Sunday Offering: Quiet Recruiting Week for Oklahoma Amid Coaching Change

It was a quiet week for the Sooners recruiting-wise after Brent Venables fired offensive coordinator Seth Littrell.

Oklahoma coach Brent Venables during a college football game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and the South Carolina Gamecocks at Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Okla., Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024. / BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

It was quiet on the recruiting trail this week for the Sooners, but the Oklahoma coaching staff could have been sidetracked. 

First, OU had to prepare for a top-20 opponent in Ole Miss, ultimately losing 26-14 on Saturday in Oxford. But even before that, there was a coaching shakeup when Brent Venables fired offensive coordinator Seth Littrell. In the move, he handed playcalling duties to co-offensive coordinator and tight ends coach Joe Jon Finley, and Venables also promoted offensive analyst Kevin Johns to co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, which was the position Littrell coached.  

Obviously a coaching shift causes immediate changes within this season’s team, but a move like that could also affect the future of the program. Sooner on SI’s John Hoover on Tuesday during Venables’ weekly press conference asked the head ball coach specifically how he thought the recent coaching change would affect recruiting. 

Here is Venables’ entire answer: "No. 1, before I take a commitment, I want to know why they're committing. If they say, well, it's just because of this position coach and that's it, that's the end of the conversation. There's going to be need for more conversation. I want guys that commit to the University of Oklahoma to enrich their lives, what this name, brand, this university, means to them, other families. At the end of the day, I'm the head coach, and it's important that the vision of the program, the decision-making process, comes from an alignment with the vision of the program and what they want for themselves through the program. Holistically speaking, there is an offense, a defense and special teams piece of it that's really important for all of these guys, and it can be very emotional. That goes without saying. But at the end of the day, they have to trust in myself as leader, and certainly this staff that's here right now, is going to work on those relationships.

"Now you're talking to the guys every day more diligently over the last several months, for some guys, several years, at developing really strong relationships that are going to be life-changing decisions, aren't going to flip the script. At the end of the day, the vision is for us to have a high-scoring, explosive, diverse offense that recruits are going to want to play for. There's a body of work here at the University of Oklahoma. We can have the best coaches on the planet here in coaching, venturing and developing, and we'll have that. That's really been the message for recruits, and certainly their families at the end of the day. I think that there's a holistic approach, on the field, off the field, systematically, scheme is again, important, knowing that we're not going to go to the triple option moving forward. So, we're going to have something that when we can attack people, throw the ball and have good balance in what we do. For an offensive standpoint, be aggressive in our approach, both the scheme, tempo, structure, things of that nature, things that are good for the game."

Hoover followed up and asked Venables if he had heard anything negative on the recruiting trail because of the coaching move and offensive struggles. 

"I mean, I'm not naive. Even when you're doing well, people are always trying to chip away,” Venables answered. “This conference that we're in, we're not recruiting against anybody but the best in college football — the best coaches, the best universities, the best systems, the best development — and so it was that way two months ago and it's not going to change. You've got to recruit every day and you've got to work on those relationships every day. Every once in a while you'll have a recruit that gets influenced by that. I'd rather know now than later. If you think the kitchen's hot now, just hold on. And I mean it. Within your career, it's going to be a lot worse than now. That's not adversity. I haven't heard of or sensed any panic. I think there's a trust — I think there's an expectation and a trust — and like I said, there's not a whole lot of people that are surprised. People understand, families understand that this is part of the business as well, so when you do make those life-changing decisions, it goes beyond any one particular coach most of the time.”

A quiet week from recruits might have actually been the best thing for the Sooners, considering the situation. As of Saturday night, no OU commit had taken back their pledge since the coaching shakeup. 

Offers

On Sunday, the day it was announced Littrell was fired, Jaden Nguyen announced an offer from the Sooners. Nguyen is an interior offensive lineman from Cisco College. The 6-foot-3, 300-pound prospect also has offers from Auburn, Boise State, Florida, Maryland, North Carolina, Rutgers, Utah and more. Although no offer yet, he also visited Oregon on Saturday. 

And for what it’s worth, Nguyen has gotten offers from other programs since OU, but his announcement about OU is still posted to the top of his profile on X.

BLESSED TO RECEIVE AN OFFER FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF ⭕KLAHOMA! #BoomerSooner 🔴⚪ @OU_Football @CoachVenables @OU_CoachB @OU_CoachHill @Centex_Recruits @TXRecruits pic.twitter.com/D1DjrCVQxw

— Jaden Nguyen (@_JadenNguyen) October 20, 2024