ARLINGTON, TX — Brent Venables has Oklahoma recruiting rolling.
Running again Daylan Smothers verbally dedicated to OU on Thursday, and he’s the Sooners’ fifteenth dedication of the 2023 cycle.
Smothers is the eighth participant to leap into the category since June 27, because the final couple of weeks have served as a proof of idea for Venables.
From the second he was employed, Venables preached persistence. His teaching workers wasn’t going to push for a dedication from a participant early on, as Venables needed to make sure the dedication meant one thing to each every participant and the teaching workers.
And whereas some packages had been off to the races in May and June choosing up tons of verbal commits, OU continued to construct relationships and keep the course.
Now, after the 2023 recruits obtained to journey the nation in June, Oklahoma is making its transfer.
“The window to go take visits was a very small window,” Venables mentioned throughout his breakout media session at Big 12 Media Days at AT&T Stadium on Thursday. “So when when did the window start? You know, started in June, right? So if it’s like any normal process, you go, you take a few visits, you check out places.
“… And now you’ve educated yourself and now you get together as a family or whatever support system you have and you make a decision. So whether that’s late June or early July, you know, that’s how we felt like it would work.”
Venables and his workers weren’t involved with all of the flash that comes with trendy recruiting. Instead, they’ve honed in on a smaller group of men with the intent of actually discovering the very best suits for this system.
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“My biggest thing is because you can’t be everywhere, you’re trying to be genuine and authentic,” Venables mentioned. “You know, instead of recruiting 250 guys, let’s find 75 guys that we can recruit really hard. That we can really develop relationships.
“… This will give us an opportunity to get the best guys that fit. That hopefully not only fit, but stay here for their whole career. And so we’re very honest and transparent. And so when they do choose to come here, they’re coming here for all the right reasons. Not based on emotion or, you know, what kind of a photoshoot experience they had or the Lamborghini they took a picture with. Man I want them to come here because they had a chance to weigh it all out, compare and contrast and find the best place for them.”
That selective course of ultimately will go away some folks out, however Venables doesn’t draw back from that actuality. Instead, he’s embraced it within the hopes that his teaching workers will be capable of discover the precise proper suits for each the efficiency on the sphere and the tradition he’s attempting to construct off it.
“I don’t think this is the best place for everybody,” Venables mentioned. “I don’t have that, ‘ah man how could not say yes to Oklahoma?’ I don’t live like that.
“… I think that’s naive. And it’s got to be the right fit. And I don’t want to trick anybody. I don’t want to prey on the emotions of a 17-18-year-old young person and have a commitment that doesn’t really mean what we’ve clearly defined.”
Halfway by July, OU’s recruiting momentum doesn’t look like slowing down anytime quickly, as Venables has already put collectively a formidable class though recruits have but to see him coach a down in Norman.
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