All those years, all those contacts, the possibilities felt like they were endless for Oklahoma and first-year head coach Brent Venables when it came to hiring his staff.

One name was obvious. As soon as Venables got the OU gig in December, everybody connected the dots to Clemson defensive line coach Todd Bates.

Bates has proven to be among the best defensive tackles coaches in the country and among the best recruiters in the nation. That would be one major get for Venables if he could make that happen.

But who the heck is Miguel Chavis? His Twitter account was locked, but Chavis announced to the world he was OU’s defensive ends coach on his Instagram bio in early December.

Was this some sort of joke? No, it wasn’t. Despite never being an on-field assistant coach ever, it was legit. Chavis was coming with Venables from Clemson and beginning his coaching career. A former Clemson player who had spent the previous five seasons as a player development coach, Chavis was making the move.

It took one 16-minute conversation with Chavis last week to understand why and how easy it was to understand the decision. And how it wasn’t hard to realize why OU closed so strong on the recruiting trail for the 2022 class, especially at defensive line with Chavis running wild.

There’s a good chance not many people outside of the Clemson family knew who Chavis was before December, but OU fans are certainly fired up for what he is bringing to the table now.

“The last five years, I’ve been in the Coach Venables School of Defense,” said Chavis last Thursday. “Coached by a couple of legends and got to work with Todd Bates. My first year I had to learn just what the heck Coach V was saying as a support staff person. By year three, I had a pretty good grasp of the defense. By year four, I felt like a lion in a cage – just ready to go.

“Turned down some job opportunities and was just patient. Had great counsel from Coach Swinney and other people in my life, that’s not the one, just wait. That’s not the one, just wait. It was God’s perfect timing. When Coach V said, will you go with me? It didn’t take me long to say yes.”

Chavis is in, but what about Bates. It wasn’t until weeks later and well after the early signing period until Bates joined the fold.

As Chavis said last week, salt and pepper arrived.

The last couple of months haven’t been pressure on Chavis to prove to everybody he belongs, but if there was any doubt, he’s removed it.

From bringing in top recruits to connecting to the returning players, Chavis is a star on the rise. Bates is happy to be a witness to all of it.

“Oh man, it's been awesome,” said Bates last week. “I had the blessing of working with Miguel for five years before coming here. Hand in hand, every day being in the trenches with him. You could always see that his time was going to come and that he was ready for his moment when it did come because of the job that he did when he was working with me at Clemson.

“It's been a thing of beauty just to see him interact with his players and take the things that he learned and pour it into people. That's what he always did. Miguel Chavis is an elite encourager, and that's something that I know. I know that he loves his players, and you can see that every day. He's very intentional about every word he says and about everything he does."

They took different paths to Norman. They had different reputations, but they’re in the same spot now. Bates and Chavis came to Clemson together following the 2016 season.

Bates as the defensive tackles coach. Chavis is just another one of those nameless off-the-field personnel guys few people outside the program know.

The opportunity, however, was huge for Chavis. No slight, no disrespect. He had no problem working his way up the ladder. And no problem making Bates as good as possible.

“When I came in, Coach Bates in came in as well. I’ll never forget the first day,” Chavis said. “The Lord was putting it on my heart that I wanted to make him the best defensive tackles coach in the country. That was my job. I was a player development off the field coach.

“We have a very special bond, friendship, very unique. They started calling us salt and pepper. From our families doing life together, going to church together, recruiting together. I understand Todd. I understand the creature he is and vice versa. We are similar in a lot of ways and complement each other in other ways.”

Because these are guys who align with Venables’ values, his vision of what OU is going to be moving forward.

Bates was the lone Clemson assistant to join Venables, but Chavis was one of many personnel from Swinney to make the leap.

It was his time. Venables knew it.

“What is my rolodex? If it isn’t the guy I know intimately... That’s kind of a byproduct of you develop your coaches, you develop your family, opportunities arise,” said Venables last month. “That’s a good thing. That’s a very healthy thing for everybody. They get a chance to take so many of the great things you’ve learned, so many of the great things Coach Swinney taught all of us, me included.

“Now he gets a chance to have that tree extended. People continue to do things the right way in the profession… How can you not want to take people that have been a part of that over the last decade-plus as you build a program? There’s just too much good soil. There’s plenty of his soil there, trust me.”

Bates is already making OU a real player for elite defensive prospects for the 2023 class and beyond. But a lot of credit has to go to Chavis. Guys like Alton Tarber, R Mason Thomas, Gracen Halton, Kevonte Henry, that was Chavis putting in that work.

Well, at least it’s called work because Chavis doesn’t see it like that.

“Awesome. Like, I felt like I was cheating in life,” Chavis said. “Like, even right now, man, being up here, this is unbelievable. You know what I mean? Just because it doesn't feel like work, it's what I love doing. I think recruiting, when it comes down to it, is really about relationship building and connecting. I think it's about authenticity.

“And I care about people. I love people, you know what I mean? And so, yea, I got here, and got all cleared by compliance and all the rest, and they threw me an OU shirt on, Jordans, and I went on the road. And I texted my wife and took pictures of everything. And, it was amazing.”

An amazing start to what the Sooners are hoping for is the continuation of a great bond between Bates and Chavis that goes to even higher levels, on and off the field.