

Fall camp will get underway next week as the Oklahoma Sooners look to build on their College Football Playoff appearance from a year ago. But it's a new season with many of the same returning characters, but this year's group will create its own identity. It's a roster filled with talent, including 10 preseason All-SEC selections. There's an optimism heading into the year despite being voted seventh in the preseason SEC predicted order of finish.
The Sooners will have one of the best starting lineups in college football in 2026, led by a defense that was one of the best units in the sport last season. The offense, which had some shortcomings in 2025, will be much improved this season. It's a group that's hungry to get back to the playoff and do more damage this time around.
But like every team, the Oklahoma Sooners have some questions heading into fall camp. Here's a look at the questions we're asking about each position group heading into the preseason.
In Brent Venables' tenure at Oklahoma, the Sooners have had their Week 1 starter play every game in a season just one time: the 2023 season with Dillon Gabriel. You don't want to rely on your backup, but as we've seen, when you have to go to him, you need a guy that can help you win a game. In 2024 and 2025, Michael Hawkins Jr. helped Oklahoma beat Auburn and Kent State.
Heading into fall camp, sophomore Whitt Newbauer has the leg up on true freshman Bowe Bentley after their performances in the spring. There's no rush on Bentley to play meaningful snaps, especially when you have Newbauer, who has experience in offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle's system and has played meaningful snaps at the collegiate level.

#oklahoma #season #bentley

With the 2026 edition of SEC media days wrapping up in Tampa, Florida, on Thursday, the regular season is just over a month away. The Oklahoma Sooners will kick off fall camp in a couple of weeks, all in preparation for the season-opener against UTEP on September 4th.
Head coach Brent Venables, quarterback John Mateer, defensive lineman Taylor Wein, and offensive lineman Eddy Pierre-Louis were the quartet that represented OU during their availability on Monday. While the selections of Mateer and Wein were fairly expected, it was the choice of Pierre-Louis that raised more than a few eyebrows in Sooner Nation. Venables was asked about Pierre-Louis' inclusion in the group, and he glowed about the third-year guard.
"Eddy, he's an alpha," Venables said. "Eddy is a guy that's had to work incredibly hard. I think he was the top-rated guard by many recruiting outlets coming out of high school. Eddy had some things he needed to work on fundamentally, from his body standpoint, flexibility, things of that nature. Eddy has been somebody that has shown up in the facility from the day he got to Norman, Oklahoma with tremendous gratitude."
Venables had previously pointed out that it was difficult to choose the three players who would represent the Sooners in Tampa, lauding the leadership in his locker room.
"One of the many reasons that gets us excited about this year's team is finding the three guys and telling several other guys that were more deserving they weren't going to make the cut," Venables said. "The depth of the leadership we have in our locker room right now is as good as we've had, better than we've probably had here in the five years at Oklahoma. Really excited about that."

#eddy #wein

Oklahoma Sooners head coach Brent Venables has long been viewed as one of the brightest defensive minds in college football. Since taking over in Norman, Venables has had to find the right balance between overseeing the entire program and continuing to lead the defense he built his reputation on.
When Venables first took over as head coach, Ted Roof called the plays defensively. It has been rumored that Venables took over play calling in Year 2, but nothing has been confirmed on that front. Then in Year 3, he hired Zac Alley to call the defense. Alley left after one season to become the defensive coordinator for the West Virginia Mountaineers. So, Venables returned to calling the defense. It might not be a coincidence that the two seasons Venables allegedly called the defense, Oklahoma went 10-3 both years, whereas the two years he didn't, the team went 6-7 both years.
Venables' ability to balance his responsibilities as a head coach while still leading the defense has earned respect throughout the SEC, including from Ole Miss Rebels head coach Pete Golding. He faced a similar transition after serving as Ole Miss' defensive coordinator before being promoted to head coach following the regular season. During SEC media days, Golding revealed that Venables was the first person he reached out to for advice on managing both roles.
"He was my first phone call," Golding said via OU Nightly. "There's so much respect for him and the job that he's done… I knew that he had been through it. Didn't do it in Year 1 and did it in Year 2. Brought in the protege and didn't do it in Year 3... He's like, 'look, man, ******* ody's going to call it like you. It's your system. You've done a great job.'"
Venables has spent his career building elite defenses, and Oklahoma's recent success has shown the value of his direct involvement. While balancing play calling with being a head coach is a difficult challenge, Venables has found a way to make it work.

