Brent Venables couldn’t thank veteran leaders like Drake Stoops enough after the Alamo Bowl loss to Arizona.

The Sooners went into the 4th quarter up 24-21, then Arizona scored 17 unanswered points to ultimately win 38-24. Oklahoma finished the season at 10-3 after the loss.

Stoops is the son of former Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops. Drake decided to walk on at Oklahoma as a receiver even though he held multiple Division I offers. Venables praised Stoops for being a leader on and off the field at Thursday’s post-game press conference. Stoops led Oklahoma with 962 receiving yards this season.

“We got everything that we could out of this group of guys. You guys have led the way. We squeezed all the juice of them we could squeeze,” said Venables. “I just wanna say how thankful I am for all of our players. … Drake is the one senior that’s up here. He’s someone that’s made every person in the program better. You’ve enriched all of our lives, man. We’re thankful for the amazing example that you’ve been.”

Oklahoma now prepares for its 1st season in the SEC. The Sooners look ahead to the future with Venables at the helm.