His message was unambiguous: he must adhere to the fundamental principles he has worked to establish for the programme since taking over two and a half years ago in order to “put together the strongest, most competitive roster” as Oklahoma gets ready to play in its first SEC season. Thus, it should come as no surprise that this offseason, Venables secured a commitment from one of the best centres available via the transfer portal, just after the Sooners concluded their spring practices in April.

Oklahoma also added the SMU move.One day after the team’s spring game at Owen Field, on April 21, Branson Hickman, the No. 5 centre in this cycle according to the 247Sports transfer portal rankings, was added to the Sooners as they attempted to strengthen their reconstructed offensive line this offseason.

Along with TCU defensive tackle Damonic Williams, it was one of Oklahoma’s two post-spring transfer portal acquisitions. Venables called the offensive line addition “really big” for the Sooners going into the season on Tuesday.

At the SEC spring meetings on Tuesday in Destin, Florida, Venables remarked, “Branson, again, he’s been a leader for a long time.” “He is a very experienced coach’s kid. Even though it’s late in the spring, he’s a very brilliant kid who will bring a plethora of talent, fundamentals, and technique to the table. He has already graduated, but his level of intelligence will help him adjust.”

When the 6-foot-3, 294-pound Hickman first accessed the transfer portal in January, he took his time selecting his new home. He committed one day after visiting Oklahoma the weekend of the spring game, as the Sooners attempted to strengthen their centre position following Troy Everett’s mid-spring knee injury.Everett’s injury necessitated surgery, leaving OU without any real experience at centre, where Andrew Raym, a three-year starter, was already being replaced by the programme.

For the rest of the spring, Oklahoma used redshirt freshman Josh Bates as the starting centre in place of Everett. Although Bates, who saw limited action in the season’s first game, improved in spring, Venables was still interested in looking into any possible improvements for the position in the future.

With Hickman, a three-year SMU centre starter who concluded the previous campaign as one of the best-graded centre players in college football, he achieved precisely that, according to Pro Football Focus. Hickman had a 79.7 overall grade in 2023, which was the fourth-highest mark among FBS centres. He started all 14 of the Mustangs’ games and saw 952 total snaps. Across 487 pass-blocking opportunities, he allowed zero sacks and only eight total pressures, good for an 83.1 pass-blocking grade that ranked 10th at the position. His grade for run-blocking was 77.4, which placed him tenth among FBS centres.

Over the course of the last four seasons, Hickman has started 33 of the 37 games in which he has appeared. He has also logged 2,436 snaps at centre and surrendered only six sacks and 20 total pressures.When fall camp gets underway, he should fit right in as Oklahoma’s starting centre.

“A guy like that at that position will touch the ball every single snap,” Venables stated. “But he’s a guy who made us better.”

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