#defense #didn 't

The Oklahoma Sooners took to the podium for the 2026 edition of SEC Media Days in Tampa, Florida on Monday. Joining head coach Brent Venables to represent OU were redshirt senior quarterback John Mateer, redshirt junior defensive lineman Taylor Wein, and redshirt sophomore offensive lineman Eddy Pierre-Louis.
While Mateer was at media days last year, it was the first time at the event for both Wein and Pierre-Louis. Naturally, both players were asked about their starting quarterback, and both gushed about what Mateer means to the program.
Wein has been going against Mateer in practice for the past couple of seasons, watching from the other side of the ball as Mateer leads the unit. It's been a period of rebuild for the offense after the 2024 disaster, but Wein believes in Mateer and in his ability.
"A very excellent quarterback," Wein said. "He plays very, very consistent. I know that he's very, very self-motivated, just like a lot of the guys on the team, and he does a good job just attacking his weaknesses. I've seen John completely elevate his game and completely transform as a player and his mentality, and it's only elevated the whole offense, and it's brought a huge pulse to the offense, and we're excited. We know John has a very good mindset and he's competitive, and it's actually really funny going against him at practice every day, he's the number one dude talking smack. We're going back and forth and whatnot. It's a really good thing. So, we're excited."
Pierre-Louis will now start alongside Mateer on the offensive side of the ball, and he will work to protect the star quarterback and help lead an offensive resurgence. Growing up in Tampa, Pierre-Louis was a fan of the Sooners, watching from hundreds of miles away during the Baker Mayfield era in Norman. He compared Mateer to Mayfield, who now quarterbacks the hometown Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

#louis #quarterback #we 're #redshirt

When the Oklahoma Sooners hired Florida defensive coordinator Bob Stoops to replace former head coach John Blake ahead of the 1999 season, they ushered in a whole new era of success and consistency in Norman. Since then, OU has often enjoyed high-level winning, and they've typically been among the sport's most stable programs.
Stoops got the program back to its old ways, the way things were under Bud Wilkinson and Barry Switzer back in the day. He retired and handed the keys to Lincoln Riley, who left after just five seasons for USC. Enter Brent Venables, who was Stoops' longtime defensive coordinator and also excelled in that role at Clemson. He's been the head ball coach at OU since the 2022 season.
That means that the Sooners have had just three full-time head coaches since 1999, which is remarkable stability in college football. However, most of the other programs in the SEC can't claim that kind of stability.
Today, we're going to take a look at each SEC team's head coaches in that time period (1999-present) to see which programs have had the most and least stability. We'll include interim head coaches as well, along with the newcomers for 2026.
Mike DuBose: 1997-2000 (Record: 24-23)

