Sooners Meet with Media Ahead of Fall Camp

NORMAN — The Oklahoma football team reported for camp Wednesday, and head coach Brent Venables, offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle and several players met with the media to preview preseason practice, which begins on Thursday.

Venables and Arbuckle spoke at press conferences, while redshirt senior offensive lineman Troy Everett, senior running back Jaydn Ott, senior offensive lineman Jacob Sexton, senior defensive lineman Gracen Halton, senior defensive lineman Damonic Williams, redshirt junior linebacker Kobie McKinzie and redshirt sophomore defensive lineman Taylor Wein met with reporters in a scrum-style setup. Topics covered included offseason workouts, expectations for the season, personnel and depth at multiple positions and excitement for the upcoming season.

Watch press conference with Coach Venables and Coach Arbuckle, view a photo gallery from the media session and read quotes from players in attendance below.

Head Coach Brent Venables

Offensive Coordinator Ben Arbuckle

PHOTO GALLERY

Gallery: (7-30-2025) Fall Camp Media Availability

Quotes

Senior RB Jaydn Ott

On how his pass-catching ability adds to the talent of the running back room
"The game is changing and running backs must be more versatile than ever. I feel like I do a really good job of that and so do the other guys in that room. I think you'll see a lot of guys at the running back position be used out wide."

On his relationship with running backs coach DeMarco Murray
"My relationship with DeMarco has been good. It's really an honor to play underneath him. I've learned so much. I'm picking his brain as much as I can every day and really taking everything he says and trying to implement those things into my game."

Redshirt Senior OL Troy Everett

On how going through spring and summer workouts have helped him get ready for this season
"It's exciting because last year I didn't have a spring, didn't have a summer and didn't have a fall camp. I had three months to practice so it was really just what I learned in the film room. Now I get a whole offseason to work through, and my knees are feeling great. I've gained about nine pounds since January, so I'm feeling great and moving my best."

On how the experience and depth on the offensive line is helping the competition at those positions
"We have competition at every spot which I think is great because last year when injuries hit, we just didn't have guys with experience to go in there. Now, at every single position, we have guys that have played game reps in college, no matter what level they've played at prior."

Senior OL Jacob Sexton

On the offensive line
"The guys came in ready to work coming off last year. There's a lot of motivation there from last year. Everybody came in with a working mindset. The group's attacked the weight room, have had some (weight) gains and productive meetings. Just getting everybody ready for camp and the season."

On the areas he has improved the most
"R Mason Thomas has really helped me with my pass rush. I feel like I've struggled with that in the past and this offseason he's helped me a ton with that. We've found time this offseason where we're both available to go get more work in to help each other out because we understand iron sharpens iron."

Senior DL Gracen Halton

On the offseason
"The offseason has been going very well. We have guys hitting their peaks at the right time, coming to work every day. We all have a bad taste in our mouth from last season, so starting with summer workouts, guys are remembering what happened last year and showing up to put in the work. Just getting back to what we know we can be."

On the competition the defense brings
"Guys are coming together. We have a true brotherhood. We have a whole new team, but the coaches have done a good job of bringing us together and making sure our chemistry is great. Once our chemistry is there, we can really attack on the field. The competition has been there on both sides of the ball, going back and forth."

Senior DL Damonic Williams

On his leadership role and expectations
"From a leadership standpoint, when I got here, they wanted me to talk more and be a lot more comfortable with the guys. I just now got comfortable speaking up and not being okay with letting the little things slide. Little things, they leak in and become huge things later on. Before, I think guys couldn't trust me very much just yet because they didn't know exactly what I could do. After the Tennessee game, that trust was more there because they saw that this was a dude, not just someone they picked up out of the portal. They could really rely on me."

On the defensive line
"Coach (Todd) Bates loves to have not just two dudes, but his whole room be able to play in the game. His biggest goal is to make sure there is not a huge drop off from the starters to the second (string). He also doesn't believe in just two starters, he believes in four starters. He's going to have the whole room ready to play by the time we step on the field."

Redshirt Junior LB Kobie McKinzie

On the team structure
"We have a lot of new guys. We lost some key components and leadership, but we've got a lot of guys stepping up in that role, including myself. I'm looking forward to getting into camp and dominating while setting a new standard."

On what he tells the younger guys to make sure they get the most out of camp
"Look at the older guys in your group – they are the guys who should be setting the standard and living up to the standard. We went over our team rules yesterday and the importance of living by them."

Redshirt Sophomore DL Taylor Wein

On being supportive teammates
"When you are around the guys everyday and they're pouring into you and they're also fueling you, it motivates you to do better. Feeding off of each other and getting better. The biggest thing that Coach (Venables) talks about is bringing guys up. From a leadership standpoint, we shouldn't need a coach to do that. Our coaches are a big part of our program, but it should be the guys in the locker room stepping up and taking this team to another level. It's player-based and guys have to take a leadership role and be more vocal."

On his upbringing/connection to Tennessee/Oklahoma
"I lived in Edmond until I was four years old, moved to Nashville and was raised there all the way through high school. Nashville is my home, but I am back at my old stomping grounds. Of course I cheered for OU, I was born into it and never turned back. I've been to Neyland before, it's awesome. Every stadium you play in in this conference is amazing. It doesn't matter who we're in front of, we're going to bring it and showcase who we are."