“High-caliber, extensive experience in scouting, recruiting, and retaining top talent.” In the brutal, win-or-die world of the SEC, just having good players isn’t good enough anymore. Brent Venables knows this. With OU’s only season highlight being a win against a broken, disjointed, and pure joke of an Alabama offense, you best believe the HC needs a weapon to secure the future of the Sooners. Enter GM Jim Nagy. On a whopping $2.55 million 3-year deal, this move by OU and Venables is a last-ditch effort to completely change the Sooners’ recruitment game. It’s a BIG gamble and there is no doubt about it. However, the itsy-bitsy secret that might pay off this bet is hiding in plain sight.

“The nice thing with our new scouting staff is, we’re going to have layers and layers of cross-checks, which… I don’t think has existed in college football before,” GM Jim Nagy confessed on The Triple Option. Now, on the surface, this might look like fluff, but when you start digging deeper, it starts making more sense. Nagy and Venables are on a mission to create a completely new grading system for OU. With “8, 9, 10 guys” who are all “experienced, proven evaluators,” Sooners might get a massive edge over the competition. In a nutshell, this basically means that Oklahoma doesn’t have to stay focused on the rankings by On3 or even 247Sports.

And if you want to see this system working, you don’t even have to look at past classes. In June itself, OU landed a massive commitment from 4-star dual-threat QB Bowe Bentley. This kid is a flat-out baller who managed to snag 47 TDs on passing and another 16 on rushing. Also, add to the list 7-4A DI Co-Offensive MVP honors.

Then comes another top 50 national prospect, Jake Kreul. With a recent visit to Norman, On3 predicts that this kid has a 76.4% chance of shaking hands with Venables. Keep in mind, the Bucks had a stake in this recruitment run, but Nagy and Co. pulling a one-up over them clearly proves the validity of the new system.

A 25-year-old system kick-started by Rivals has finally met its match. This new era of OU recruitment “might” just change the future….. but what about the present? Sure, the new recruitment process will help OU snag solid options for their 2026 or 2027 class, but what about the 2025 conquest? Is Venables equipped to recover from the 6-7 face-plant?

Snap back to the reality of the Oklahoma Sooners’ blunders

Listen, Venables KNOWS how to build a defense. The Crimson Tide game is living proof of that. But when you flip the script and hand the HC the offense playbook, it’s like a kid trying to learn ABCD all over again. Being in the SEC and ranking 126th on YPG is wild.

What’s worse is being 110th in scoring. Jackson Arnold was extremely underutilized, and the overall run/pass game was a joke. But all of this might change. Sooners have new hope in John Mateer. Under OC Ben Arbuckle, Mateer was a monster.

Kid brought the hype AND the production to Washington State, and if he replicates the same at the Sooners? Well, the OU fans are gonna eat good. While Nagy will do his best to place the bricks that would secure Norman’s future, Venables has to be the one making sure that the cement between the layers ain’t fake.