What did SEC coaches have to say about the Oklahoma Sooners?

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The Oklahoma Sooners have a team ready to contend in 2026. They'll have a difficult schedule to navigate, but they've got the pieces in place to build upon their playoff appearance in 2025. And SEC coaches think so, too.

Athlon talked to coaches in the conference about each team. There was high praise for Oklahoma entering its third season in the SEC. Coming off a 10-win season and College Football Playoff appearance, the Sooners have built momentum from a perception standpoint, and that's helped them on the recruiting trail.

Here's what anonymous SEC coaches had to say about the Sooners.

John Mateer has a High Ceiling

[QB John Mateer] has a ridiculously high ceiling. – Anonymous SEC coach

Despite what you saw in 2025, that's true. John Mateer has the potential to contend for a Heisman Trophy in 2026. He looked like someone who would end up in New York after wins over Michigan and Auburn. In his first four games of the year, he averaged 303 passing yards and 47.5 rushing yards per game and had 11 total touchdowns.

The thumb injury had an impact on the rest of the season, but he's healthy and ready to roll for 2026. If he can play the way he did at the beginning of the season, combined with an improved offense around him, Mateer will have a chance to do some special things in 2026.

Complimentary Offense

That offense has answers for everything. They don’t do a ton, but everything they do complements the other thing. When he just executes and then makes splash plays here and there, they complement their elite defense very well. – Anonymous SEC coach

The offense complemented their defense pretty well in 2025, in that they didn't put the defense in as many bad positions as they had the year before. But it still has a ways to go. The run game finished 118th in the nation in yards per game and averaged just 3.4 yards per carry. If they can take a step and finish in the top half of FBS teams, that would help the defense out a ton, along with Mateer.

Oklahoma needs a run game to be a contender. You can't win big without one, especially in the playoff. But they have a developing, maturing offensive line and have added an SEC offensive tackle. They have a strong group of running backs providing better depth than they did the year before.

Alignment is Strong

I was impressed with how [head coach] Brent [Venables] and [general manager] Jim Nagy structured the team, and it feels like they finally hit on what the recipe is to be successful there. – Anonymous SEC Coach

Brent Venables always had the vision. The defense was improving and the offense did good things under Jeff Lebby but the injury situation in 2024 was an unfortunate setback. Oklahoma's been in a good spot even though it hasn't fully had things come together.

The addition of Jim Nagy and his front office staff has added to the work Venables and his coaching staff put in on the recruiting trail and on-field development. There's been a strong collaboration that's built on the foundation Venables and his staff created in the first few years in Norman.

The combination of Venables and Nagy's respective staffs and the incredible amount of experience that they have in coaching and evaluating, plus the on-field results in 2025, helped the Sooners finish the 2026 recruiting cycle on a tear with late commitments from four-star prospects Jahsiear Rogers, Jayden Petit, and Jonathan Hatton.

That momentum carried over into the transfer portal, where Oklahoma made big splashes to add key players on both sides of the ball like Trell Harris, E'Marion Harris, Parker Livingstone, and Cole Sullivan.

The front office and the coaching staff have developed a great working relationship and the rest of the SEC is taking notice.

Brent Venables as a playcaller

Defensively, it’s so many multiples. Week to week, they won’t do the same pre-snap look again, so whatever you prepare for, you’re not gonna get. Obviously, you want to create indecision with young quarterbacks or new quarterbacks in the system, and they do that at a really high level. – Anonymous SEC coach

Oklahoma brought Brent Venables to Norman because he is one of the best defensive minds in college football over the last quarter of a century. It may have taken him a few years to fully take over, but he's always had his hands in the pot when it came to cooking up defense. But when he finally took over full playcalling duties, the results were fantastic.

Oklahoma's defense led them to the College Football Playoff last year. They were fast, physical, opportunistic, and provided a number of game-altering moments in 2025.

The defense is going to be good in 2026 despite the losses of key players on the defensive line. But they didn't miss a beat when they lost defensive standouts Billy Bowman and Danny Stutsman the year before. In fact, they got better. The defensive depth chart is stacked with talented players recruited by Venables and his staff to fit just what Venables wants to do up front.

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This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: SEC coaches praise Oklahoma Sooners heading into 2026

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