Brent Venables Explains Justin Harrington's Unexpected Return at Oklahoma

NORMAN — The return of Justin Harrington to the Oklahoma roster might have come as a surprise to many who follow OU football.

But it apparently wasn’t a surprise to Harrington.

“I won’t get all the way in the weeds, but he’s come to me a few times since I got the job,” OU head coach Brent Venables said Friday. “Through a lot of conversation, not only with him but other teammates prior to making the decision to let him walk on, I got confirmation who he was as a young man, openly. Just, was honest, felt like maybe he made some mistakes with how he’d responded to some adversity and maybe some decisions he’d made.

“Through conversation with him — and again, with teammates — felt like he deserved some grace. We all deserve some grace. He’s walked on and he’s been good as far as high effort and (being) tough; (he) allows you to coach and things of that nature.”

Harrington first came to Oklahoma in 2020 as a junior college All-American, the No. 1-rated juco safety in the country out of Bakersfield (CA) Community College. At 6-foot-3 and 216 pounds, it was a safe bet that Harrington would bolster a Sooner secondary that was small and, at best, shaky.

Instead, doctors found an old knee injury that was never fixed, so the Raleigh, NC, native got surgery and sat out the 2020 season.

In 2021, it was again assumed he would compete for time somewhere in the defensive backfield — he came in as a safety, but spent that spring and preseason at cornerback — but that never led to much playing time. He played sparingly in the first four games before falling out of the rotation.

In October, Harrington entered the transfer portal and, while he waited for other schools to court him, he was taken off scholarship.

Six months later, in the middle of Venables’ first spring practice, he suddenly reappeared at practice as a walk-on safety. In the Sooners’ open practice last week, Harrington looked fast and physical and seemed armed with a renewed confidence.

Could he crack the Sooners’ lineup this time around?

“We’ll see,” Venables said. “A long way to go. Not trying to be evasive, but we’ve got a long way to go. He’s only been out for a couple practices, and really everybody’s kind of on their journey, to me. Spring ball, ninth practice, there’s a lot you can say about different guys here and there.

“But his litmus test isn’t really comparable because he just got here and (has) been here for a couple days and (is) learning a new position, a new language. There’s barriers for everybody, but he didn’t have the same opportunity like everybody else did prior to joining. He just joined. So everybody’s been here through mat drills and some meetings and things of that nature, so he’s been a little bit behind from that standpoint.

“He’s aggressive, he’s physical, he’s got a good attitude so far. Hopefully he can continue to come on and bridge that gap from a knowledge standpoint and technique.”