Michigan Football: Brent Venables and Oklahoma are unexpected recruiting rivals

While Michigan football historically finds itself up against major Midwestern programs like Ohio State, Notre Dame, and Michigan State in recruiting this month, the Wolverines are going toe-to-toe with a very unexpected foe in the Oklahoma Sooners on the recruiting trail.

Many were shocked when it was reported that former Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley was leaving the storied Sooners program, even as alluring as USC can be.

The Sooners responded quickly and forcefully, poaching an OU alum and well-regarded assistant Brent Venables away from Clemson. While Riley pillaged the recruiting class and even roster (such as star quarterback Caleb Williams), Venables stepped in to stop the bleeding and get the Sooners back on track.

And now here they are, and the Wolverines find themselves in direct competition with the Sooners for a handful of recruitments this summer, especially in the upcoming recruiting visits this weekend. Much of this is due to Michigan football’s renewed focus on the Sooner State, thanks to their success in turning former Oklahoma five-star Daxton Hill into a first-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft.

This weekend, Venables and the Sooners host “ChampU BBQ”, a major recruiting event for Oklahoma. Currently, they are scheduled to see about 25 official visitors make their way to Norman, Oklahoma to visit, and it’ll almost certainly be interesting to see what comes out of that weekend for Michigan football fans, as many of those recruits are also players the Wolverines have a heavy interest in.

Top targets Michigan football is battling OU for

We’ve already talked a lot about top247 offensive lineman Cayden Green as a major target for Michigan football and OL coach Sherrone Moore.

Oklahoma is Michigan’s biggest competition for the Missouri mauler, and he’s set to be one of the visitors this weekend for Brent Venables and company.

Additionally, another prominent recruit to watch in the emerging Michigan-Oklahoma battles is top 247 athlete Jacobe Johnson, whom Michigan is putting “the full-court press on” according to 247Sports’ Brice March. 

He’s a 6’3 defensive back with tons of upside. Johnson is set to use an official visit for the Wolverines on June 17th, two weeks after his visit with Oklahoma.

The Sooners are also hosting a handful of targets Michigan is after, such as three-star offensive tackle Logan Howland (NJ), three-star linebacker Phil Piccotti (PA), and four-star defensive back Makari Vickers, a player Michigan believes they’re in contention for.

So while it’s clear that the Wolverines historically find themselves in recruiting battles with teams like Ohio State, Notre Dame, Penn State, and even some southern schools, these next couple of weekends will feature an unusually high amount of Michigan-Oklahoma battles, which will set the stage for some scheduled on-field contests in the future, with a series agreed upon for 2025 and 2026 close to a decade ago. 

These will be the first contests between the Sooners and Wolverines since the Sooners’ victory in the 1976 Orange Bowl when Bo Schembechler was still the head coach.