Brent Venables made his exit known.
Sooner, head coach Brent Venables declared his retirement
Riley discussed his worries for his family with Graham Bensinger on “In Depth with Graham Bensinger” in an interview that was recorded in June but was posted on YouTube on Wednesday. Riley claimed there had been “several” attempts at breaking into his Oklahoma home.
“Certainly, I had numerous attempts to break into the house in the days following the incident,” Riley stated. “And the majority—95 percent—of the supporters and individuals in Oklahoma or elsewhere are fantastic. There’s usually that one percent that pushes things too far, occasionally. This was obviously one of those times.
The Norman Police Department notes that two events from Riley’s home on December 17 and December 19 were reported, but no police complaints for break-ins or other criminal activities were made. George Stoia of SoonerScoop originally published the incident reports.
“The house didn’t matter to me. Riley remarked, “I was only concerned about making sure they were safe. “The semester was almost done, and we wanted the girls to be able to complete their education. We responded, “No, we have to get them the heck out of here as quickly as we can,” as that stuff happened.
Riley’s remarks suggest that his initial intention was to send his daughters to school for the remainder of the fall semester before relocating the family to Los Angeles. However, that plan changed to sooner rather than later after the purported threats.
On November 28, 2021, Riley made his decision to attend USC and depart Oklahoma known. The previous day, Nov. 27, the Sooners fell short against their in-state foe, Oklahoma State. Riley has fluctuated in his decision to depart and in his communication with the USC sports administration.
Oklahoma supporters were incensed not only about Riley’s departure less than twenty-four hours after a regular-season setback but also about the players and head coach traveling to Southern California. Riley asserted in the sit-down interview that he urged every one of his former players to remain at Oklahoma.
“It’s a difficult decision as far as the individuals and players that come with you,” Riley remarked. You really put yourself in the situation of asking yourself, “Do I want players to leave the place that I was at? Not at all. When I got up there, I said to the players, “I think every one of you should stay here and do it.”
“People certainly wouldn’t believe it now, but we helped a lot of players stay there behind the scenes,” Riley remarked. However, if you have a kid in there who you recruited, who you know their family, and who says, “Coach, I want to go with you,” Do you refuse? Do you say, “I won’t take you here because you weren’t good enough to come with me here?” It’s not simple.
Riley was followed to USC by quarterback Josh Williams, wide receiver Mario Williams, and corner Latrell McCutchin. Williams went on to win the Heisman Trophy in 2022, and USC improved from a 4–8 team to a 10-win squad in the previous season.
