Brent Venables talks injuries, LBs, Peyton Bowen, halfway point of spring

Oklahoma is halfway through its spring practice, which means we got Brent Venables to give us a 24-minute update on how things are going two weeks before the spring game on April 22.

Here are the highlights from Venables’ media availability on Wednesday:

Injury updates: Barnes, Spears-Jennings

Unfortunately we have to start with a few injury notes. They’ve piled up a bit, but nothing that should keep anyone out in the fall, according to Venables.

Sophomore running back Jovantae Barnes was seen in a boot and on a scooter at Monday’s practice and will miss the rest of spring practice, after having surgery on his foot. Venables said they hope he will be able to participate in some capacity this summer, which would indicate he shouldn’t miss the start of next season.

“He had a little surgery, something from high school that just bothered him,” Venables said. “He was fighting through it his first year or so here. Just thought this would be a good time to clean that up and he’s shown – we practiced him the first few practices and wanted to get him a jump start on the summer from a healing standpoint.”

The other player who will miss the rest of spring is sophomore safety Robert Spears-Jennings, who had shoulder surgery on Tuesday. Spears-Jennings has been battling through the injury for a week now and was practicing Monday with a brace. The hope is that he will be ready prior to fall camp.

“It became so bothersome that he had to get it done now,” Venables said. “He was having a really strong spring.”

A few others dealing with injuries include redshirt junior wide receiver J.J. Hester, who was seen in a boot Wednesday and Venables said has missed several practices; senior wide receiver D.J. Graham, who has missed four practices with a quad strain; freshman running back Daylan Smothers, who has been dealing with a hamstring issue; and freshman cornerback Jasaiah Wagoner, who pulled his hip flexor – Venables did not say if Wagoner or Smothers have missed any practice. Cornerbacks senior Jaden Davis and redshirt sophomore Kanai Walker have also missed time with undisclosed injuries.

There is some good injury news, with senior left tackle and Stanford transfer Walter Rouse starting to participate a little bit in individual drills, after having shoulder surgery in December. He’s often the last player on the field each practice working on technique.

“He was not able to run for several weeks after the surgery,” Venables said. “But he’s got a great, hungry, tough-mindedness to him. Really good attitude, and he’s plugged right in with his teammates effortlessly.”

And sophomore cornerback Gentry Williams is back practicing after his episode during winter workouts, in which he was taken to the hospital.

“He’s looked good,” Venables said. “He went through a little bit on Monday and he went through more today. So I’ll have to watch some of the good-on-good stuff he did today. He’ll be fine. It’s like riding a bike for him. He’ll get back where he was quickly and we expect him to really make that group better as well.”

Team rallying around Bowen

True freshman safety Peyton Bowen has missed a few practices this spring after his sister tragically passed away in March. Bowen has returned to practice this week, with his teammates attempting to lift him up.

Multiple players and coaches attended Bowen’s sister’s funeral in Dallas this past week.

“Peyton was missing some time, terrible deal with the death in the family that his family has had to deal with,” Venables said. “It’s not like a thing where, OK, now it’s over, and he can get back. No, it’s life. So helping him to continue to manage that. Our guys have done a great job of loving on him and encouraging him and being there for him.”

Bowen, a five-star prospect from Denton Guyer High School, figures to compete for a contributing role in his first season with the Sooners. And so far, he’s impressed Venables in practice.

“He’s got a really good natural feel for the game,” Venables said. “He can play in multiple spots. You don’t normally want to do that. Not only does he have the skill set, but football doesn’t overwhelm him. You want to make sure he can be precise and detailed as well. We’ve got really good competition there at safety.”

Venables working on details with linebackers

You know where you can find Venables at practice – with the linebackers.

Venables spends almost all his time with the linebackers during individual periods, often running them through drills and teaching techniques. Last year, the linebacker group was inconsistent and lacked experience in Venables’ defense. This year, Venables said the linebackers have made major improvement, with junior Danny Stutsman, sophomore Jaren Kanak and redshirt freshman Kobie McKenzie leading the way.

“I’m just trying to create as much game-like experience for those guys in the best way you can – stress ‘em and teach ‘em,” Venables said. “It’s a really hungry group of guys and fantastic in the meeting room. The depth of our knowledge even with guys that haven’t played a substantial role is really good. I’ve been pleased with that. I don’t think that could be better than what it is today. Now, it’s got to translate to the field.”

For Venables, he’s harping on the details with the linebackers, which was often an issue last season. Whether it was not understanding assignments or not filling the right run gaps, the linebackers struggled with the “little things.”

