Oklahoma Sooners

Oklahoma struggled shooting the ball in its first three Big 12 games, shooting less than 40 percent in losses to Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma State.

Point guard Sam Grooms thinks he knows the key, particularly after OU’s dominating win over Kansas State on Saturday.

“I think we are at our best when we play at high tempo especially since we weren’t really scoring the ball as well as we are supposed to those first couple of games,” he said. “We weren’t in transition like we usually were, last game we were in transition from beginning to end.”

The final ESPNU 150 rankings for the 2012 class released Thursday reflect exactly what is going on with Oklahoma’s recruiting class. The last couple of months have seen more questions than answers for the Sooners and many of their top prospects have taken a tumble in the list.

The highest-ranked OU commit is now wide receiver Sterling Shepard (Oklahoma City/Heritage Hall) but even Shepard slid a few spots. Shepard dropped two spots from No. 58 to No. 60 and has gone from the seventh-ranked receiver to No. 9.

Four spots below Shepard is receiver Durron Neal (St. Louis/De Smet Jesuit). Despite strong practice performances at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, Neal dropped four spots to No. 64 and is No. 10 at receiver.

The drops for Shepard and Neal are blips on the radar compared to what happened for running back Alex Ross (Jenks, Okla./Jenks) and center Ty Darlington (Apopka, Fla./Apopka).

Ross has gone from No. 38 and the fourth-ranked back to No. 70 and No. 7 at the position. An ankle injury and a collarbone injury no doubt played a role in Ross' free-fall.

For Darlington, losing 20 pounds during the season put him at around 250 pounds for the U.S. Army game and one of the smallest lineman there. Darlington slipped 51 spots to No. 148 though he is still the second-ranked center.

The only OU commit to move up the list is receiver Derrick Woods (Inglewood, Calif./Inglewood), who went up three slots to No. 137. However, he dropped from No. 17 at receiver to No. 19.

OU’s top target remains receiver Dorial Green-Beckham (Springfield, Mo./Hillcrest), who stands pat at No. 3 on the list and No. 1 at the position.

Florida star Nelson Agholor (Tampa, Fla./Berkeley Prep) dipped a little from No. 41 to No. 47 on the list, while offensive tackle target Zach Banner (Lakewood, Wash./Lakes) moved up one spot to No. 122 and is the 15th-ranked tackle for 2012.

Despite all the uncertainty with the state of the defense, the Sooners are still ranked No. 10 for this year’s class in the team rankings.

Brent Venables called the decision to leave Oklahoma for Clemson a "really difficult" one full one of "pros and cons" in an emotional interview Thursday morning on KREF Sports Talk 1400 with OU play-by-play radio voice Toby Rowland.

"I've been happy at Oklahoma," Venables said. "But I felt deep down this was the right thing for me to do at the right time."

Venables said he was excited about the team the Sooners had returning next season, and actually was "really happy" about the chance to work with Mike Stoops as co-defensive coordinators again. But Venables said the opportunity to improve his chances of one day becoming a head coach prompted him to make the move.

"I've got a fabulous relationship with Mike Stoops and felt together we are better," Venables said. "I thought really we could rekindle the old magic if you will and was really looking forward to that.

"But it was time to make a move. This could be an opportunity for me down the road to become a head coach as well."

Venables had been an Oklahoma assistant under Bob Stoops since 1999. All four of his children were born in Norman. Underscoring the difficulty of the decision, Venables broke up at the end of the interview talking about how special Oklahoma and Norman has been to he and his family.

"All my children are Normanites," he said before a long pause. "This will always be great memories. Believe it or not I'll still call this home."

As National Signing Day approaches on Feb. 1, Brandon Chatmon is breaking down every commitment and signee in the Sooners' 2012 recruiting class. View all of our profiles here.

Name: Taylor McNamara

Position: Tight End

Height, Weight: 6-foot-5, 230 pounds

Hometown/School: San Diego/Westview

Committed: Dec. 28, 2011

(Read full post)

NORMAN, Okla. – When Bob Stoops brought his brother back to Norman, he envisioned recapturing the magic that generated some of the best defenses in Oklahoma history.

Instead, Stoops will now have to hire a linebacker coach.

Wednesday night, co-defensive coordinator Brent Venables announced that he has left Oklahoma to become the defensive coordinator at Clemson, leaving the Sooners with another coaching vacancy.

In hiring Mike Stoops last week, Bob Stoops believed he was getting the band back together.

With Mike Stoops calling the defense and Venables co-coordinating, the Sooners ranked third nationally in fewest yards allowed in 2003. In 2001, Oklahoma ranked fourth.