The 2027 recruiting class for the Oklahoma Sooners remains at 27 after running back commit Keldrid Ben reaffirmed his pledge to OU on Friday. Running backs coach Deland McCullough is keeping a player on board who originally committed to McCullough's predecessor, DeMarco Murray.
Ben, who is from Montgomery (Texas) High School, has been committed to OU since December 1st. The four-star prospect checks in at 5-foot-10 and 208 pounds. He's the No. 86 overall player in the class, according to Rivals and a consensus four-star prospect. He has shut down his recruitment, which had been competitive after he ran for 18 touchdowns as a junior in 2025. On the ground, he piled up over 1,500 yards.
Ben joins fellow Texan Jakoby Dixon, who was McCullough's first add through recruiting, as the two RB commits in Oklahoma's 2027 class. Head coach Brent Venables and general manager Jim Nagy have been hard at work ****** embling a top-flight group, aided by strong success on the field in 2025.
According to 247Sports, Ben is the 14th-best running back in the class, the 39th-best player in the state of Texas, and the 225th-best player in the nation for 2027. He is an important piece of the class that Venables and Nagy are building together in Norman.
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Oklahoma Sooners head coach Brent Venables received national recognition on Friday when he was named to the Dodd Trophy preseason watch list ahead of the 2026 season. The university announced that Venables is among the coaches being considered for one of college football's most respected coaching honors.
The award is named in honor of legendary Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets head coach Bobby Dodd. Established in 1976, the award recognizes an FBS coach whose program embodies three core principles: scholarship, leadership and integrity. The award goes beyond on-field success, recognizing coaches who prioritize academic achievement, community involvement and developing players beyond football.
Past winners include notable coaches such as Indiana Hoosiers' Curt Cignetti, Notre Dame Fighting Irish's Marcus Freeman, Alabama Crimson Tide's Nick Saban and Kansas State Wildcats' Bill Snyder. The only time an Oklahoma head coach has won the award was in 2003, when Bob Stoops received the honor.
Everything the Dodd Trophy recognizes is exactly how Venables has wanted to develop his teams. Venables has consistently emphasized that success is measured not only by wins and losses but also by the development of his players as people.
That's a big reason he started the SOUL Mission when he took over. Venables has spent the last four seasons rebuilding Oklahoma's culture. While the results on the field will ultimately determine his candidacy, his commitment to leadership, academics and player development makes him a natural fit for what the Dodd Trophy represents. If Oklahoma competes for championships in 2026, Venables could add another major honor to his growing résumé.

In just four seasons, Brent Venables has transformed the Oklahoma Sooners from the nation's No. 122 defense into the No. 6 unit in college football. Oklahoma must replace several key contributors from last season, including EDGE R Mason Thomas, defensive tackles Gracen Halton and Damonic Williams, Cheetah Kendal Daniels and safety Robert Spears-Jennings.
Despite those departures, there is still an expectation inside the program that the defense will regress in 2026. Instead, Oklahoma believes it has the talent to become the nation's top defense. That confidence stems from Venables' long track record of building elite defenses throughout his coaching career.
On3's J.D. PicKell said on "The Hard Count" that many inside the program believe this could be the best defense of the Venables era.
"They think this might be their best 11 they've had under Venables on that side of the football," PicKell said. "You never worry about scheme with Venables."
Replacing veterans such as Thomas and Halton won't be easy, but Oklahoma believes its overall talent level is stronger than ever. A big part of that is who the Sooners return on that side of the ball. Oklahoma returns 55% of its production on that side of the ball, including stars like David Stone, Jayden Jackson, Taylor Wein, Kip Lewis and Owen Heinecke.

Chris Venables has mixed memories of the previous time Penybont faced Andorran side Santa Coloma in the Uefa Conference League.
Venables scored Penybont's first ever goal in European competition when he netted in the first qualifying round first leg at the Brewery Field in Bridgend in 2024.
But in a bad tempered second leg away from home, Venables was sent-off and Bont conceded two goals in extra-time and were knocked out.
"Obviously, we've got a little bit of history with Santa Coloma, so it takes away I guess, a little bit of the element of unknown," Venables told BBC Sport Wales.
"It gives you an insight into not so much sort of tactics and strategies and things like that, but more so how the players behave, I guess, and things like that.

The Oklahoma Sooners, with head coach Brent Venables and general manager Jim Nagy leading the way, have ***** embled quite the 2027 recruiting class, and it's only early July. Currently OU has 27 total commits, with 13 on offense, 14 on defense, and zero on special teams.
Oklahoma's latest pledge came on Tuesday in the form of Hutto (Texas) High School's Jaiden Fields, who picked the Sooners over Texas A&M, Stanford, SMU, and TCU. Fields is a versatile athlete, but he'll play safety in Norman.
With OU landing another commit, the Sooners are keeping pace in a tightly contested SEC recruiting race. According to 247Sports Composite and their team recruiting rankings for the SEC, the Sooners have the second-best class in the league, trailing only Texas A&M. OU is in tight quarters with rival Texas in the rankings, as three former Big 12 Conference schools currently sit atop the recruiting rankings in the SEC.
What's also impressive is that OU has built this strong class despite losing some players to the decommitment list. Oregon DL pledge Zane Rowe, Cal RB pledge Jaxsen Stokes, Cal WR pledge Demare Dezeurn, and Ole Miss WR pledge Tra'Von Hall were all once committed to Oklahoma.
With Venables and Nagy at the helm, the Sooners have been hard at work putting together what could end up as a historic class for Oklahoma. Although there's still a few months to go before signing day, there's a lot to like about the haul OU is poised to bring in during the '27 cycle.