“Maybe I step with the wrong foot, a false step. I still made the play – he gained four yards, but if you step with the right foot, you’re playing behind your pads and it’s a one-yard gain,” Venables said. “And that’s the difference as we know – we got punished last year – that’s the difference between winning and losing games. That’s a very, very small margin for error. Our guys have improved fundamentally from where we were a year ago and our football intelligence at linebacker has been really good.”

Venables added that he still doesn’t like the depth at linebacker, but then proceeded to speak highly of his young linebackers – McKenzie, redshirt freshman Kip Lewis, true freshman Phil Picciotti and redshirt junior Shane Whitter.

“Phil Picciotti – he’s played really good behind the ball. He’s learning how to control his body,” Venables said. “He was a runaway train the first few days of mat drills and out of control. He’s got a big ‘ole body. And now he is, again he’s not where he’s gonna be soon. But he’s in a much different place than he was when we started in January. So really excited about his big, athletic body.

“And we’ve got some young guys there too at linebacker. Kobie’s really made some improvement in all the ways that you’ve got to. And Kip Lewis as well, we’ve got to continue to get weight on him. Shane Whitter’s, we’re working him in more and more at linebacker. May not go full speed with him and risk, you know, but he’s really done a nice job getting back closer to heathy.”

Skalski helping teach defense

One guy who is helping Venables with the linebackers is graduate assistant James Skalski, who played linebacker for Venables at Clemson from 2016-2021. Skalski joined the staff this spring and has been heavily involved at practice, often attached to Venables’ hip.

“He knows it from a player standpoint. So he can be the good cop non-stop,” Venables said. “And maybe sometimes when you receive from coach Skalski it’s received even better. I’m just throwing this out there, but maybe it’s more fatalistic when it comes from me, but when it comes from (Skalski), it’s a different perspective, a different tone from a player’s standpoint.

Skalski wasn’t one of Venable’s most athletic linebackers at Clemson but was one of his most reliable. He won two national titles with Clemson and was an All-ACC selection in his junior and senior seasons, totaling 258 tackles in his career.

Venables said he’s one of the smartest players he’s coached in his career and someone who can help teach his defense, which can be beneficial not only this spring but also next fall on Saturdays.

“I don’t even know what he’s saying, but I know what he’s saying is right,” Venables said. “You don’t have to coach him. He is literally another coach on the field. He’s three and four steps ahead of it at all times. So that’s a really invaluable thing to have just because of his depth of experience and our language and then the system and then how guys learn – guys really trust him.”

Arnold impressing and learning

Jackson Arnold has already started turning heads in spring practice – including Venables, who had high praise for the true freshman quarterback Wednesday.

“Jackson has had a really good first couple of weeks. Really good,” Venables said. “He’s had some great throws. There’s a lot of learning right now and looks and pressure and a lot of guys coming after him from different angles and whatnot, the coverages he’s seeing. I’ve been really pleased with him.”

Arnold is expected to compete for the backup job behind senior Dillon Gabriel. But Venables knows Arnold is the future at the position and has watched him experience growing pains this spring and showcase his high ceiling.

“He’s thrown guys open. He’s thrown with anticipation. He’s made good decisions. He’s made some tough decisions, some bad decisions that he’s had to learn and grow from as well. But I love where he’s at. He’s beyond the learning curve when it comes to the mental side of it. Football’s really easy for him, even at this level. There are some things from a learning standpoint that sometimes paralyzes young players – it hasn’t yet with him. He’s just got to put it all together.”

Scrimmaging other schools in spring?

A hot topic around college football this spring has been the idea of potentially scrimmaging other schools during spring practice, instead of a spring game. Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze, as well as other SEC coaches, have brought up the idea recently, with Freeze wanting to scrimmage UAB.

This is currently not allowed by the NCAA, but if it was, is it something Venables would be interested in?

“I mean, if everybody’s doing it, we would do it. Hell, we’ve got to learn how to stop each other,” Venables said. “But that would be kinda fun, I guess if everybody was doing it. Our interest at Oklahoma — our fans are going to show up. If I opened up practice, that stadium would get full. We’d fill that damn thing up. We do for the spring game, but if we filled it up on a weekend, on a Saturday, an aimless Saturday, that thing would get full. People would be excited to watch our guys compete, no matter what.

“But is that the talk? Maybe we can get the Cowboys, the Dallas Cowboys would come up here.”

The Cowboys probably aren’t coming to Norman any time soon, but an intra-squad scrimmage – similar to the NFL joint practices during training camp – is a fun concept for the future.

For now, Oklahoma will have to settle with scrimmaging itself, which it will do on Thursday.