Brent Venables Reveals Safety Upgrade to Owen Field Playing Area

Brent Venables' Tuesday press conference centered around the status of John Mateer heading into the Texas game and his confidence in the team overall.

But the Sooners' head coach also shared a few updates on facilities.

Following a frightening moment in Oklahoma’s game against Kent State — when wide receiver Keontez Lewis collided full-speed with the north end zone’s brick wall — Venables said the program is taking precautions to prevent a similar incident in the future.

"They're putting some padding (on the brick wall)," Venables said. "I don't know exactly when, or how much, but I think theyre' going to put some padding around that brick area where we are vulnerable."

Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium's set up is unique within college football. Many of OU's conference mates in the SEC have more space between the endzones and sidelines and the perimeter wall that separates the field from the fans.

With Lewis' scary moment last Saturday, conversations sprang up about player safety. It appears that Oklahoma is moving towards making adjustments to ensure players can be shielded from potential high-impact hits with the brick wall.

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In addition to the wall padding, Venables also shared that an upgrade to the Everest Indoor Training Center has been added.

"Up until recently, we were the only team in the SEC that didn't have an indoor (training facility) with an (air conditioning unit)," Venables said. "So, we got AC finally, a couple months ago."

The answer was interesting considering that the Sooners practiced in the Everest Indoor Training Center on Monday. The Tulsa World's Berry Tramel asked Venables if they had practiced behind closed doors to keep Mateer hidden or to avoid any "espionage" from Texas during a pivotal week of practice.

Venables cited the temperatures reaching over 90 degrees on Monday and emphasized that the "strain of a season is real" as why they chose to move practice indoors. "Just trying to be smart about practicing when there's only so much tread on the tire," Venables added.