OU’s Venables calls out Sanders for giving players ‘pink slips’
Colorado head coach Deion Sanders is one of the hottest names on the college football recruiting trail, but Brent Venables isn't a fan of his methods.
Sanders has drawn criticism in his first offseason at Colorado. Thanks to the NCAA's Aid After Departure of Head Coach rule, first-year head coaches can cut players from their 85-player scholarship list as long as they allow them to retain their scholarship and not participate in football activities.
Sanders has used this rule to gut a Colorado roster that went 1-11 (1-8 Pac-12) last season, leaving the team with just 10 scholarship returners.
And that doesn't sit right with Venables. When asked about his approach to roster building during an interview with KREF at Big 12 Media Days, the second-year OU head coach made a comment about Sanders.
“I was unlike Deion,” Venables said. “I gave guys 12 months of grace to figure it out. “Here's the three: Go to class, live right off the field and when you show up here you show up with respect and appreciation for your opportunity.
“And if you go 0-for-3 for 12 months, you need a fresh start. So we helped 21 guys, give or take, find a fresh start.”
That wasn't the end of the subject for Venables, whose Sooners went 6-7 (3-6 Big 12) last season. He made a second comment about Sanders during an interview with OU Nightly Sports.
“We're another year in establishing our standards and our culture and our values,” Venables said. “That matters. A year ago, I challenged the guys. I wasn't like Deion that gave guys a bunch of pink slips.”
A fake quote of a response by Sanders circulated social media soon afterwards, referring to OU's program as a crashed Ferrari.
Sanders then took to Twitter to provide clarification on Tuesday.
“I've never responded to any of these great coaches that choose to target me or our great program here (at) Colorado,” Sanders said. “I'm great at walking and talking the talk, and if it were truly me I would've referenced a Lamborghini. That's #CoachPrime.”