Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables met with the media on Tuesday morning ahead of Saturday’s top 15 showdown between the Sooners and Vols in Norman.
Tennessee enters the matchup ranked No. 6 nationally and has demolished its first three opponents. But life gets harder for the Vols this weekend as they open up SEC play in their first true road game of the season.
Venables talked about Tennessee at length during his Tuesday press conference including about head coach Josh Heupel, the Vols’ offensive line and much more. Here’s what Venables said about Tennessee.
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Opening Statement
“Excited to start conference play. Our first-ever SEC game. So pretty cool to be a part of that history. And hard to argue that anyone in college football is playing better ball than Tennessee right now, led by redshirt freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava … man, what talent. He was named the Citrus Bowl MVP in his first start against the University of Iowa last year. He’s fun to watch and he’s incredibly talented. Strong arm, great runner. The things he’s been able to do in just such a short amount of time, he’s complete in 72% of his passes and has just been fantastic. And he’s got a great presence to him. Got a fantastic supporting cast and a great defense.
“(Tennessee has) outscored their opponents 191-13, which is the biggest differential in SEC history through a team’s first three games. So they lead the nation in scoring and rank second and total offense. Got great balance. They’re averaging over 300 yards rushing and 300 yards passing. And then their defense is just outstanding. And total defense, others, I think they are first or second country total defense, just 160 yards a game. Everybody talks about the offense, and justifiably so, but the defense is playing every bit as dominant and has not given up a touchdown in 16 quarters. They rank it third and points allowed in the country.
“They’ve got four outstanding receivers. They probably could put up even more yardage in statistics, individually, if they played more than half the game. And they’ve got four receivers that have over 100 yards receiving as well. They’ve only punted twice this year. And so that’s another challenge for our guys. And our guys will be looking forward to the challenge. And as I I’ve said all along, you want to be challenged and you like to compete and, and they recognize and respect the things that University Tennessee has done through three games this year.
“Squirrel White is one of the best returners in the country. He’s averaging 20 yards a return. And he’s a fantastic receiver. And then their running back, No. 6, (Dylan) Sampson is, again, very, very explosive as a running back for them. So they’re really good.
“And then on the other side of the ball, on defense, James Pearce, he might be the best guy in the country on defense. And they’re really experienced upfront, very disruptive, very athletic. They’re long, explosive. They’ve got several new guys in the back end, but they’ve got length, they can run sideline to sideline. They’re playing really aggressive. They mix it up. They got good balance to what they do. And then their special teams units are well-coached aggressive, led by Mike Ekeler, who was a former GA here and a former linebacker, locker room comrade of mine at Kansas State. He’s done a fantastic job wherever he’s been and certainly doing that there for them right now.
“So it’ll be exciting. I’m looking forward to have a great week of preparation. It’s a game that, to have a chance to win, don’t have to play perfect, but we’re going to have to play well. And you’re not going to play poorly and beat these guys. So our guys are looking forward to the challenge.
“And (I) have a long history, like a lot of people in Oklahoma, with Josh, a good friend of mine and his wife Dawn and their family. Everything that Josh has represented in his career, just as a human being, as a coach, he’s first class in every way. He’s got a long history here and, again, he’s done a great job everywhere he’s been. Whether it’s Utah state, Missouri, UCF, certainly Tennessee. Winners know how to win and that’s what he’s done. So (it’s) cool to see that.”
On the importance of home field environment in this game
“The history and the SEC, it’s really difficult and challenging to win on the road in the SEC. And I will not be surprised if that’s the kind of atmosphere that Oklahoma creates. It’s going to take that. That’s part of it as well. But I think we’ll have the center stage in college football on Saturday night. Our fans won’t disappoint
On how important it will be for Oklahoma to get a consistent pass rush against this Tennessee offense
“It’s important. They do a lot of RPOs. I don’t know how it ranks in regards to who’s running the fastest offense in college football, but they got to be right there if they’re not number one. So they go incredibly fast. So the things that go along with that, that’s to neutralize you in lots of ways. Your communication fundamentals, your ability to get lined up and your ability to put your eyes on the right stuff. In their presentation, it is a legitimate run. And so at any point in time, the quarterback can pull it out a belly and throw it to the space, wherever the space is. If that’s over the heads of the linebackers or that’s on the perimeter game. And (Nico Iamaleava has) an amazingly quick release and tremendous velocity and accuracy that allows that RPO, again, to really get into a great rhythm.
