During his 20-plus years as a defensive coordinator, new Oklahoma Sooners head coach Brent Venables accrued a reputation as one of football’s most innovative tacticians. If he wasn’t devising new wrinkles of his own, Venables was co-opting ideas schemed up by colleagues in the profession to produce some of the best defenses in college football. In particular, he has a knack for deploying hybrid players in creative ways that throw opponents out of sorts.
In recent seasons at Clemson, Venables made good use of rangy defenders like Isaiah Simmons and Trent Simpson. They offered him the physical build and skill set to excel at everything from rushing the passer to playing the run in space to covering the deep middle of the field.