Brent Venables says 'excitement and the enthusiasm is real' as OU Coaches Caravan wraps up

Men's basketball head coach Porter Moser almost missed out on the most memorable moment of the OU Coaches' Caravan tour.

The tour arrived at Oklahoma City's Omni Hotel on Thursday. Football head coach Brent Venables, women's basketball head coach Jennie Baranczyk and Moser all made an appearance as they greeted a packed house of Sooner supporters.

Thursday's event marked the grand finale of a seven-stop tour that touched three states, although the month-long journey didn't come without a few bumps in the road.

The stop in Amarillo, Texas, on May 10 proved to be the most memorable one. It was a trip Moser wasn't supposed to attend, but he quickly hopped on a flight when his schedule opened up on the day of the event.

The plan was to fly back to Norman afterward, but that got foiled when OU's plane broke down.

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This forced a group consisting of Moser, athletic director Joe Castiglione, Venables, Baranczyk and radio host Toby Rowland to drive back to Norman.

With a nearly five-hour trip ahead of it, the group did what anyone would do. It stopped at Love's Travel Stop for supplies.

Moser kept it simple by getting chips. Baranczyk kept it healthy by getting grapes.

Venables kept it Venables. He bought beef jerky, pretzels and a few "cold soda pops" before joining everyone in a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van and hitting the road.

It was a long trip for a group of OU powerhouses who have grown used to air travel, but they managed to make the best of the situation.

"As bad as that was and as mad as we were feeling, we turned it into a positive just because of the company that we held driving back in that van," Moser said.

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It was quite the company.

Venables, Moser and Baranczyk have little combined experience as head coaches at OU. Moser and Baranczyk are entering their second season at the helm of their respective programs, while Venables is set to kick off his first.

And yet all three coaches bring a plethora of previous experience to the table.

Venables won two national championships during his nine-year stretch as Clemson's defensive coordinator.

Moser led Loyola Chicago to a Final Four run in the 2018 NCAA Tournament.

Baranczyk coached Drake to back-to-back Missouri Valley Conference Tournament titles in 2017 and 2018.

"My favorite personal part when it comes to the coaching experience with Jennie and Porter is just being able to learn from them," Venables said. "They're two amazing leaders. They have an infectious energy.

"They have so much success in building programs and connecting with people... We're fortunate to have them."

The group eventually made it back to Norman. And, on Thursday, it made it to the finish line of the caravan tour with the stop in Oklahoma City.

It's a journey the three head coaches are glad they embarked on as they continue to generate excitement for OU sports.

"The excitement and the enthusiasm is real," Venables said. "I think we as a program and we as a university, we’re all better together. I want to capture that. I want to nurture that. I don’t take any of that for granted."

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OU Coaches' Caravan notebook

Here are some other notes from the caravan stop:

► Venables on OU director of football operations Thad Turnipseed: "He’s a critical part. He’s got vision. He’s four, five and six steps ahead with everything... He knows the things to avoid, the things to look out for and the things we absolutely have to have to be successful on the field and off the field."

► Venables on incoming freshman Jaren Kanak: "I was talking to Jaren Kanak before I came in here. I just called him to see what's going on... I was like 'How come you don’t send me those workout videos anymore?' He was like 'That goes without saying. That’s a given. You know what I’m doing.'"

► Venables on incoming freshman Jayden Rowe: "He’s all of 6-3, might be closer to 6-4. He’s 220 pounds. We’ll have a dilemma on our hands. Where do we put this guy? What a great problem to have because literally, you feel like he could potentially fill in at a lot of different places. It gives you a lot of flexibility with his size and his speed."

► Moser says Nevada transfer Grant Sherfield will need to be granted a waiver by the NCAA to be immediately eligible since he is a second-time transfer. Sherfield committed to OU on Tuesday.

► Moser on Sherfield: "He can obviously score the ball... He’s a great kid, very versatile and dynamic offensively. We needed that. We had some holes to fill."

► Moser on incoming freshman Luke Northweather: "I’m really excited about him. He is a prototypical, versatile five. He can really shoot. He’s mobile... He’s a high-level, character kid."

► Moser on the development of Tanner and Jacob Groves: "They're both hungry to be better. I think both of them have been living with Bryce Daub, our strength coach... Jacob already looks noticeably bigger, and Tanner does too. They'll both hopefully come back stronger and more athletic."

Justin Martinez can be reached at jmartinez@oklahoman.com or @JTheSportsDude on Twitter. Make sure to subscribe to The Oklahoman to stay up to date with all local sports.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Brent Venables says 'enthusiasm is real' as OU Coaches Caravan ends