Column: As 5-Star Michael Fasusi Sets Visit to Texas, Oklahoma's Brent Venables Discusses Recruiting Policy

The Sooners' head coach implemented a fairly strict policy that prospects who are committed to OU aren't truly committed if they also choose to visit other schools.

Oklahoma coach Brent Venables / John E. Hoover / Sooners On SI

NORMAN — Brent Venables doesn’t want to talk about Oklahoma commits who take visits to other schools.

Not in 2024.

“If you’re visiting other schools in the present moment, you’re not committed,” Venables told me during Tuesday’s weekly press conference. “That’s what I would say.”

Maybe I’m reading it wrong, but Venables seems appropriately frustrated by the growing number of OU pledges who are still courting other schools. It’s understandable why he wouldn’t want to expound on an unofficial policy that some have deemed controversial.

In response to this week’s news that 5-star 2025 offensive line commit Michael Fasusi is reportedly taking a visit to rival Texas this weekend — insiders say Fasusi’s original plan for Saturday was to attend the Sooners’ home game with Alabama — I decided to ask Venables about how that unofficial policy has evolved.

His answer (above) was short and sweet — maybe his shortest press conference answer of his head coaching career.

So I asked a follow-up.

Do those commits who choose to visit other schools have their offer pulled?

“Is that part of my policy?” Venables said. “Oh, you’re asking. I never said that.”

So has the policy changed since he implemented it when he arrived following the 2021 regular season?

“Hm-m. Nope.”

Venables is smartly walking a tightrope. He badly needs Fasusi to help rebuild OU’s offensive line, and he isn’t going to publicly criticize him. 

And to Fasusi’s credit, he’s openly swore allegiance to Oklahoma several times on social media and in stories published online.

But Venables also would love it if his commits could stop flirting with other schools.

Fasusi’s decision to visit Texas isn’t surprising. Sources say the Longhorns have offered him an NIL package that’s bigger than Oklahoma’s by a factor of anywhere from 2-3 times more money.

College football has changed at its core since Venables took over in Norman, as NIL and the transfer portal have taken center stage in the process of recruiting and roster retention.

Venables certainly isn’t going to pull Fasusi’s offer. While he may have done that with the first prospect to test the policy — DFW wide receiver Ashton Cozart, a member of the 2023 class, committed to OU in February 2022, visited Oregon in May and lost the OU offer two days later before eventually signing with the Ducks (he’s since transferred to SMU) — it seems the policy has been a bit less defined in recent years with other prospects.

Oklahoma lost two elite prospects in the 2023 class.

Wide receiver Anthony Evans committed to OU in August 2022, then visited Georgia for the Tennessee game, flipped a few days later and signed with the Bulldogs. Defensive end Colton Vasek committed to OU in August 2022 but then visited Texas for the Iowa State game in October, flipped to Texas a few days later and signed with the Longhorns.

In the 2023 class, running back Daylan Smothers committed to OU but was allowed to keep that offer even though he took an unofficials visit to hometown school North Carolina State. He signed with the Sooners, but then last year transferred to NC State.

There were no such hijinks in the 2024 recruiting class, but the 2025 class has now done it three times — and that’s not counting Fasusi.  

Defensive back Courtland Guillory committed to OU in April and had summer visits scheduled to UCF, Arizona State and Kansas scheduled, but then canceled those and made his official visit to OU in June. Guillory did, however, take an unofficial visit to Austin last month to watch Texas host Georgia.

Wide receiver Cortez Mills committed to OU in July but recently traveled to Lincoln to watch Colorado play at Nebraska.

And defensive back Omarion Robinson committed to OU in July but last week was in Fayetteville to watch Arkansas host Texas.

Fasusi committed to OU in August and is scheduled to be in Austin for this week’s game between the Longhorns and Kentucky.

In March of 2022, less than four months after taking the Oklahoma job, Venables got a question about allowing commits to make visits to other schools and how he intended to handle them.

His answer was long, engaging sometimes hilarious and profoundly revealing.

“What’s commitment to mean to you?” Venables asked the questioner. “Are you married? (Yes.) Alright. So you asked your wife to marry you, right? (Yes.) Where were you when you asked your wife to marry you? (Lake Hefner.) OK, so in that moment — and what’s her name? (Britney.) Britney. When you asked Britney to marry you, right, was your intention after she said yes, right — so there's a commitment that takes place, right? — is to go date other women and do your thing? Johnny Gigolo? How'd that work for you? Did you try that? (I did not.) But you waited until you were ready, though. That you knew that you knew that you knew that you knew. Right? So that's what we want to be as (college football coaches) — hey, we're not trying to force commitment. Do not commit here until you're ready to make a commitment. Because a commitment is not a reservation. 

“If you say, ‘Hey, Britney, you want to get married, uh, November 30? OK, in the meantime, I'm gonna go see Sally and Michelle and Lisa.’ She ain’t gonna meet you there. You know, good luck on November 30. Right? So why is it any different? Like, commitment — teach young people what commitment means. OK? What that means. And so just — I’m not gonna apologize for this. What we tell them (is) ‘Do not (commit) — take as many visits as you want. I think, personally, that the Oklahoma brand will stick out. You may not come here, but you're gonna really like it. OK? You may not come here, but I'm glad you didn't if you're not ready to make a real deep-seated commitment, OK?’ Because it's a two-way street. All right? Some people — even the coaches are bad examples how they'll take a commitment and then three days before signing day, they call the kid that been committed for a year, ‘Oh, by the way, we don't have a spot for you because I found a guy better than you and your only opportunity to come here is if you grayshirt or pay for your own first year.’ What kind of example is that? That's bad form. But that's kind of where we are, you know, people that lack a moral compass. 

“So I'm not gonna apologize for having a moral compass. I want to teach our young people what commitment is, what it looks like. And, you know, certainly, things can change, where maybe there's flaws in that thinking. But I know this: there's a lot of flaws in taking a commitment, making a reservation and again, go do your thing. How can I manage a roster or who else I need to offer if I got nine guys committed but they're going to ‘Bama and Georgia and LSU and A&M? How can I manage? How can I take commitments? I don't know what my numbers are. So, just my way of trying to manage the roster to the best to my ability. And again, teach our guys, you know, ethics and morality.” 

Again, that’s what Venables said on the topic 2 1/2 years ago. 

Tuesday, he wasn’t quite as loquacious. 

But, he clarified, his policy hasn’t changed, and neither has his philosophy.

He just doesn’t feel like talking about it any more.