Brent Venables Putting in Final Stages of Oklahoma Spring Game

Fan involvement, a quarterback playing for both teams and players crossing the finish line at a sprint are a few of the key elements this Saturday.

John E. Hoover | Apr 19, 2022

NORMAN — After a brief delay for an emergency alarm Tuesday at the beginning of his press conference, Brent Venables was champing at the bit to restart.

"Let's get straight to questions," Venables said with a laugh.

Oklahoma is wrapping up Venables' first spring practice this week by staging the annual Red/White Game. It's the culmination of Venables first season as a head coach, and he wants buy-in from Sooner Nation.

"We have an opportunity to create the most hostile environment in college football," Venables said. "That's what we want."

Venables explained why the fan element is so important for this Saturday's 3 p.m. scrimmage.

"I think the players feed off of that," he said.

Venables reiterated that the scrimmage will be divided into two equal teams — coaches will draft their players and then split up into individual coaching staffs — and Venables said starting quarterback Dillon Gabriel will get reps for both squads.

It's a big recruiting weekend for the Sooners, and Venables wants the fan base to put its best foot forward to impress the potential next generation of OU players.

"I"m looking for doers," Venables said. "I'm looking for doers in that locker room and I'm looking for doers to support this program.

Venables opened by offering congratulations to the OU softball team for its 38-1 start and to the women's gymnastics team for winning the national championship Saturday. He asked the media assembly if they were planning to cover Tuesday's baseball game against Wichita State — former Sooner assistant coach and long-time Shockers head coach Gene Stephenson attended Tuesday's practice, after which the team was treated to a visit from an ice cream truck.

Ultimately, the focus centered on the performance of the team over the past month in Venables' first time back in Norman after a decade at Clemson.

"Our guys have been really, really good," he said. "Really proud of the work they've put in."

Published Apr 19, 2022

JOHN E. HOOVER

John is an award-winning journalist whose work spans five decades in Oklahoma, with multiple state, regional and national awards as a sportswriter at various newspapers. During his newspaper career, John covered the Dallas Cowboys, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Arkansas Razorbacks and much more. In 2016, John changed careers, migrating into radio and launching a YouTube channel, and has built a successful independent media company, DanCam Media. From there, John has written under the banners of Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Fan Nation and a handful of local and national magazines while hosting daily sports talk radio shows in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and statewide. John has also spoken on Capitol Hill in Oklahoma City in a successful effort to put more certified athletic trainers in Oklahoma public high schools. Among the dozens of awards he has won, John most cherishes his national "Beat Writer of the Year" from the Associated Press Sports Editors, Oklahoma's "Best Sports Column" from the Society of Professional Journalists, and Two "Excellence in Sports Medicine Reporting" Awards from the National Athletic Trainers Association. John holds a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from East Central University in Ada, OK. Born and raised in North Pole, Alaska, John played football and wrote for the school paper at Ada High School in Ada, OK. He enjoys books, movies and travel, and lives in Broken Arrow, OK, with his wife and two kids.