Sooners Preview 2023 at Big 12 Media Days

ARLINGTON, Texas — Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables, quarterback Dillon Gabriel, wide receiver Drake Stoops, defensive lineman Jonah Laulu and linebacker Danny Stutsman represented the Sooners on Thursday to preview the 2023 season at Big 12 Media Day at AT&T Stadium.

Venables, Gabriel, Stoops, Laulu and Stutsman met with the media in various capacities for seven hours Thursday. Segments of the day can be viewed on SoonerSports.tv.

See highlights from the day below and via Twitter and Instagram (@OU_Football) and Facebook (Oklahoma Football).

COACH VENABLES PRESS CONFERENCE

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Head Coach Brent Venables

Opening Press Conference

On his team this season … "We've had tremendous turnover, like a lot of people in this day and age of college football. We desire a roster of stability and consistency. I think that's what lends to success and sustainability. But I look at it as a great opportunity for the new guys. We've got 123 players on team 129, and out of those 123 players, 97 of them will be in either their first or their second year at the University of Oklahoma. Tremendous turnover, but I couldn't be more excited about the group of guys."

On improvements made in the offseason … "We've looked long and hard in the off-season, since January, of what we need to do to become a more efficient football team. We've looked at every single part of our program, how we can improve and get better. Nothing ever stays the same. We spent a lot of the off-season practicing, film review, programatically, coaching, all the things that you go into a season where we can get better, and really excited about the improvements that we've made a year into our systems, a year into our strength and conditioning, the PRs, the improvements that we've made in the weight room."

On the competitive depth and how it will help this season … "Really love the competitive depth that we've developed with our current players, our returning players, and what we've recruited both out of high school with 40 new scholarship players and 17 transfers. Really believe that because of the competitive depth we'll have a little bit stronger fourth quarter output on both sides of the ball. We started the year pretty strong and then we didn't finish the year very well, particularly in, again, those fourth quarters of a bunch of games, we just didn't have any juice left about the middle of the year on. The competitive depth will lead to better competitive stamina."

On Danny Stutsman's leadership on defense … "Danny would be the first one to admit that 17 months ago he wasn't capable of leading, and he's in a much different place now. The whole team follows Danny, his emotion, his work, his action. He's a doer and a giver. I love the maturation that's taking place with him off the field as much as on the field, his seriousness, his commitment to excellence every day. He's put the team and the expectations on his back, and I love that."

On year two as a head coach and building the program … "Managing it all, I've got a wonderful staff. They've put heart into all of it, and if we're successful it's because of all of us, as a staff and certainly as a program of players. When you're not successful, it all rests right at your seat. So heavy is the crown. But I embrace that. I've always put a lot on myself. A lot of learning and growing and reflecting, and again, we really expect to come back this year and learn from those mistakes. You learn a lot through failure, as we all talk about a lot in dealing with sports, but if you're made of the right stuff, winners respond, winners come back a better version of themselves, winners go right back at it, and that's exactly what we're going to do."

Redshirt Senior Quarterback Dillon Gabriel

On his focus this season … "We're using last year as a learning process. But as for this season, it'll be whatever we end up going out there and proving. A lot of people can talk, and there are a lot of preseason awards and stuff with rankings, but the truth is that when that time comes for that first game, you have to go prove it."

On the vibe in the locker room … "The vibe around Oklahoma right now is just focused. We're very eager to play, and we're just super excited. I say all that because this whole offseason that started in January has been very competitive, and I think you need that."

On the wide receivers … "We brought in two guys in Andrel (Anthony) and Brenen (Thompson), and then a lot of younger guys that are extremely talented, just haven't gotten a lot of experience. It'll be interesting to see, walking into camp, but I've got a lot of confidence in them, just what I've seen thus far in the spring, the type of plays they're making, but then also, heading into the offseason, their approach, their eagerness to learn and then the communication. Communicating effectively with one another, I think that's just as important headed into fall camp, where ultimately the players will be in action. Not a lot of talk, just a lot of action will prove what everyone's about."

On the tight ends … "We got Austin Stogner and Blake Smith coming in. We also got a guy named Josh Fanuiel who's done a really good job, and Hampton (Fay) just came in, and (has) done a really good job as well, and then Kaden Helms. Got a good group of guys, even Jason (Llewellyn) coming back, just them finding ways to continue to get better. Stogner's been a great piece to the puzzle, I didn't play with him last year but feel like I've known him for a long time, just with all his connections with the guys that have been here."

