Steve Curtis July 22nd, 2026
Brent Venables believes Oklahoma’s offense is entering 2026 in a much stronger position than it did a year ago, pointing to improved experience, depth and continuity as the foundation for a significant step forward.
Throughout SEC Media Days, he repeatedly returned to those same themes, highlighting Oklahoma’s rebuilt offensive line, improved depth and offseason additions as reasons for optimism entering fall camp.
After leading Oklahoma to a 10-3 season and a College Football Playoff appearance in 2025, Venables struck a measured tone throughout his appearances on Monday. He repeatedly pointed to areas where the Sooners made progress during the offseason while stressing that it must now carry over into training camp.
“We’ve got a lot of really good pieces,” Venables said. “The real challenge now is kind of putting it all together to build the best team that we possibly can over the next several weeks and several months. The true identity of this football team will be developed through going through really, really hard stuff, the highs and the lows and the challenges of a season.”
Much of that experience begins up front, where Oklahoma returns four starters after relying heavily on first-year players last season.
“We returned four guys up front. Last year, we started three freshmen. So what comes with freshman guys that haven’t played in the SEC or maybe their first snaps in college, you’re not as confident, you’re not as aggressive, you’re not as strong as a fourth or fifth year guy. There’s the timing, there’s the cohesion.”
Venables said the experience returning across the offense extends beyond the line of scrimmage.
“A year ago on offense, we had nine first year starters. This year, we’ve got several returning starters, give or take seven or eight guys coming back. But up front, we’ve got four returning starters. We have one of the most experienced portal tackles in the country in E’Marion Harris to add to that group of four players.”
He also singled out center Jake Maikkula as a player positioned to benefit from his first true offseason in the program.
“Jake Maikkula, a year ago at this time, he had just gotten on campus from Stanford. And so he went several months without being in a locker room, training, and preparing for his first year away from Stanford in the SEC. And so I think there’s going to be a better version of all those guys. I think they’re stronger, more confident, there’s more chemistry, there’s more cohesion. Certainly, there’s an experience factor, what it takes to be better in the SEC.”
Even with that added experience, Venables made it clear the offense still has significant work to do.
“And make no mistake, we’ve got a lot of improvement to do there, offensively speaking, being able to run the football. We’ve got to run it a heck of a lot better than what we did a year ago.”
When asked about Oklahoma’s biggest priorities entering fall camp, Venables returned to those same themes, pointing to turnover margin and improvement in the run game.
“You go back, we’ve really looked at the areas where we fell short. Certainly in your three losses, let’s start turnover margin. We’re minus five in the turnover margin. 85th in the country. That puts a lot of stress and pressure on your football team.”
Venables said improving the run game is key to creating a more balanced offense and easing the burden on the rest of the unit.
“Running the football, being closer to 175 yards a game than where we were, that’s a vision for what we want to be. To create more balance and create more explosive plays as a byproduct of that. Take pressure off a bunch of young offensive linemen a year ago… And certainly take pressure off the quarterback as well.”
That same message resurfaced later when the discussion turned to Oklahoma’s offense as a whole.
“I think returning, we had nine first-year starters on offense a year ago. It looked like it from a lack of cohesion and chemistry and rhythm that any great unit’s going to have. And so this year I think we have seven or eight returning starters there with the addition of some of the most experienced players in college football, Trell Harris and E’Marion Harris…”
That confidence extends throughout the offense, with Venables highlighting several position groups he believes have taken a significant step forward.
“I think, for example, we’ve transformed really the wide receiver and the tight end room. We got five really good backs… And I like where we’re at at quarterback right now, both with John and certainly in the future.”
Venables also credited Oklahoma’s front office spearheaded by general manager Jim Nagy for reshaping the offense during the offseason.
“I’m really excited about what Jim Nagy, our front office, have helped us do. Transform that side of the football. We’re going to be a lot better around our quarterback.”
Oklahoma’s offseason additions weren’t limited to players.
A question about new tight ends coach Jason Witten became an opportunity for Venables to highlight Oklahoma’s entire group of new assistant coaches.
“Before I get to Coach Witten, we also hired two other fantastic coaches in Deland McCullough, our running backs coach… And then LaMar Morgan, our corners coach, who we hired from the University of Michigan… All three of them have made us better.”
Venables then turned his attention to Witten.
“But Jason, the thing that stands out to me is his passion and his humility. It resonates. He’s not only this Hall of Fame type player, and not every Hall of Famer is this amazing coach and mentor, as we know. But, man, he’s got it in every way.”
He said the growth of Oklahoma’s tight end room has reflected Witten’s approach.
“He has tremendous instincts just from a coaching standpoint, from an anticipation standpoint… So why is that important? Because he’s been a wonderful teacher for the players. And that room has probably grown as fast as any room has grown since I’ve been coaching in that amount of time.”
Oklahoma believes it has rebuilt the offensive line, strengthened the skill positions and surrounded John Mateer with a more experienced supporting cast. But as Venables repeatedly emphasized throughout SEC Media Days, those offseason improvements will ultimately be judged by one thing: whether the Sooners can consistently run the football and translate that progress into production.