“So if we can get them in definitive passing situations, again, they’ve got a better offensive line. We went after one of their starters in the transfer portal market, a great player for them. Their left tackle (Lance Heard). I really have a tremendous amount of respect for how they play up front. They are really aggressive. Cooper Mays, their center, somebody I know their family, and Cade Mays, his older brother, played at both Georgia andTennessee as well, and man, (Cooper) plays with an edge. He just plays the position, their whole offensive line, they get down in their stance, man, they’re getting down with authority. And they’re sending a message and they’re incredibly physical. This will be, and with every SEC (team) you’re going hear me say it, I just watched the tape, they play a physical brand of football. And I just have a lot of appreciation, respect for what that looks like. One of the best offensive lines I’ve seen in a while. And having faced several SEC teams through the years, this is one of those offensive lines, in my opinion.
“And so it’s a great challenge and great matchup for our defensive line, our linebackers. Again, we’ve done the right things so far. We’re developing as well. And I like a lot of things that we’ve been able to put on tape and some things I don’t like. We got to get better. I believe that every game throughout the year, it’s going to look like that. Some good, some not so good. But you want more good than not, obviously. But I’ve got a great appreciation for where our guys are at right now, too. And the direction. They’re hungry, they’re driven, they show up to work, they’ve got great self-awareness. They’re not pounding their chest. They know that the challenge is going to be very real each and every week over the next several weeks. And for us to have a chance to win, they’re going to have to play well.”
On if Oklahoma can play its best game of the season in week four
“That’s my expectation. We’re going to play our best four quarters of football on Saturday night in all three phases. That’s the focus. We’ve laid out a plan this week that allows us to do so. We got to work our butt off. We got to make sure that we get the plan down early in the week so we can fine tune that plan and the fundamentals, the physicality of the good-on-good work. And then you got to take the players’ responsibility, all those things that you learn and the habits that you’ve developed and built upon throughout the course of the week. And you got to take up the game day. And it’s going to be incredibly emotional. They’ll have great passion and energy and enthusiasm and those things are great. But that only lasts so long. This is a game of physicality and a game of execution. So that’s what we need to be able to take to the field. And that’ll allow us to play well and well enough to win. Whatever it takes to win, and that’s the focus … The next opportunity is sitting right in front of us and that’s where our eyes are fixed.”
On his memories from the first time he met Josh Heupel at Oklahoma in 1999, the impact Heupel had with the Sooners in two seasons at quarterback
“That’s a great question. And I’ll be a truth serum here. We wanted to get Akili Smith. Mike (Stoops) and I, we were only here for a couple of days and we were at Kansas State and we knew (about Akili Smith). Mike recruited California and Akili was coming out of whatever junior college, Mount Sac or somewhere.
And he was the prototypical dude. I can’t even remember how big he was, but he was a big, strong, strapping dude that could spin it. He looked the part — could run, could pass.
“And we didn’t know anything about Josh, but he was outside of the office windows. There’s the quarterback. He was on the visit and there maybe two guys on the visit and he was one of them. And he was outside, we had an old turf field down there and he was playing catch. And, again, I’m saying this an incredible appreciation and respect for Josh. Couldn’t have been more wrong. Don’t judge a book by its cover. And he was skinny and just frail. And it’s the middle of winter, just kind of pasty and the ball was coming off, southpaw, he probably hadn’t played in a couple months and the ball was wobbly. And Josh could occasionally do that. And we’re like, that ain’t it. (Mike) Leach, he didn’t even want to bring Akili Smith in on a visit. ‘I’m not interested.’ And so a lesson learned.
