Nick Saban heaps praise on the Oklahoma Sooners

Day 1 of 4 at SEC media days in Dallas featured plenty of influential figures in the conference making their opinions known. One of the biggest voices in SEC country had high praise for the Oklahoma Sooners and their head coach.

Former LSU and Alabama head coach Nick Saban complimented Brent Venables and said he believes the roster in Norman is improving.

“I think he’s a really, really good coach. He’s a hard worker, he’s an attention to detail guy,” Saban said of Venables. “He’s one of the best defensive coaches in college football. I think their roster is getting better, especially on the defensive side, which was the issue.”

T.J. Eckert of KUTL Channel 8 in Tulsa shared more of the seven-time national champion head coach’s comments, as Saban elaborated on his point.

“I think their roster is getting better, especially on the defensive side which was the issue.”

“They had good offenses when Lincoln Riley was there, but never had the defenses to get over the hump.”

Asked Nick Saban for his thoughts on Oklahoma heading into the SEC. #Sooners pic.twitter.com/Fgx3b0lvUz

— TJ Eckert (@TJEckertKTUL) July 15, 2024

“They’ve had really good offensive teams when Lincoln (Riley) was there and were never quite good enough on defense to get it over the hump, but I think they’re getting better as a total, balanced roster in terms of the kind of athletes they have, the kind of speed they have, the kind of athleticism they have on their team,” Saban said.

Saban’s comments echo the drumbeat of local media in the state of Oklahoma about the football program that has gotten louder over the years. National media is beginning to pick up on the idea that fans and analysts of the Sooners were right about the roster building that was occurring in Norman.

Saban saw the Sooners firsthand when they were very poor…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/nick-saban-heaps-praise-oklahoma-100040541.html

Author : Sooners Wire

Publish date : 2024-07-16 10:00:40

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