Brian Bosworth is super impressed by Brent Venables

Brian Bosworth, also known as The Boz, was a linebacker for the Oklahoma Sooners from 1984 to 1986. He achieved unanimous All-American honors in both his sophomore and junior seasons.

He concluded an outstanding career in Norman, earning numerous accolades. He holds the distinction of being the only player in history to have won the Butkus Award for the nation's best college linebacker twice, having received the honor in its first two years.

It was a great honor to catch up with him and talk about this year’s Sooners team and his expectations for Oklahoma in the SEC.

Craig: Our readers would love to know your personal excitement on seeing OU joining the SEC.

Boz: We put a program together for decades with the expectation of winning. Taking the two most talented teams from the Big 12, the big dogs and merging them into the SEC, it speaks to the overall flow of where college football is going. The fans want to watch it, and the players want to play the very best competition in the toughest conference. It will be exciting to see some new opponents and Alabama come into Norman.

Craig: Even with the new teams, it will still be incredibly special, perhaps even more so in playing Texas this year in the Cotton Bowl will it not?

Boz: A lot of players have emotional ties to Oklahoma and Texas. My emotional ties are well known (laughs) As it stands it's an important game on the schedule and one of the biggest rivalries in college football but what will be different for each program is that every single week in the SEC, is a big game. You can not only be upset in any given week, but you can also get embarrassed in the SEC. It's going to be incredibly tough for any team in the SEC to go undefeated this year.

Craig: You played some great competition in the 80's. How did you personally rank your opponents? Who was number one for Boz back in the day?

Boz: Texas was always number one. However, Nebraska was a very close second. Those games pretty much dictated who was going to win the Big 8 and go into the Orange Bowl. Oklahoma State was a big game as well, they were the third biggest for me. The Big 8 played a very physical game back then.

Craig: What was it like playing for Coach Switzer?

Boz: I would not change my head coach for any head coach on the planet. My relationship with Coach Switzer was a dream come true for me. Coach Switzer was as charismatic of a head coach as college football has ever seen. I don't know if there was one better before or since. He just wanted to make sure with some of my comments back then that I could back it up, but I had so many good players around me, and good coaches, that wasn't that hard to do. My defensive coordinator Gary Gibbs was every bit the tactician as Brent is today. He was a perfectionist.

Craig: Let's talk about Coach Brent Venables. What are your thoughts on the job he has done since taking over as coach?

Boz: I've seen Brent for almost twenty years in action. I've seen him in the locker room, on the field, in player interviews, in meetings, giving post-game speeches. I've seen him in so many settings and I'm so impressed with him. He handles everything so well. He has a passion for the game, has a great knowledge and he's a great manager of talent. If I had played under him, there would've been a completely different Boz, I can tell you that. I would've had a much different level of humility because I mirrored my approach based on Coach Switzer. I pulled off of his swagger and confidence.

Craig: You are the embodiment of what an Oklahoma LB should be. What do you think of Danny Stutsman following in your footsteps this fall and potentially bringing the Butkus Award back to Norman?

Boz: I've seen Danny grow from the first time he stepped onto campus. His confidence and leadership qualities have grown every week. You know if you have a leader when the others around you pull up the bootstraps and go to work. All of those players have to complement each other. I had that when I played with Tony and Curtis up front. I had great defensive ends, I had Paul and Dante next to me, we were a complete unit. Danny will need that support so he can just be a stud and make the plays.If the defense can show that they can hold their own against all of those great SEC offenses, the case can be made for Danny. He's the leader of that team and would be well deserving. Danny has the ability inside of him to do it.