Venables Vibes: Drastic Changes Unlikely as Oklahoma Searches for Answers on Offense

Brent Venables outlined his philosophy on mid-season coaching changes, among other ways to fix the offense, during his weekly press conference ahead of this week's South Carolina clash.

Oklahoma coach Brent Venables walks off he field after the Red River Rivalry. / BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

NORMAN — Oklahoma’s season has reached a crossroads. 

Following the Sooners’ 34-3 drubbing at the hands of No. 1 Texas, OU (4-2, 1-2 SEC) is suddenly in a fight for bowl eligibility. 

Contests against No. 18 Ole Miss, No. 19 Missouri, No. 7 Alabama and No. 8 LSU still loom, meanwhile the Sooners must focus on one of the best defenses in the country when South Carolina (11:45 a.m., SEC Network) rolls into Norman this weekend. 

The offensive issues have cast a shadow over Oklahoma’s season, but OU coach Brent Venables maintained he’s going to make no hasty decisions during his weekly press conference ahead of the contest with the Gamecocks (3-3, 1-3).

No Drastic Changes

Oklahoma offensive coordinator Seth Littrell walks on the field before OU's matchup with Houston earlier this season. / BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK

OU offensive coordinator Seth Littrell has come under fire plenty this season, but it doesn’t sound like Venables is going to be making major staff changes during the season. 

The Sooners’ offense ranks near the bottom of the SEC in nearly every major category, but shifting around pieces of the coaching staff isn’t something that Venables has ever experienced in his career.

“There’s always problems,” Venables said on Tuesday, “Sometimes people know about ‘em, sometimes they don’t.

“There’s always some level of struggle and you gotta work through your problems, find the best possible solutions, and if you have success, it’s everybody, and sometimes when you don’t have success, people want to point to one guy. And sometimes that’s probably appropriate, to blame one person. But most of the time, it’s not, it’s combination of a lot of things, why you’re struggling. So again, you try to put it all together and have a perspective. Not make any rash decisions based on the information that you have.”

Venables didn’t pretend there aren’t problems with the offense, either. 

Throughout his nearly 45-minute press conference, he lamented missed opportunities against Texas that stemmed from a lack of execution on multiple fronts. 

But Venables seemed to cast doubt on the effectiveness of switching things up during the middle of the year. 

“At the end of the day, there’s nothing easy about any of it,” he said. “But I’ve been a part of those staffs too where decisions were made, you know, at the end of the year, but nothing mid-season.”

More QBs, More Problems 

Oklahoma quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. ahead of his start against Texas at the Cotton Bowl. / BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Sooners have already made one quarterback change this year. 

True freshman Michael Hawkins Jr. was inserted into the starting lineup for the past two games, but the offensive struggles haven’t magically disappeared.



On his Coaches Show on Monday, Venables said Hawkins is still OU’s starter. 

Tuesday, Venables said he’s had discussions behind the scenes with Jackson Arnold about his future, but that the sophomore is still engaged with everything happening on the practice field. 

When asked if he would ever consider both quarterbacks splitting time in the game, Venables refused to rule anything out. 

“Well, I'm certainly not immune to anything. And I know Steve Spurrier did it for his whole career,” Venables said. “But that being said, it'd be great if you had one that you could get behind and do the things that are necessary in order to win. And so, I would certainly not put it out of the realm of possibility in the future.”

Hawkins will get a chance to show growth and improvement this week against South Carolina, as he’s prepared to make his third start for the Sooners in Norman. 

Frustrations Mounting

Oklahoma Sooners wide receiver J.J. Hester is up ended by Texas defensive back Jaylon Guilbeau in the Red River Rivalry. / SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

There have been plenty of problems with Oklahoma’s offense. 

Injuries have plagued that side of the ball since fall camp, testing the talent level of OU’s depth. 

Growing pains with both of the Sooners’ young quarterbacks have been apparent. 

But there are still plays that could have been made, Venables said on Tuesday. 

“As I go back,” Venables said, “were there opportunities there? Were guys wide open? Yeah, several times wide open. Is the protection there when they were wide open? Yeah, it sure was. Do we got to pull the trigger? Yeah, we do. And do we got to get better with our route detail? 

“You know, there’s a coaching piece to that, what you put on the field is a reflection of what you are coached. But at the same time, you have to take what we practice, what we did right at practice and we got to take it to game day. We can’t lose our mind.”

Part of the disconnect between practice during the week and the performances on game day comes down to the inconsistencies that are to be expected from playing a lot of young guys. 

But the coaching staff still has to find ways to get the best out of every player on Saturday’s, regardless of who is playing at what spot. 

“All of it matters when you are talking about being efficient, creating explosive plays and things of that nature, getting everybody on the same page,” Venables said. “And it’s incredibly concerning and disappointing and frustrating. All of it. 

“And I do know, just again as a coach, there’s a fine line because being successful and not being successful on any particular given play and there’s a lot of moving parts that go into that. Either you are or you aren’t. We haven’t been enough and that’s incredibly frustrating to say the least.”