Brent Venables blasts lazy takes about OU transfers not being SEC-ready

Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables fired back at critics who have questioned if his biggest offensive weapons will be able to still succeed in the SEC after transferring from lesser conferences with weaker schedules.

Quarterback John Mateer got to OU from the Pac-12's Washington State this winter, and running back Jaydn Ott followed in the spring from the ACC's California, which just left the Pac-12 last year. Both have garnered a lot of hype, but many have also doubted if both playmakers can still be as productive throughout an SEC schedule.

Venables was asked during Wednesday's pre-fall camp press conference how much fits he thought Mateer and Ott would cause for SEC defenses this upcoming season, prompting his argument against the take.

"I don't know much fits they're gonna give the SEC. I know a lot of people in here (referring to media) have made comments that they're gonna really struggle in the SEC, because this isn't Wyoming and whoever else that we're quantifying that against," Venables said. "I don't see how's that different from 'Oh, he hasn't played in the SEC.'

"Well, how about a freshman quarterback playing in the SEC? He hadn't played in the SEC either, right? But there's been plenty of young players that never played college football until their freshman year, and then they do really well."

Venables calls out those who doubt John Mateer, Jaydn Ott

I'm not saying Venables was targeting Texas quarterback Arch Manning, but he has more hype than anyone in the country right now despite just two starts under his belt and one being against Louisiana Monroe from the Sun Belt. Yet, Manning, with nearly no experience, has received much more praise than Mateer, who has started an entire season and even led the FBS in total touchdowns.

Ott, on the other hand, led the Pac-12 with 1,315 rushing yards and 12 TDs in 2023. An ankle injury slowed him down last season, though, when in the ACC. Later in the day after Venables already made his comments, Ott was also asked about his transition into the SEC.

"Yeah, not really any concerns," Ott said. "Like you said, football is football. But I do put respect on the name of SEC football. There are a lot of guys that play in the SEC. I take it with a grain of salt. I'm just excited to compete. I've never let that steer me away from competing."

Mateer was also asked about the concern earlier in the offseason when he was at the Manning Passing Academy. He wasn't specifically questioned about him and Ott, but how his and offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle's Washington State offense will adapt to the SEC.

"It'll be a learning curve. It will," Mateer said then. "I'll embrace that and it's gonna be fun. A challenge, and that's what football's supposed to be -- a challenge. There will be learning curves for all of us, but there's a lot of people with a lot of experience in the building so we can avoid the really hard learning curves and we'll get it in quick. As long as I'm disciplined to my reads and to the play call and to watching film, I'll be good."

It's like when NFL scouts overthink if great college football players can still be good in the NFL. Most of the time, the answer is yes. It's definitely not as drastic as a jump from high school to college football, but experts still rarely doubt top recruits. At the end of the day, like Ott mentioned, football is football.

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