What Oklahoma's Brent Venables Said at SEC Media Days

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Oklahoma football coach Brent Venables met with the media today in Dallas, Texas, on the second day of the Southeastern Conference's Media Days.

Venables was sent through the car wash, appearing on national television, radio shows, and podcasts and had breakouts with print media outlets. Here is what the Sooners coach had to say.

On Helmet Communication:

Venables was asked about the changes to college football, especially the allowance of communications through helmets. He said, "In regards to helmet communication, I think it is going to allow offenses to be even more efficient. Again, you only have it on one guy on defense. It's a little different than the NFL. There are a few teams in the NFL that do a little bit of tempo at times but a little bit different from a defensive perspective."

On Recruiting in the D-FW Area:

Recruiting is the lifeblood of college football, especially at an elite level like the SEC. Venables was asked how recruiting may change with recruiting in the conference. Especially when it involves the Dallas-FortWorth area.

Venables said, "We've been going against all those teams for decades, and so it's always competitive. The one thing I know about teams from the SEC is the coaching staffs, their recruiters, their facilities, their fanbases, their history, their heritage and everybody's got to go sell."

On Oklahoma's SEC Adjustment:

South Carolina coach Shane Beamer pointed out on Monday that one big adjustment Oklahoma would have to make entering the SEC is along the line of scrimmage. "I think we are in good shape," Venables said. "We'll find out where we need to be better. And, again, I'm certainly far from satisfied. Over the last 2 1/2 years, we've worked really hard at developing a roster that is balanced, that's strong in the trenches and in all the right places."

On Josh Heupel:

Heupel was Oklahoma's quarterback when the team last won it all back in 2000. He will return for the first time as Tennessee Volunteers coach. Venables was asked about his relationship with Heupel and their reunion in Norman, Oklahoma. "I have this deep appreciation for Josh, certainly first and foremost as a player," Venables said. "To experience my first National Championship as a coach, I've always looked back and said, 'Man, we couldn't have done it without Heupel.' His leadership, what he was able to do from a transformation standpoint to our locker room, you know, the guts and the toughness that he played with through that 2000 season. So I've always held him up here on this pedestal when it comes from a player's standpoint."

Looking at Oklahoma Entering the SEC:

The Sooners are blue blood, even though they haven't won a title since 2000. They have played for it more times than most college football programs in the last 25 years. They win, and they win a lot. The funny thing is there are two separate trains of thought. One is from longstanding SEC fans who think the Sooners will not be able to compete in the daunting SEC. Then, you have the Sooners faithful that think they will walk in and dominate from Day One. We will all find out in a few short months when the SEC schedule kicks off. Buckle up! It's going to be one hell of a football season.