Oklahoma Injury Crisis Forces Brent Venables to Take Action as Jim Nagy’s Poaching Masterplan Confirmed

Oklahoma is steering through an incredibly tough spring practice, but intel reveals Brent Venables is doing things right so far. The Sooners are looking to improve on last year’s record. They have also decided to forgo their traditional spring practice, replacing it with a fan-centric event – called the Crimson Combine. The energy is different in Norman at the moment. 2025 will see a new Sooners team and a new staff. All of that novelty is keeping spring ball buzzing with activity, but certain concerns cannot be ignored…

Let’s be real: Surviving in the SEC is no joke. With powerhouses like Texas, Georgia, Tennessee, and Alabama always striving for rank 1, any minor shortcoming will take seconds to become a major setback. Now, with a drop from 10-3 in the B12 in 2023 to 6-7 in the SEC last year, 2025 would be a challenging year for the Sooners. And the HC has been working relentlessly. On3’s J.D. PicKell noted on April 8 that the Sooners’ offense is looking good so far, especially because of John Mateer. The QB1 from Washington State has a total of 3,406 yards and 32 touchdowns so far. Regarding the receiver support Mateer would need on the field, PicKell said Venables is approaching the room with some vigilance.

“I think the most important thing around both the wide receiver room and the offensive line, outside of them just being solid, [is that] they’ve been very cautious as a team this spring, with how they handle injuries,” said PicKell. The WR room, in particular, struggled immensely with injuries last season. Just like this year, the Sooners’ offense was looking strong before the regular season began. This year, Venables is trying to prevent the onslaught of injuries from recurring. “What I’ve been told is they’re taking spring a little bit more – I don’t know if slowly is the right word – but cautiously, with how they’re handling the injuries.” Last season, we saw Jayden Gibson go down with a season-ending injury and Deion Burks missing out after taking hits in the Texas A&M and Missouri games.

Gibson continues to be the most concerning injury at the moment. He was scheduled for a limited role in spring practice. But the WR had some issues while working out, so that plan is out of the window. Three more wide receivers – KJ Daniels, Andy Bass, and Jovantae Barnes are down with injuries. Venables doesn’t want to make his WR room thinner than it already is. So, the reps for this department will be more paced out to keep the fitness of this and all other O-line personnel in check.

How far will Jim Nagy go for Brent Venables?

Perhaps the biggest investment Venables has made for the Sooners is getting Jim Nagy on board as GM. He has 18 years of experience in NFL front offices, across the span of which he’s seen four Super Bowl wins. Now that he’ll be running point on talent scouting for Oklahoma, we’re going to see the program get into some fierce battles with others to get the best recruits.

PicKell said that Nagy is already at work because intel revealed that the GM is looking at the portal for one player. He also said about Nagy, “The fact that you got a guy that was interviewing for NFL jobs running your roster in Norman, that’s a boss move. So, anytime you’re able to make a boss move when it comes to roster construction, that to me says Oklahoma is serious about putting their actions aligned with their goals.” Venables’s priority at the moment should be to improve their score from last year. Maybe Nagy has also echoed that mindset and will go hard at the transfer portal too.

There’s no one as busy as Venables this offseason as he prepares his team to play in the toughest schedules of the year. He knows it’s not going to be easy and is taking the necessary precautions to keep complications at bay. And now with Jim Nagy on board, there’s a good chance news of recruiting battles will pop up in his new role with the Sooners.