ESPN dished out a ranking of every Power Four team's offseason ahead of the 2026 college football season, but like many others have recently, the outlet forgot that sometimes less is actually more, especially for the Oklahoma Sooners.
The Sooners were handed the sixth-best offseason in the SEC by ESPN behind Texas, LSU, Ole Miss, Georgia and Texas A&M, respectively. That middle-of-the-road ranking wasn't disrespectful toward OU's quiet offseason, but it was further evidence that it's been lost at how well the Sooners' offseason actually went, even without a lot of noise to draw attention.
Oklahoma's quiet offseason continues to get overlooked
ESPN mentioned a "biggest coaching move," "what went wrong" and "what went right" for every program. For the Sooners, their "what went wrong" is actually what's going right for Brent Venables' program entering Year 5.
The outlet noted all of the losses the Sooners suffered on the defensive side of the ball, especially along the defensive line with defensive ends R Mason Thomas and Marvin Jones Jr. and defensive tackles Gracen Halton and Damonic Williams, who are all headed to the NFL.
ESPN claimed the Sooners should have been more aggressive in the Transfer Portal to replace those lost. Instead, OU added only defensive end Kenny Ozowalu, linebacker Cole Sullivan, defensive tackle Bishop Thomas, and cornerbacks Prince Ijioma and Dakoda Fields from the portal on defense while mostly relying on players already on the roster to step up. None of those transfers are expected to start.
Retention, though, is the most underrated way to win an offseason. Thomas, a second-round pick, will certainly be tough to replace, but the loss of Jones is negated with returning Second-Team All-SEC honoree Taylor Wein, who even ESPN just wrote was being undervalued. There's also Danny Okoye and Adepoju Adebawore fighting for the other edge spot as former top recruits who have spent their entire careers in the same system.
There's also excitement surrounding the interior of the defensive line with juniors Jayden Jackson and David Stone. Both have the potential to be first-round draft picks a year from now.
Then at the next level, OU kept Kip Lewis away from the NFL for one more year and also won a battle with the NCAA for a final season of Owen Heinecke to give the Sooners two returning starters at linebacker. The addition of Sullivan and program guys like James Nesta stepping up also gives OU insane depth at the position.
OU's secondary then features All-SEC safety Peyton Bowen and two returning corners in Eli Bowen and Courtland Guillory. And, once again, a program guy familiar with the system will likely emerge as the starter at the other safety spot.
On the flip side, ESPN highlighted all the starters the Sooners returned on offense, including quarterback John Mateer, top receiver Isaiah Sategna III and four offensive linemen, plus the addition of loads of portal talent at tight end and wide receiver.
Read more: Brent Venables just pulled off Oklahoma’s best-case offseason miracle
With the help of general manager Jim Nagy, Venables took care of all the Sooners' needs this offseason. They didn't go spend too much for more or bring unnecessary transfers in only to run off a player they already developed and knows the system. This strategy is not the way to get offseason hype, but it is the best way to win football games during the season.
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