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NORMAN — Brent Venables chuckled a bit at the question.
About 12 minutes into a barrage of questions about the decision to fire Seth Littrell, to retain and promote Joe Jon Finley and to elevate Kevin Johns, Venables finally got a respite.
He was asked about Ole Miss’ defensive line.
The chuckle might’ve been a bit along the lines of The Simpsons” character Ralph Wiggum’s, preceding the declaration “I’m in danger.”
“It’s the whole defense,” Venables said. “We’ve played some really, really good defenses. I’m not sure there’s been a season where a team has faced this many (good defenses) at Oklahoma. That’s not an excuse, that’s just what the group of players are dealing with right now.”
The Sooners (4-3, 1-3 SEC) will take on No. 18 Ole Miss at 11 a.m. Saturday in Oxford, Mississippi.
More: OU football names Jackson Arnold starting quarterback for Mississippi game
Venables has talked plenty about the state of the Sooners’ offensive line, but Tuesday he admitted more than he had previously about where the group stood.
“That’s been a group that we’ve fallen short,” Venables said. “In regards to the transfer guys, they’ve only been here for a few months. So when you gotta rely on a majority of those guys, you can lack some continuity and the chemistry and the things we’re talking about that enable you to be able to execute at a high level.”
Venables and Bill Bedenbaugh added plenty to the group in the offseason — Spencer Brown from Michigan State, Geirean Hatchett from Washington, Branson Hickman from SMU, Febechi Nwaiwu from North Texas, and Michael Tarquin from USC.
Hatchett started the opener but was lost for the season in that game. Brown has played in every game, though mostly on special teams.
Hickman started four games but has been replaced by Troy Everett in the…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/why-ou-football-coach-brent-103016267.html
Author : The Oklahoman
Publish date : 2024-10-23 10:30:16
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