The Oklahoma Sooners and head coach Brent Venables are taking a creative approach to help quarterback John Mateer reach his full potential. Mateer has all of the physical tools to be one of the best quarterbacks in college football, but he struggled with some of the mental aspects of playing the position.
Mateer struggled with reading defenses last season and admitted during the year that he was having trouble seeing the field clearly. On top of that, he had a thumb injury on his throwing hand, which affected his grip and the way he threw the football.
Mateer naturally has more of a sidearm delivery, but the thumb injury forced him to adjust his grip and hold the football differently. That affected his accuracy, which likely also affected his confidence.
So, when he elected to stay in Norman for another season, Venables wanted to find ways to get the most out of Mateer's ability. That started with watching film together, and giving him the defense's viewpoint.
“I try to give him the defensive lens,” Venables told George Stoia at SoonerScoop. “I study offenses a lot more than I study defenses, and have forever. So I’m giving them a defensive lens: what are the things that you can see? A lot of it is things he’s already heard from his offensive coaches. So I don’t want to say what I’m telling him is something completely new and foreign to him.”

The Oklahoma Sooners enter the upcoming season with significant momentum after reaching the College Football Playoff for the first time in six years and making their first appearance as SEC members.
Oklahoma also returns a strong core of contributors from that playoff roster, including quarterback John Mateer, wide receiver Isaiah Sategna, linebackers Owen Heinecke and Kip Lewis, defensive linemen Taylor Wein, David Stone and Jayden Jackson, and defensive backs Peyton and Eli Bowen.
This has all the makings to be the most talented team in the Brent Venables era. However, a schedule ranked among the most difficult in the country has national ****** ysts split on Oklahoma's ceiling and floor this season.
Chris Phillips from "SEC Unfiltered" laid out what he thinks is the best-case scenario for Oklahoma.
"Best case scenario, I got 10-2," Phillips said. "I think 10-2 best case."

The Oklahoma Sooners have made an addition to their recruiting and scouting teams, with a new hire to start July. OU has hired Manaia Brown as a scouting coordinator in their recruiting department.
Brown was most recently the ****** istant director of recruiting at Fresno State. The former Nebraska and BYU defensive tackle also spent a year as the defensive line coach at Northeastern State following a stint at Garden City Community College, the alma mater of head coach Brent Venables. He also has over ten years of coordinator experience. As a player, he was a two-time All-Mountain West selection, and even signed a free-agent contract with Washington in the NFL.
His hiring is far from the only support staff move the Sooners have made this offseason, and he'll help to replace the loss of scouting coordinator T.J. Lynn, who left for a job as a graduate ****** istant at UCLA coaching cornerbacks.
Built for the grind. Hungry for the challenge.

Proud to be part of Oklahoma Football. Time to go compete for championships, build relationships, and chase greatness every single day.

Let’s get to work.

Boomer Sooner. #OUDNA #HardToKill pic.twitter.com/R38OwSKtiJ
— Manaia_Brown (Coach_Brown5) July 2, 2026

The Oklahoma Sooners were one of the surprise teams in 2025. After going 6-7 in 2024, their first year in the SEC, the Sooners bounced back by going 10-3 and returning to the College Football Playoff for the first time since 2019.
A big reason for that turnaround was the defense. The Sooners finished in the top 10 nationally in numerous categories, including a No. 5 ranking in overall defensive efficiency. A big reason for this was the return of Brent Venables as the play-caller.
The Sooners' head man has made a long career out of being one of the best defensive coordinators in college football. He won three national championships as a coordinator with Oklahoma and the Clemson Tigers. In what seemed to be a make-or-break season, Venables returned to calling the defense.
In a season widely viewed as pivotal for the program's direction, Venables' increased direct involvement in defensive game planning coincided with a more aggressive, ****** ignment-disciplined unit that improved significantly in situational defense and red zone efficiency.
While Venables has always influenced the defensive identity, his imprint on weekly schematics was more visible last season and aligned with Oklahoma's jump in national competitiveness on that side of the ball.

