Oklahoma is chasing a repeat trip to the College Football Playoff this fall, and it will do that with a new head athletic trainer in tow.
The Sooners announced on Friday afternoon that they have hired Justin Smith to run their athletic training department. Smith comes to Norman from NC State, where he served as the Wolfpack’s head trainer.
He replaces Johnathan Gress, who only served at Oklahoma for 1 season before heading to the NFL to join the Tennessee Titans.
Smith brings a wealth of experience to Oklahoma as the Sooners try to return to the Playoff this fall after getting there last season under head coach Brent Venables. With Smith, the Sooners are getting a guy with 12 years of experience as NC State’s trainer. Before that, Smith spent 7 years as Appalachian State’s head trainer.
Venables released a statement on Friday hailing Smith’s arrival to OU for the 2026 season. The statement read, in part:
“We’re super excited to welcome Justin Smith to our program as head football athletic trainer. He brings tremendous wisdom and experience in the medical space and is one of the absolute best in his field,” Venables said.
Here is Venables’ full statement on the hiring of Smith:
Smith has the SEC in his blood. He is an Alabama alum, so this won’t be Smith’s first foray into the challenging world of the SEC.
He also previously spent time as a trainer in NFL Europe and at Champion Sports Medicine.
Oklahoma opens the 2026 season with a Friday night home game on Sept. 4 against UTEP, and now Smith will try to hit the ground running with only less than a month before the season starts.
With Smith on board for the 2026 season, Oklahoma will try to make another run at an SEC title this fall. Here is what the Kalshi odds are currently saying about Oklahoma’s chances to be the last team standing in the SEC with that conference trophy in December:
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
