Venables Truly is 'Like Father, Like Son'

CLEMSON — Sometimes when R.J. Mickens is walking down the hall and he does not see Tyler Venables, but can hear him talking, he has a flashback.

For Mickens, and his other defensive teammates, it sounds a lot like Tyler’s dad, Brent Venables, is back at Clemson’s Football Complex.

“It’s funny to hear it and guys kind of joke around, ‘There goes Coach V,’ Mickens said.

Of course, Brent Venables has not walked the halls at the Allen Reeves Football Complex in quite sometime, almost three years to be exact. Venables, who was Clemson’s defensive coordinator from 2012-2021, is about to begin his third season as the head coach at the University of Oklahoma.

However, Tyler Venables did not follow his dad to Oklahoma and instead chose to stay at Clemson where he enters his last season in Tigertown. Though the safety has become his own man, its obvious to his teammates that he has a lot of his father’s traits.

“It is crazy just seeing Tyler grow as a man and start developing the traits that BV had,” Mickens said. “It is really cool to see. He is growing into a great leader. He has always had the characteristics of a great leader from our freshman year to now but he has really has grown as a leader.

Though Venables sounds like his dad and has some of his same characteristics, he is still himself. As Mickens says, he is unique in his own way, too.

“He has done a great job this whole off-season and this camp leading,” Mickens said.

Venables says becoming a leader, like his dad is, just comes with experience. It is the same on the football field. As for being like his father, Venables believes those similarities started showing up a few years ago.

“I did not really get that a lot until I started talking about defense, correcting people or saying ‘make sure you are looking out for this or your eyes are on two here.’

“I did not really get that until about two years ago, and I never really thought about that too, but I guess I am hearing my own voice, so I do not really think about that.”

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney sees a lot of his father in Tyler Venables, which is one reason why having him back in the lineup this year is like having another coach on the sideline and in the field.

“Being an older guy, I am pretty knowledgeable on what we do on defense and stuff and I have seen a lot of ball and have played in a lot of games,” Venables said. “I have just taken that step. I quit looking around for someone else to lead and started doing it myself.

“You have to believe in yourself and believe in what you are saying and what you are doing and just go lead.”