Kirby Smart called Oklahoma's Venables 'one of the premier defensive coaches'
· Yahoo Sports
Georgia football coach Kirby Smart called Oklahoma coach Brent Venables "one of the premier defensive coaches in all of college football."
No. 2 Bulldogs face the No. 24 Sooners for the first time at Sanford Stadium for their SEC home opener on Saturday, Sept. 26, at 3:30 p.m. on ESPN. The two programs have only met once in the past, in the 2017 Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., where Georgia took the double-overtime victory.
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Smart described Venables' defense as fundamentally sound, aggressive attackers. He said people don't give them enough credit; they're always at the top of the country for tackles for loss — right now they're tied for 14th with several other programs. They can block, they can strike and they play at an unbelievable level and an intensity that's unmatched.
"You see it on tape, and he's always been that way," Smart said of Venables.
"There’s not a guy on their defense that comes in, and they rotate guys, but that comes in and doesn’t play with great pad level and great effort."
There's not really any anxiety about how Oklahoma’s defense has created havoc through the first three games. They go about their business violently, hard and with a purpose, but so does Georgia.
“They know what you’re doing as well as you know what you’re doing,” Smart said. “They do a great job of … understanding what your tendencies are.
With no disregard to Oklahoma, Smart said it’s not anything Georgia isn’t used to. Every week in the SEC is intense, tough and physical at the line of scrimmage. Oklahoma has a tremendous team, but Georgia is seeing eight of those types of teams in a row, Smart said.
Venables has the technique and the fundamentals. Smart said the Sooners have a great scheme, an answer for everything, but it “ain’t what does it for them.” What is, is that they strike like a snake. Fast and agile. They can get off blocks and play downhill. There’s nothing passive about them.
Smart’s biggest worry is his own team, as always. He has to get his guys ready to play, and that is a hard job week in and week out in the SEC because so many teams live through the perception of what is said, rather than what is.
“I’m worried about what we could do to make our team better,” Smart said. “Like, what allows you to have consistency in performance that maybe is unmatched? What can we do better than this opponent to get our players in a better position to be successful?” Whether it’s what we show them, whether it’s what we teach them, whether it’s how we do things, you’re just constantly looking for a better way.”
Fifth year center Drew Bobo said that they've done some good things through the first three weeks, but there's a lot hey still need to work on. They don't want to have negative plays, or penalties that push them back. But he's excited for the challenge Oklahoma's defense presents.
Georgia (3-0) hosts No. 24 Oklahoma (2-1) in the first conference home game of the 2026 season on Saturday, Sept. 26, at 3:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.
This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Kirby Smart called Oklahoma's Venables 'one of the premier defensive coaches'