And in the 2000 national championship game, the Stoops brothers and Venables devised a defensive game plan for the ages as the Sooners kept Florida State’s high-powered offense from scoring.

Too much time, however, had passed. And Bob Stoops’ hopes proved to be short-lived. After Venables and Mike Stoops took a recruiting trip together to Florida, Venables and his wife flew to Clemson. And the allure of a new challenge, a massive pay raise and the chance to call his own defense again won out.

Because of the success the Sooners endured while Mike Stoops was the senior partner in the relationship, Venables was never fully appreciated by the Oklahoma fan base. Moreover, the explosion of Big 12 offenses after Mike Stoops left made it virtually impossible to produce top five defenses.

But Venables still coordinated some gems that helped catapult the Sooners to Big 12 championships in ’06, ’08 and ’10.

In 2008, the Sooners wiped out second-ranked Texas Tech by holding one of the nation’s top offenses to a single touchdown in the first half. OU went on to play for a national championship that season.

But perhaps his most memorable coaching job came in the final game of the ’10 regular season against Oklahoma State. Faced with the task of slowing down the high-powered Cowboys, Bob Stoops and Venables elected to revamp the entire defense, going to a 3-4 scheme. The shift stunned the Cowboys, and Oklahoma State managed only three offensive touchdowns as Oklahoma prevailed.

But as much as the Sooners will miss Venables as a coordinator and linebackers coach, they will miss him just as much as an ace recruiter.

Ronnell Lewis, Demontre Hurst, Tom Wort, Corey Nelson, Austin Box, Jamell Fleming and DeMarco Murray are just a few of the standouts Venables had a hand in recruiting to Norman in recent years.

He also was the assistant who secured two of OU’s top verbal commitments in this recruiting class: safety Eric Striker and running back Daniel Brooks. Venables also was the primary assistant recruiting California cornerback Brandon Beaver, who is scheduled to visit OU this weekend.

Bob Stoops tried to get the band back together. With his brother and Venables blazing the recruiting trail as a tandem, then forging those ferocious defenses again on the field.

Instead, the Stoopses will be on their own. Turned out, the band didn’t get back together.

We’re now on Day 3 since Brent Venables’ return from Clemson, and no word yet on whether the Oklahoma (co-) defensive coordinator will leave.

Clearly, this isn’t an easy decision. These are some of the factors he must be weighing:

Why he should leave the Sooners:

Autonomy. At best, Venables is going to be sharing coordinating duties with Mike Stoops. At worst, he’ll be a co-coordinator in name only. At Clemson, Venables will be the guy and the defense will be his and his only.

Perception. Venables is in a tough spot at OU. The perception, fair or not, is there that Venables has been demoted. Consequently, even if the Sooners have the No. 1 defense in college football next season, how much of that credit is he going to get? Mike Stoops will reap the credit of any strides made with the defense. At Clemson, Venables has the chance to turn around a defense that was abysmal. If the Tigers play well defense next season, Venables will get all the credit.

Money. Bob Stoops reportedly is going to try to get Venables more money should he stay. But how much money will Stoops really be able to get? Venables already is the highest paid coordinator on the team, and the second highest paid defensive coordinator in the Big 12 with a salary of $440,000 plus incentives. Clemson, however, is planning to possibly offer a contract double that salary. The Tigers already upped offensive coordinator Chad Morris’ salary to $1.3 million.

Future. If Venables wants to be a head coach someday, going to Clemson might be the right move. Venables’ career could stagnate should he stay in Norman. It’s hard enough for an autonomous defensive coordinator to get a head coaching job in this world of high octane offense, much less one that shares duties with another.

Big 12 offenses. In that Venables won’t have to face them anymore. The Big 12 had six of the nation’s top 15 offenses last season. The ACC had none.

Why he should stay with Oklahoma:

Stability. Sure, Dabo Swinney took the Tigers to the Orange Bowl this season. But he’s not entrenched the way Bob Stoops is. A couple of losing seasons and Swinney would be out the door -- Venables with him. In Norman, Venables would be in no danger of losing his job. Remember, Swinney has fired a coordinator in each of the last two seasons, too. Going to Clemson would be a slight risk.

Comfortableness. There’s something to be said for being content where you are. Venables loves Norman. His family appears to love living in Norman, too. He knows how and where to recruit for his program. The Stoops brothers are two of his best friends in the industry. Venables is still in a very good situation.

Winning. Clemson is probably never going to win at the level OU does. This season, the Tigers won their first conference championship since 1991 and made their first BCS bowl appearance. OU achieves that almost every other year.

