All Sooners

Report: Brent Venables Turns to a Familiar Face to Lead Strength Staff

Venables has hired longtime OU strength and conditioning coach Jerry Schmidt to bring the physicality back to Norman.

Ryan Chapman

The Oklahoma Sooners are getting the band back together.

Newly minted head coach Brent Venables has already filled one of the holes on his staff, and it’s an important hire.

Venables has found his strength and conditioning coach, and it’s a familiar face: Jerry Schmidt.

Aggies Today reported on Tuesday night that Schmidt would join Venables’ staff as the Director of Sports Performance.

Schmidt has served in the same position at Texas A&M since 2018, when he made the trek from Norman to College Station.

Before joining the Aggies, Schmidt followed Bob Stoops from Florida to serve as the strength and conditioning coach at Oklahoma from 1999-2017, working many of those years alongside Venables.

The strength coach is a key member of any coaching staff, as the training staff probably spends more time with the players than anyone.

Schmidt’s workouts are legendary for their difficulty, and he’s renowned across the country for molding some of the toughest teams in college football.

Many had hoped Venables would return a certain level of physicality to the Oklahoma program, and Schmidt is sure to deliver the toughness back to Norman.

Before his successful stints at SEC schools Florida and Texas A&M, Schmidt had also served on the strength staff at Notre Dame and Oklahoma State. 

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Ryan Chapman
RYAN CHAPMAN

Ryan is deputy editor at AllSooners and covers a number of sports in and around Norman and Oklahoma City. Working both as a journalist and a sports talk radio host, Ryan has covered the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma City Thunder, the United States Men’s National Soccer Team, the Oklahoma City Energy and more. Since 2019, Ryan has simultaneously pursued a career as both a writer and a sports talk radio host, working for the Flagship for Oklahoma sports, 107.7 The Franchise, as well as AllSooners.com. Ryan serves as a contributor to The Franchise’s website, TheFranchiseOK.com, which was recognized as having the “Best Website” in 2022 by the Oklahoma Association of Broadcasters. Ryan holds an associate’s degree in Journalism from Oklahoma City Community College in Oklahoma City, OK. 

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