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Oklahoma Sooners legend describes what Brent Venables is doing in recruiting that makes them so special

Originally posted on A to Z Sports | By Justin Churchill | Last updated May 26, 2025 12:31 AM ET

Just because some site ranks the Oklahoma Sooners or any team, as the 25th best class in the country, doesn't actually mean anything.

Sure, it helps people get a good barometer on how many players each team has above a certain rating, but those player ratings also don't mean anything. The Sooners are not going after the best five stars based on a sites rating. They have their own ratings, and value players that they work with and recruit a completely different way.

And, I feel like it's easy to forget that Brent Venables, and every single head coach out there, does not care about what Rivals, 247 Sports, or On3 says about anything when it comes to a recruit or the college team. Sure, the Sooners have a 2026 class that hovers in the 20s area on all of those sites, but the Sooners are doing what they need to do to make their team better.

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And, some of the programs' biggest legends see that, too.

Welcome kid!! Venables understands we need OL/DL to compete in the SEC. Y'all fans wanting him gone have no idea how smart he is. Have some patience. We are gonna be just fine. And we just got better - Gerald McCoy, former Sooners, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Carolina Panthers DL

Welcome kid!! Venables understands we need OL/DL to compete in SEC. Yall fans wanting him gone have no idea how smart he is. Have some patience. We are gonna be just fine. And we just got better https://t.co/LArQfSBPvQ
— Gerald McCoy (@Geraldini93) May 23, 2025

This comes after the Sooners landed defensive lineman Brian Harris, and for another defensive lineman to say that about the recruitment of that young man, shows you how well the Sooners are recruiting that position. Because, let me tell you, if there is anything in the world that McCoy knows, it's defensive line play. And he thinks Harris is a great pickup.

When you play in the SEC it does start in the trenches, as we see every single season. The teams that produce the most offensive and defensive linemen in the NFL Draft are the same teams that are in the College Football Playoffs every year, which are the same teams that are at the top of the SEC, like Georgia and Alabama, specifically.

Venables is doing what's going to make the Sooners better.

This article first appeared on A to Z Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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