Talent. Clemson has had some great players come through its program, notably on the defensive line, the last few seasons. But traditionally the talent disparity between OU and Clemson is significant. That will certainly be the case next season. OU brings back five potential all-conference players in Tony Jefferson, Aaron Colvin, Demontre Hurst, Corey Nelson and Tom Wort. Despite its tremendous success this past season, Clemson had only two defenders receive first- or second-team all-conference consideration.

The SoonerNation staff is wrapping up Oklahoma's 10-3 season by answering 10 questions, just like we did during the Sooners' bye week in November. Today:

Who was the Sooners' defensive MVP for the 2011 season?

DE Frank Alexander
Cornerback Jamell Fleming may have very well been OU’s best defensive player at the end of the season. But no question, Alexander was the defensive MVP. Alexander was hampered by a shoulder injury OU’s final two games. But he still finished with a team-high 8.5 tackles and 19 tackles for loss on his way to becoming the fourth Sooner to earn Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year. The Sooners will miss Alexander, Fleming and end Ronnell Lewis next season.
- Jake Trotter

DE Ronnell Lewis
While Alexander was OU’s best and most consistent defender, Lewis could have been its most valuable. His athleticism off the edge had to be accounted for and he was a difference maker on special teams. The Sooners defense seemed to take a step backward when Lewis went out with a knee injury against Baylor. His absence allowed teams to focus on Alexander, who had zero sacks and just two tackles for loss in OU’s last three games without Lewis.
- Brandon Chatmon

CB Jamell Fleming
Fleming could not have finished the season in a better way. He was all over all the field against Oklahoma State and Iowa, earning Defensive MVP honors in the Insight Bowl win against the Hawkeyes. A lot like wide receiver Ryan Broyles, Fleming’s impact was felt the most when he wasn’t there. Fleming missed the game against Texas Tech where the sharks were torn to pieces. Nobody’s draft stock rose higher at OU than Fleming in the last month.
- Bob Przybylo

CB Jamell Fleming
I'm going with Fleming because of how the Sooners performed without him in the lineup, particularly against Texas Tech when his backup Gabe Lynn was torched by Red Raider receivers and eventually benched. When Fleming played well, he locked down his side of the field. And he was more consistent that defensive end Alexander and Lewis throughout the season.
- Dane Beavers

What do you think?

Colleague Ryan McGee looked at teams who could benefit from their schedules in 2012, and today, he surveyed teams who could be hurt by difficult schedules.

Two Big 12 teams are in the top three, led by Oklahoma at No. 2 and West Virginia at No. 3.

The biggest test for the Sooners: Kansas State.

As we told you last week, the Big 12 still hasn't gotten its 2012 schedule squared away as the conference waits to see what happens with West Virginia's attempted early defection from the Big East. If the Mountaineers are on the calendar, they will become just another giant pothole for the Sooners, who will once again enter a season escorted by haughty expectations. TCU joins the conference, likely an early game, while Notre Dame comes to Norman on Oct. 27.

The good news is that last year's brutal road schedule becomes a home schedule, but Kansas State, believe it or not, should be better.

Sounds about right. It's hard to project too much, but the Sooners have a matchup with Notre Dame set for Oct. 27, too.

West Virginia's schedule troubles should be fairly obvious. It's, uh, gonna be a lot tougher in the Big 12 than in the Big East.

The Mountaineers' schedule is up for debate, too, but they're slated to face Florida State in Tallahassee on Sept. 9. Ask Oklahoma how easy it is to win there.

Bill Snyder famously returned to Kansas State with the intention of "calming the waters" and restoring stability to Kansas State's program.

Well, it appears the seas at Kansas State are notably less stormy these days, fresh off a 10-win season and returning a team with the pieces to win a Big 12 title.

Down south in Oklahoma, though, the seas look a bit rockier.

Willie Martinez was let go to make room for Mike Stoops, whose arrival paved the way for what can only be classified as a demotion for Brent Venables. He's gone from the man in charge of Oklahoma's defense since 2004 to the man sharing coordinator duties with Stoops, the exact spot he sat in back in 2003.

Between now and then, head coaching opportunities have surfaced but were never consummated.

Now, it's a little different.

The new arrival at Oklahoma has Venables mulling a reported offer from Clemson, an unthinkable move in any other scenario. In this situation, it's understandable. Stoops, through no one's fault, now stands as a rather large deterrent to Venables ever becoming a head coach.

Until, well, Monday.

News out of Clemson has been quiet, and Monday night, a report surfaced that sent Kansas State DC Chris Cosh to South Florida.

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