The Oklahoma Sooners and head coach Brent Venables are tasked with replacing two key contributors on the defensive line . Gracen Halton and Damonic Williams are both in the NFL now, with Halton being selected by the San Francisco 49ers and Williams signing with the Arizona Cardinals as an undrafted free agent. But the Sooners may have one of the best in the nation in defensive tackle David Stone .
While those two are big losses, they also give more opportunities for guys like David Stone and Jayden Jackson. Stone was a five-star in the 2024 recruiting class, but had a limited impact as a freshman, finishing with six tackles, two tackles for loss and one sack. That led him to enter the transfer portal before the 2025 season, then decide to stay in Norman .
In his sophomore season, Stone showed significant development as part of the interior rotation, recording 42 tackles, eight tackles for loss, and 1.5 sacks. He emerged as a disruptive presence inside, consistently collapsing pockets and forcing offensive adjustments.
College football ******* yst David Pollack sees a high ceiling for Stone.
"You start with a star in the middle with David Stone," Pollack said on 'See Ball Get Ball with David Pollack.' "Stone is an animal. He is a five-star kid... last year, you saw, man, he was really good and now he's just scratching the surface. He could be one of the best defensive tackles in the country."

Michigan football has a tough, tough schedule in 2026, with many top-tier games on the docket. But not all are necessarily the ones that people have circled on their calendars across the country. However, Joel Klatt has two he's excited to see this year, and both happen to be games he'll be calling.
While it's no surprise that he has The Game atop his list, as it's arguably the greatest rivalry in all of sports, Klatt starts out with his top 10 list of the '10 games that will shape the 2026 season' with the Wolverines' game in Week 2 against Oklahoma at The Big House.
"Let's start September 12th, Week 2, Oklahoma at Michigan," Klatt said. "This will be a Fox game. Gus, Jenny, and I will be there in Ann Arbor as Kyle Whittingham gets his first crack at a monster game as the coach of the Michigan Wolverines. Obviously, this is a rematch of last year's game in Norman. And that's the game that I thought Venables -- Mateer, maybe more specifically -- kind of announced himself to the country as a Heisman contender. OU was a legitimate playoff contender after that win at home over Michigan, even if they had a true freshman quarterback in that one, that was a big statement win. And I think a win in this game for either of these programs would do the exact same thing that it did for Oklahoma a year ago. So that's why this is one of the games that will shape the year.
"This is the first big game for Kyle Whittingham. Like I said, and it's going to be an indication of whether Michigan's going to be back in playoff form. Are they going to compete for a Big Ten ***** le? We're going to find out really quickly Week 2 on September 12th."
Michigan lost the first contest of the home-and-home, with the game in Norman being relatively close until the Sooners put it away on their final drive. That win for OU was something of a springboard for the 2025 season and a College Football Playoff inclusion for Oklahoma, and Klatt reiterated that there's a high likelihood that will be the case again this upcoming season.

The Oklahoma Sooners and head coach Brent Venables knew that, despite improvement last season, making the College Football Playoff wasn't the program's ultimate goal. That's why the staff worked hard to identify their weaknesses and attack the transfer portal.
One area Oklahoma targeted was adding more playmakers at wide receiver. Last season, Oklahoma was often dependent on Isaiah Sategna to make all of the plays. They need someone else to step up and be a consistent threat.
Enter former Texas Longhorns wide receiver, Parker Livingstone. He brings size to the Oklahoma receiving corps, standing at 6-foot-4. He had a strong season last year, catching 29 passes for 516 yards and six touchdowns, emerging as one of Arch Manning's reliable targets.
Livingstone's new quarterback, John Mateer, was at the Manning Passing Academy, where he was asked about his new target.
"He’s been great, he loves it and he works hard," Mateer said. "The guys love him, too. He came in, and he's always smiling, joking around. It's good. Joking around to an extent, he knows when to get it together. He's just a guy's guy; we hang out, and it's fun."