‘Tradition oozing out its ears’: Todd Bates excited to join storied Oklahoma program
For the first time since joining Oklahoma on Jan. 4, Todd Bates spoke with the local media last week. Bates was named Oklahoma’s associate head coach, co-defensive coordinator and defensive tackles coach.
Bates arrives in Norman with a sterling reputation for landing some of the nation’s premiere talent. It’s Oklahoma’s reputation that ultimately attracted Bates to OU.
“Man, I tell you what. It’s one of the blue blood programs, man, and with tradition oozing out its ears. You talk about the 50 conference championships. You talk about since 2000 winning 239 ball games, and that doesn’t just happen, and that’s regardless of who’s been at the helm. You know, over that time, three different coaches and people at the helm, they just kept it going. And Oklahoma’s just always been a special place,” Bates said.
While at Alabama, Bates and the Crimson Tide lost in Norman 37-27, so he was at least somewhat familiar with what Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium is like on a Saturday.
“I was very fortunate during my time as a player at Alabama to play in that stadium, play right here in this stadium and to see what that’s all about. And it didn’t turn out our way, for those of you that remember, in ’02. Oklahoma ended up winning that ball game. And I ended up playing with some of those players from that team later in my career. As a Titan, was part of a team with Rocky Calmus and Jason White, and you just see, man, the pride that they took in where they played. And that’s just continued. So, I’m excited to have an opportunity to be under Coach Venables and continue that process, man, and pour into players and make sure that they know what they’re a part of, because it’s special,” Bates said.
Continuing to work with Venables might’ve been the biggest deciding factor in Bates choosing to come to Oklahoma. The opportunity to serve as the Sooners’ associate head coach and co-defensive coordinator were big selling points, too.
“Well, man, it was a tough decision. You know, you go back-and-forth and you know that it’s always a possibility, but Coach Venables, he really sold me on day-to-day, every day that I got to work with him at Clemson. And just seeing him get the best, squeeze the dollar out of a dime. Very thankful for the opportunity I had at Clemson under Coach [Dabo] Swinney. Gave me my first opportunity, and I loved those players while I was there, man, but I got the chance to come here and have an opportunity to be a co-coordinator and continue to grow under Coach Venables. And really you kind of look at your growth and you kind of count everything when you get to be at the level that I’ve been blessed to be on and under some great coaches. And during my five years there at Clemson, man, I grew, and a lot of people had a hand in that. But I was with Coach Venables every day, and I just saw the way he treated players, the way he pushed the staff and really wanted some more of that and had an opportunity, so I couldn’t pass it up,” Bates said.
Oklahoma returns defensive tackle Jalen Redmond who finished with eight tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks in just eight games last season. Isaiah Coe, Josh Ellison, Jordan Kelley and Kori Roberson are back as well. Plus, the Sooners added transfer defensive linemen Jeffery Johnson from Tulane and Jonah Laulu from Hawaii.
“Man, I tell you what? I’m excited about the group. They are hungry, they are humble and they are hard-working. And they’re seeking knowledge every day for what we’re doing, as far as our scheme and our playbook, because we’re running Coach Venables’ defense that we ran at Clemson. And so that will be—they’re excited about that, and I gauge their excitement about how many times they text me a day about the plays, how many times a day they’re coming in and trying to watch on their own. And I can tell you that’s been really great. And we did some of the same stuff they did last year, so I’ve been able to [use that]. The biggest barrier for a player learning a new scheme is the verbiage and the lingo, and so what I’ve challenged them to do is to try to speak our lingo and also share what they did last year so I can help them merge that and cut the learning curve. But I’m excited about it. They’ve been, they’re on the right track doing that. We’re looking forward to getting started on March 22,” Bates said.
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