3 days ago
Robert Spears-Jennings has full faith in Brent Venables, excited about Oklahoma offense
Oklahoma Sooners safety Robert Spears-Jennings was one of three players chosen to represent OU at SEC Media Days on Wednesday. Spears-Jennings enters his fourth year in the program, following a very good 2024 season, his first year as a starter.
Spears-Jennings will be one of the biggest names on OU's defense this year. The Sooners have to replace a lot of veteran leadership and production on that side of the ball, but Spears-Jennings thinks he and the other returners are ready to take the reins.
"Coach (Brent) Venables, Coach (Brandon) Hall, Coach (Jerry) Schmidt, they've all advised me to be more vocal," Spears-Jennings said. "This summer, this spring and this winter, I've tried my hardest, done my best at being a more vocal leader and just leading by example. Me and a couple of other guys have been doing that job very well."
Spears-Jennings also spoke glowingly of Brent Venables, as the fourth-year head coach takes over defensive play-calling duties in 2025 after Zac Alley's departure. The OU defensive back says he knows Venables will be great.
"Coach V is one of the greatest defensive coaches ever," Spears-Jennings said. "I have all faith and trust in him because he's going to confuse a lot of offensive coordinators and quarterbacks because you never know what you're going to get from him, never know what you're going to run that week. That's what I love about Coach Venables, one week we might be in a whole different game-scheme, formations. Then the next week, you can't really watch our last week's game because we're probably not going to even come out in that formation or the fronts at all ... I feel like we've communicated way better this year because we were taught a quiet defense is a dead defense. So this year we're emphasizing on communication on defense a lot."
But it's not just the defense that has Spears-Jennings excited. The veteran believes the Sooners will be much better offensively this year as well. He spoke about what this year's offense brings to the table in practice.
"It's definitely more challenging because they bring energy," Spears-Jennings said. "I feel like with (Ben) Arbuckle and John (Mateer), they brung a different type of swag with them. They bring, I feel like our whole offense has embodied their swag and their energy because once they score a touchdown, their whole side is over there running, celebrating with the guys, and that's what you need, you need energy. I feel like these guys here love playing football."
Spears-Jennings quietly had a big year in the secondary for Oklahoma a season ago. If he can continue to develop into a game-wrecker for opposing offensive coordinators, it makes the Sooner defense that much harder to tangle with in 2025.
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