OU football coach Brent Venables previews Sooners' Week 5 game against TCU
NORMAN — OU coach Brent Venables held his weekly press conference Tuesday, looking back at last weekend's loss to Kansas State and previewing Saturday's 11 a.m. game at TCU.
Here's what Venables had to say:
➤ Venables said he was happy with the way his team has responded since the loss.
"Getting our guys to buy in and run towards the hard," Venables said. "On the defensive side of the ball, we've got a lot of guys that have been scarred up.
"Our guys are hungry, they're eager and they want to put the work in."
➤ Venables on fixing his team's slow starts: "As a team, you want to obviously start well together," Venables said. "Easier said than done, but you don't have to change that philosophy or the way of thinking or the emphasis. You've just got to go do it."
The Sooners have trailed early in each of the last three games.
More:OU football must fix slow offensive starts. Jeff Lebby says the issue starts with him.
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➤ After OU's linebackers struggled against Kansas State, Venables said there wasn't likely to be help from the Sooners freshmen at the position who have yet to see the field.
Venables said Kobie McKinzie and Kip Lewis were both slated to redshirt.
"Depth's not great there," Venables said.
Freshman Jaren Kanak does figure to continue to play a role there, though he didn't play on defense against the Wildcats.
David Ugwoegbu, Danny Stutsman, and DaShaun White were three of the four Sooners defenders who played every defensive snap against Kansas State.
More:How will OU's defense respond vs. TCU after 'little kink in the road' in first loss?
➤ Venables on what he saw from his defense against Kansas State.
"What I saw was guys afraid to make mistakes," Venables said. "We played on our heels."
➤ Venables on TCU's offense: "They're really, really good at receiver. They're big. They're fast. ... They can go up and get the deep ball and they can run by you."
➤ During Venables' first season as Clemson's defensive coordinator, in 2012, the Tigers fell to Florida State in the fourth game of the season, 49-37.
Venables said there were lessons he learned from that experience. Clemson won seven consecutive games after that loss, and finished that year with a Peach Bowl victory.
"Just continue to be who you've been," Venables said. "You learn and grow from your mistakes, and we certainly did. ... You have moments — a little baby learning how to walk. You take a couple of head plants into the coffee table and then you're fine.
"You have to go through the process. It doesn't ever happen fast enough."
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➤ Venables said he didn't feel like his team's identity had been harmed by the loss, though he said that is still being formed.
"I don't know what that identity is yet, other than it's been a team that has bought in," Venables said.
It was a common theme for Venables on Saturday
➤ Venables said his team's win at Nebraska two weeks ago is beneficial heading into the season's second road game.
"You use all your experiences to, again, reinforce, to gain confidence. You gain confidence through your preparation, through your work and through your experiences," Venables said.
The Sooners have won 29 of their last 33 true road games, scoring at least 30 points in 37 of their last 38 true road contests.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma football: Brent Venables comments on Sooners' game vs. TCU
