Brent Venables has often claimed the SEC as a “one-possession league.” After Oklahoma’s tough first season, finishing 6-7 overall and 2-6 in SEC play, Venables saw the gap in experience and physicality that his team faced. Yet, amid those growing pains, one young player stood out for refusing to back down, and the Oklahoma coach couldn’t help but laud him.

Brent Venables praised freshman DB Courtland Guillory for making a fearless play in the toughest situation possible, matching the top SEC talents. “Courtland [Guillory] has really exceeded my expectations, just because I don’t hope it’s not a good strategy,” Venables said on the Sooners Sports Talk.  “Until you see a guy do it, when you’ve got real ammunition, when you’ve got the bullets flying, you give up a play, you’re going against people with tempo, your back’s against the wall, you don’t really know what they’ve got.”

In the very first year of college, Guillory faced some of the SEC’s top 20 players in receiving yards, including Texas WR Ryan Wingo and Mississippi’s dominant trio of WR Harrison Wallace, TE Dae’Quan Wright, and WR Deuce Alexander. He was initially tested against Mississippi but ended the game with a career-high 6 tackles and 3 pass deflections.

Venables then claimed that he has not seen a freshman like him, who has this level of competitive toughness and is ready to learn from his mistakes. “Since the beginning of the season, I have been bragging about Courtland,” The Sooners coach said. “Since last spring, his readiness and his competitive toughness and competitive character are as good as any freshman that I’ve been around. And he’s got great length, he’s got great natural strength to him when he makes a mistake, and he’s going to look you right in the eyes, he’s going to respond.”

When the hosts said that everyone’s good until they give one catch-up, the coach claimed that he won’t be on his heels, as he’s extremely motivated. “You’re not going to find him on his heels, he’s like put me back in coach, I’m ready. He’s just a great teammate, man. Every single day, he’s a light when he comes into the building,” the coach said.

Brent Venables indirectly hinted at the SEC problem he had and how he recruited a competitive player like him to overcome it. He wondered how he hadn’t flinched even at the hardest schedules and felt proud of Courtland Guillory. “You recruit your problems, and you recruit guys that have great competitive character, and he’s one of many that we have. I’m super proud of him; he’s playing a critical role, obviously, in one of the hardest schedules we’ve ever had, and he hasn’t flinched.”

Guillory had also praised Venables earlier in September for trusting him, as he had said, “It means a lot for a coach like BV to trust a guy like me coming in early as a freshman.”

In the nine games he played for the Sooners, he tackled 26 times, 17 solo tackles, and defended 6 passes, proving to be a fearless force in the Sooners’ roster.

Brent Venables sought Nick Saban before signing with Oklahoma

Even Brent Venables was not this confident and fearless as the young Defensive End Courtland Guillory. Venables himself has revealed that he sought Nick Saban’s help to get prepared for big, challenging games every single week in the SEC conference. “There’s not a more challenging slate, conference-wise, than what you see week in, week out than in the SEC,” Venables said. 

Obviously, Nick Saban is the go-to person to get advice from, as nobody has seen this much success in college football as the GOAT coach himself, who has won 6 national titles with the Alabama Crimson Tide. With his valuable advice, the Sooners are marching towards the playoffs with a 7-2 record.

With that being said, Oklahoma is set to face the No. 4 Alabama Crimson Tide this week in a ranked matchup. This is one of the important stops for the Sooners to secure their spot in the playoffs. Whereas a loss would rule them out of the postseason games.