No question the last 24 hours have been a whirlwind for new Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables, and it isn’t about to slow down anytime soon.

It can’t.

Venables, who had been the defensive coordinator at Clemson the last 10 years, arrived in Norman late Sunday night, had a welcoming party Monday morning and his first press conference in the afternoon. Now? Time to get recruiting.

This time of year that makes sense, have to hit the road and try to salvage a depleted 2022 class before next week’s early signing period.

But you could argue the No. 1 priority is on campus in freshman quarterback Caleb Williams and doing whatever is necessary to get him to stay following Lincoln Riley’s departure to USC.

“I have spoken to Caleb. Reached out to him and his father yesterday, gonna connect with his father here later,” Venables said. “Whether it’s Caleb or anybody else, everybody talks about recruiting, go get the next class, the next class after that even. There’s nobody that’s more important to recruit than your players every day. You do that with relationships, you do that connectivity.”

Venables will be traveling across the country with the rest of the OU staff like crazy in the next week, but a point of emphasis from Venables was about never losing touch with what you have, the players on campus.

In the transfer portal era, it’s more important than ever.

“Again, you gotta reach them the right way… So the portal’s a very real thing, with all of your players,” Venables said. “But I’ve always believed in continuing to nurture in the relationships, don’t get so caught up in the recruiting that you lose sight of what’s most important, what’s in your locker room, because it’s the lifeblood of your program.”

Onto the trail

The press conference was cut short, although it was 40 minutes, because it was time for Venables to hit the road and start recruiting.

There hasn’t been a lot of overlap between OU and Clemson recruits for the 2022 class, so could be a first impression is the only one Venables is gonna get.

What’s the secret formula? How is gonna strike the right notes with recruits and their families? He didn’t seem too worried about it.

“I have a career, almost 30 years, of being loyal. Just look at my career,” Venables said. “If I've been something I've been loyal. I haven't been a coach that's just jumped all over. Take this job, take this job, take this job. I think that speaks for itself. It's not an easy thing to sell.

“But I do think they chose Oklahoma for a reason. We always challenge recruits to take their recruiting coach out of it. What a wonderful place it is to chase your dreams and get a great quality education. To develop holistically. And so it's much more than just one person.

“I recognize that being the head coach has a very important place in all of that. But again, for me for example, if they're looking for a program with stability, a program of success... This is a program first of all that's displayed that on its own. And then my career has been exactly that as well, on the biggest stages, in the biggest games. I have that kind of experience to sell.”

OU has lost four commitments for its 2022 class since Riley left last week.

Getting the band together

You worry about the team. You focus on recruiting. And next up on that checklist is forming the coaching staff.

It seems pretty obvious that some pieces are gonna remain in Norman like running backs coach DeMarco Murray and tight ends coach Joe Jon Finley.

Others? Shoulder shrug at the moment.

“Obviously, you prepare yourself for a long time, way before. Every battle is won before it's fought,” Venables said. “You have that same kind of mindset when it comes to staffing. We're working through that right now. The same with our current staff. There's some terrific options right here at home. We're looking at everything.”

OU is coming off a five-year run of Riley calling the shots and being the offensive coordinator. Venables, known for his defensive prowess, said that won’t be the case with him.

“My intention is to hire a defensive coordinator,” he said.

The scheme

OU fans fondly remember the Venables defense of the 2000s at OU where the Sooners were one of the best units in the country.

Nothing changed for Venables at Clemson as the Tigers only got better. But OU has gone through some ups and downs throughout the process.

What’s an OU defense with Venables as the man in charge gonna look like?

“It's always about the player. So that's where it's gonna start, evaluating the players and finding where our needs are, addressing those needs as quickly as we can, and then, again, building the foundation for them, both from a philosophy standpoint, structure standpoint, and then to the development that goes with that,” Venables said. “And that's not an overnight thing as we all know.”

Venables would watch film all day if you let him, and he gave some insight into that mentality in talking about the rise of the Iowa State defense in recent years.

Back when the Big 12 had some of the best offenses in the country, the Cyclones did a formidable job of slowing them down. It intrigued Venables.

“Because I respect people doing more with less. That's what coaching looks like. There's a lot that goes into that one I'm incredibly excited about. And, and again, in my opinion without evaluating the personnel yet and what our needs are, I'm incredibly excited. And you know, I think any mark of any good unit, player, coach is consistency, you know, showing up week in and week out playing to a standard.”

Three yards and a cloud of dust?

That’s the defense, turn it over to the offensive side of the ball. Multiple reports and sources have told SoonerScoop.com that Ole Miss offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby is the easy favorite right now to run OU’s offense.

It’s not official yet, but it appears that’s the way Venables wants to go. The Rebels have been dynamic under Lebby, but Venables wants to make sure one facet of the game doesn’t go missing.

“Just because you spread out doesn't mean you have to lose the physical element,” Venables said. “I think it's more important than anything else that you maintain, establish, nourish, enhance and improve a standard of physicality that goes with whatever scheme you're implementing. I think it needs to be diverse.

“But I think it's important that you understand what you have at your disposal in regard to playmakers. You can ride the things that are your strengths and you can protect the weaknesses. But I believe you've got to throw the ball in this day and age without question.”