“But Josh, amazing work ethic and humility, same guy every day. Didn’t try to be anybody that he wasn’t. Incredible humility, respect for his teammates. And I don’t know what the culture was like before we got here (in 1999), so it’s not really fair for me to say that he changed it, other than there was some brokenness and he brought people together and he was able to relate to people regardless of what they come from. And that’s the cool thing about a locker room.
“But sometimes it’s not as easy to get it to mesh everybody from all the different backgrounds and whatnot. But it was for him. And he led the way, offense to defense. One of his best friends was Torrance Marshall and still is to this day. And if you know Torrance, he went to South Bay High School and South Miami. And of course Josh is from Aberdeen (North Dakota), and they couldn’t come from two completely different environments. And to watch those guys pretty quickly bond and become friends and help the locker room, and amongst others, there were plenty of guys that helped create the culture, but Josh led the way. So he’s always been a leader. And he’s always had this innate ability to have great poise, great focus, but also have some fun, that competitive balance that allows you to be loose and confident and precise.”
On Josh Heupel’s legacy at Oklahoma, what he thinks the reception will be
“I know speaking from coaches and also being a fan, I was a fan too. There can’t be someone with a stronger legacy. He’s a national championship (player) and timing is everything. And there was a period where Oklahoma hadn’t had a winning season for, I don’t know how many years in a row it was. Five straight years not going to a bowl game. And in the first year going 7-5. And then out of nowhere to go 13-0. And several games within that year, Oklahoma was an underdog or had to come from behind in those games. You really felt Sooner Magic was reignited and he was a catalyst of that.
“And people won’t forget that. That’s one of the coolest things about college football. It brings so much joy and we reflect so many moments that enriches your life because of those moments of success and winning and overcoming. We all feel like we were a part of that. And so both personally and professionally, and then again, make no mistake, Oklahoma fans want to see Coach Heupel take a loss on Saturday night. And there will be nobody that feels bad if they don’t do well, we know that. But people pull for people. And I think this is one of those times that you put the logo aside. And he’s got an amazing legacy at this university.
“And, again, sometimes God, His way is the right way even though we don’t understand it. And you make the hard right hand turn and he’s got something better for you. And that’s exactly what happened for Josh and his family.”
On Josh Heupel’s Tennessee offense, with its pace, spacing and vertical threats
“They’re really good. They’ve got very good players. They’ve recruited good players. Some older guys that have been in the system, they understand the system and they’ve got great skill. They got size, they got speed and they put tremendous pressure on you with their scheme, their tempo and their ability to be precise. And then on top of that really good skill. So it’s really tough. And some of it’s coming off of getting off of those play fakes or an RPO situation too.
And so many teams don’t necessarily present that. They might have a few RPOs here and there, but this team is built from the beginning of the game to the end, man. And they’re putting great pressure on you. So I love the challenge.
“Anybody that knows me, I got to read what the stats are. For people that might be like, you know, brag on our own guys. Well, these are the things we we’re looking at and this is the challenge. And I like getting the guys on the edge of their seat. Our guys know. Our guys have a great maturity. We call it ‘be a pro.’ Be a pro. If you show up to this building, man, you flip your switch — how you think, how you work, how you take notes, how you study film, have respect for the game, have respect for the process. And this process will reward you when you respect it every single week like it’s the biggest game of the year because it is. And so that being said, it doesn’t take them long to watch the tape either.
“And I’m going to call it exactly how it is. And this will be a fantastic, amazing environment. And one where I think the strength of our team is is our defense. That’s where we have the most experience, guys that are veterans in this system. We’ve got some good competitive depth there without a whole bunch of injuries, where we haven’t necessarily been exposed. You lose a few guys and all of a sudden you don’t have competitive depth and you might have another guy, but there’s nothing else behind him. So we’re fortunate from that standpoint. But it will be the biggest test that we’ve had offensively, since we’ve been here.”
