Brent Venables' Patient Recruiting Approach Already Paying Off at Oklahoma

An explosive July has shown Brent Venables' recruiting strategy can work in Norman.

ARLINGTON, TX — Brent Venables has Oklahoma recruiting rolling.

Running back Daylan Smothers verbally committed to OU on Thursday, and he’s the Sooners’ 15th commitment of the 2023 cycle.

Smothers is the eighth player to jump into the class since June 27, as the last couple of weeks have served as a proof of concept for Venables.

From the moment he was hired, Venables preached patience. His coaching staff wasn’t going to push for a commitment from a player early on, as Venables wanted to ensure the commitment meant something to both each player and the coaching staff.

And while some programs were off to the races in May and June picking up tons of verbal commits, OU continued to build relationships and stay the course.

Now, after the 2023 recruits got to travel the country in June, Oklahoma is making its move.

“The window to go take visits was a very small window,” Venables said during his breakout media session at Big 12 Media Days at AT&T Stadium on Thursday. “So when when did the window start? You know, started in June, right? So if it's like any normal process, you go, you take a few visits, you check out places.

“… And now you've educated yourself and now you get together as a family or whatever support system you have and you make a decision. So whether that's late June or early July, you know, that's how we felt like it would work.”

Venables and his staff weren’t concerned with all the flash that comes with modern recruiting. Instead, they’ve honed in on a smaller group of guys with the intent of truly finding the best fits for the program.

“My biggest thing is because you can't be everywhere, you're trying to be genuine and authentic,” Venables said. “You know, instead of recruiting 250 guys, let's find 75 guys that we can recruit really hard. That we can really develop relationships.

“… This will give us an opportunity to get the best guys that fit. That hopefully not only fit, but stay here for their whole career. And so we're very honest and transparent. And so when they do choose to come here, they're coming here for all the right reasons. Not based on emotion or, you know, what kind of a photoshoot experience they had or the Lamborghini they took a picture with. Man I want them to come here because they had a chance to weigh it all out, compare and contrast and find the best place for them.”

That selective process in the end will leave some people out, but Venables doesn’t shy away from that reality. Instead, he’s embraced it in the hopes that his coaching staff will be able to find the exact right fits for both the performance on the field and the culture he’s trying to build off it.

“I don't think this is the best place for everybody,” Venables said. “I don't have that, 'ah man how could not say yes to Oklahoma?' I don't live like that.

“… I think that's naive. And it's got to be the right fit. And I don't want to trick anybody. I don't want to prey on the emotions of a 17-18-year-old young person and have a commitment that doesn't really mean what we've clearly defined.”

Halfway through July, OU’s recruiting momentum doesn’t appear to be slowing down anytime soon, as Venables has already put together an impressive class even though recruits have yet to see him coach a down in Norman. 

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