Nick Saban says Brent Venables was ‘kicking ass’ as Bryce Underwood in OU prep for Michigan
By Jacob Moss
Published:
The No. 18-ranked Oklahoma Sooners are facing off against the No. 15-ranked Michigan Wolverines later tonight in the biggest week 2 matchup of the 2025 college football season, and the Sooners are sure to have their hands full with the Wolverines’ star quarterback, Bryce Underwood.
The true freshman gunslinger was lights out in Michigan’s season opener last weekend against the New Mexico Lobos, flashing all the tools that made him the highest-rated high school QB of the 2025 recruiting cycle.
Now, Underwood will face his first actual test at the college ranks, and he’ll be doing so against a man who has made his career by being one of the game’s best defensive minds in Sooners’ head coach Brent Venables.
The now fourth-year head coach at Oklahoma isn’t taking Underwood lightly either, as he joined College GameDay to discuss what makes the electric freshman so dangerous.
Former Alabama head coach and current College GameDay analyst Nick Saban also added some humor to the mix, hilariously recounting how Venables was actually playing as Underwood in a Sooners’ walkthrough on Friday against his own defense, and giving them some serious work in the process.
“I know that you’re going to be ready for Bryce Underwood,” Saban said to Venables, “because I went to walkthroughs yesterday and you were Bryce Underwood, and you were kicking ass and taking names!”
It’s very clear that the Sooners’ head coach isn’t above balling out a bit in walkthroughs against his own players, but it’s all for the greater good if it means they are better prepared come game time.
While Venables isn’t quite the caliber of athlete that Underwood is, Saban’s hilarious story clearly shows that he still has a little something left in the tank to keep his guys on their toes.
