Brent Venables Opened Up About His Shocking First Year in Norman

Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables did not hold back when reflecting on the state of the program he inherited. Speaking with local media, Venables revealed that in his first year, the Sooners carried a team GPA of just 2.2 and had multiple players failing drug tests.

“We had to start completely over, in many ways,” Venables said.

The comment served as a pointed contrast to the perception of the program left behind by former head coach Lincoln Riley. While Oklahoma was still winning games under Riley, Venables’ remarks suggest that the off-field structure had broken down. The academic struggles and discipline issues, according to Venables, created a situation where rebuilding the foundation was more important than managing results in the short term.

Venables has repeatedly emphasized culture as a core element of his leadership. By highlighting GPA and failed tests, he made clear that accountability and standards were not negotiable. His comments reinforce the idea that Oklahoma football needed more than new plays or new coordinators. It needed an overhaul of expectations inside the locker room, the classroom, and the program at large.

For fans, the comments shed light on the difficult transition during Venables’ first two seasons. The Sooners did not look like a championship contender in his debut campaign, and many questioned the direction of the program. Venables is now providing context for those struggles, framing them as the cost of starting from scratch with a team that had fallen behind in ways that were not obvious on the scoreboard.

The challenge now is to prove that those changes have taken hold. Oklahoma moves forward in a new era as a second-year SEC program with high expectations from a fan base used to competing for national relevance. Venables has staked his reputation on the belief that building the right foundation will lead to success. His latest comments show that the process of resetting Oklahoma football has been about more than wins. It has been about restoring structure, discipline, and pride.