Renewing Idea of Sooners Recruiting

When Lincoln Riley left Norman there was more than a feeling that part of his thought process was the Sooners couldn’t recruit along the defensive line as they needed to compete at the SEC level. Nevermind that Oklahoma had one of it’s strongest defensive line classes in a decade committed, that’s a story for another day. But while Riley has largely been the focus of a lot of Sooners ire he wasn’t the only one who had clear doubts.

Almost certainly Brent Venables heard the questions and it’s surely part of why he made such a focus of bringing then-Clemson defensive line coach Todd Bates with him to Norman. When Bates took the job even Sooners fans were left with questions. Some knew his reputation and believed, others knew that reputation but had seen numerous close calls over the decade since Venables left Norman and wondered how they’d get their ‘mojo’ back up front.

Now the Sooners have landed four-star prospects in four straight classes. They have also landed their first five-star defensive tackle since 2008. With these accomplishments in mind there can be little doubt that Bates was a huge piece of that shift.

And that four straight years of signees? That’s the first time that Oklahoma has accomplished the feat since 2008-2011. For those unaware, those are the last four full classes of Venables’s time in Norman as a defensive coordinator.

Venables First Run Set a Standard for Sooners

It was far from just Venables that contributed to the defensive line recruiting of the 2010s. In fact, it’s hard to ignore that from 2004 – the first year the On3 Industry rankings go back to – to 2012 when he left for Clemson there was a clear line of demarcation in defensive line recruiting.

Oklahoma’s defensive tackle recruiting from 2004-2012 averaged 3.86 stars per signee in that time frame. On the opposite side of things from 2013-2021 the Sooners averaged 3.37 stars per signee in that time.

It may seem a small difference but it just needs context. The easiest way to put it into digestible fact? That roughly .5 difference basically equates to signing 9 equally ranked players. The tenth players in this example? One would be a five-star and the other unranked.

In other words it is the difference in Gerald McCoy and Jordan Nix in your signing class.

Again, when the Sooners had the right people in charge, in this case the duo of Venables and Jackie Shipp , talent along the defensive front rolled into Norman.

Post-Venables Struggled for Consistency

There were big wins in the era that followed Venables. Names like Neville Gallimore , Jalen Redmond , Michael Thompson , and Kelvin Gilliam were among the few big recruiting wins. However, in that 2013-21 period Oklahoma landed four top 250 players in the country at the defensive tackle position – and that’s including Redmond who was an EDGE recruit out of high school. Since Bates’s arrival? They’ve landed three and that doesn’t include Halton just missing the cut at No. 259 in the class of 2022.

It’s impossible to not connect Bates to the resurgence. And his ability connect with recruits on various levels is something that is reiterated by players over and again.

“I see Coach Bates as a role model,” Sooners commit Trent Wilson said. “Coach Venables and Coach Bates were about getting to know me, getting to know my family and it was a different feeling for me there. They understand me, who I am, what I want and how I want to be coached and treated.

“Not only are they great people, but they are great coaches. Coach Venables is a defensive-minded coach, Coach Bates has developed great defensive linemen, so they are guys I want to play for and learn from.”

But like most great recruiters Bates uses the numerous tools at his disposal to build his connections with players. Including his faith, something he takes sincerely and discusses with pride with recruits.

“I’m a real person of God, so for him to send me a Bible verse every single day since January is something I really look forward to,” Floyd Boucard told On3’s Chad Simmons on Saturday. “… For him to build a connection with me through God is something I really respect. Sometimes, he calls me and we will do a Bible study.”

When Bates took the job some doubted how Oklahoma would get back on track and wondered if they could compete in the SEC? In just four classes he has averaged a 3.55-star ranking per signed player and over the last two classes?

3.8, a near identical number to what the Sooners had accumulated during Venables’s first stint in Norman.

In short? The lingering doubts that pre-dated Venables and Bates, are being silenced by the current batch of Sooners.

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