On the running backs … "(Jovantae Barnes and Gavin Sawchuk) may be young on paper, but they're very mature for their age. They have a great leader in Coach (DeMarco) Murray, coaching them up. They've done a great job this offseason of being dialed into protections, getting themselves better physically so they can do what they do, and I'm excited to see what they can do."

Redshirt Senior Wide Receiver Drake Stoops

On team expectations … "This team is so hungry, but we're humble as well. Last year, we fell short of our expectations, and we weren't where we wanted to be. We just have an appreciation for what it takes to win, and we have had a lot of new guys that have come in, which has helped us with our competitive edge."

On quarterback Dillon Gabriel … "Dillon (Gabriel) is a phenomenal leader, and he really galvanizes our team. People really gravitate toward him and who he is as a person. Then as a player, he is just on it mentally. He knows his stuff and the system, from progressions to who needs to get the ball and everything else. That puts him ahead of the game, and then he's got a really strong arm, and he is accurate."

On the wide receivers … "I think we're very excited about the wide receiver room. There's a lot of new faces that fans are going to get used to this year, and I'm excited to see what they'll do. Everyone always mentions me and Jalil (Farooq), because we have experience, but we have a lot of competitive depth in that room now. We have a lot of depth in that room, and that's important. Fans may not know it yet, because they don't know the players, but they're ready to play, they're excited for their opportunity. I think fans will get to know them really quick."

On closing games and competitive depth … "We lost five games by a touchdown or less, and it was always in the last two, three minutes of the game. I alluded to the competitive depth, that'll help with competitive stamina over time, especially when the fourth quarter comes up, not being tired, not being unpoised in those situations, and just being sharper in situational football."

Junior Linebacker Danny Stutsman

On the linebackers … "Our guys are hungry. They may not have seen much game time last year, but they're ready. Then we brought in guys like Dasan McCullough or Konnor Near, who was an All-American and won a couple of national championships at that level (Division II). Those are big pieces for us."

On team depth and physical improvement … "Every rep you take has to be a game rep. Competitive stamina comes from having the right people in at the right time. We're deep now. We brought in a lot of linebackers, and I think that last year we had some young guys that may not have been ready, so the starters had to be in there a little bit longer. But sometimes that just happens, and you've got to be ready for it and be in a better shape. We've gotten better, faster and stronger working with Schmitty (OU Director of Sports Enhancement and Strength and Conditioning Jerry Schmidt). If we look back at where we were a year ago, we're miles ahead of that place."

On linebacker improvement and getting better in the offseason … "There is so much that this defense can learn. All we pretty much do is walkthroughs. I bring the linebackers in every day, and we watch film. We're going to a deeper level that we just couldn't last year. We're able to learn more by ourselves this year and have that mini-coach Venables mindset when we're watching that tape."

On the strength and conditioning program … "It takes time to build a program with Coach Schmidt. I think last summer was kind of him just preparing us for what he wanted. This year is really like our first summer in the program. We're able to do the workouts that he actually wants us to do. But now we're developed and mature enough to where we can take that stress and strain that he puts on us as players."

Redshirt Senior Defensive Lineman Jonah Laulu

On his final college football season … "This is my last season, so it means a lot to me personally. It means a lot to everybody as well, after last season. We had very high hopes but didn't get the outcome we wanted. We're really excited going into to this season, especially with fall camp right around the corner."

On his physical growth in the offseason … "From January to now, I've gained like 30 pounds this offseason. I feel faster, more explosive and stronger than I ever have. I'm just way more natural this size than I was on the edge. We've been talking about it, Coach Bates and Coach Chavis, we're talking about watching last year during fall camp, I look way more comfortable inside with my stunts. It's just been a really good transition."

On playing at Oklahoma … "When you play at OU, you always know that you're going to get everyone's best shot and their "game seven" mentality. It's a great feeling to beat someone whenever you know they gave you their best shot. That's what I know I'm looking forward to for this season."

SEASON TICKETS

Season tickets are still available for the 2023 season through the OU Athletics Ticket Office and can purchased by clicking this link.