DALLAS - Brent Venables has accomplished plenty in his coaching career.

He has a trio of national championship rings, the most recent two coming as Clemson's defensive coordinator in 2016 and 2018. Over the past two seasons Venables has led the Oklahoma program, a place where he won his other title as an assistant in 2000.

But on Tuesday, Venables did something he'd never done before. He took the stage at SEC Media Days as the head coach of an SEC program. Venables and his Sooners are prepared to attack the challenge of their new conference head-on.

"As competitors, as a football program, you know, Oklahoma isn't intimidated as a football program," Venables said. "We're running towards the SEC. I think that goes without saying. We've looked forward for the last several years for this partnership, to be a part of an amazing conference, the best conference in college football."

Venables called the league a "litmus test" for his program. But he also said the only way to truly prepare for the league is to experience the grind of the schedule.

The importance of the line of scrimmage has not escaped Venables' attention as his program transitions to the SEC.

"We're focused on continuing to enhance that part of our team and to recruit more competitive depth," Venables said. "But I really feel good that we have somewhere in that 9 to 11 range on the offensive line that are guys that can play winning football for us. And on defense you're in that 10 to 12 range up front on our defensive line. Now, again, there are several guys that maybe don't have this depth of experience, but I trust my eyes and what I've been able to see."

Defensive back Billy Bowman Jr. also knows the SEC's reputation as a line of scrimmage league.

"I'm excited about joining the SEC, being more known as a defensive league rather than the Big 12," Bowman said. "Our coach, Brent Venables, he coached at Clemson in the ACC for a while. He went to multiple national championships, beating multiple SEC offenses. So he's very capable, and I'm very excited for it."

Oklahoma's first SEC contest will be a home matchup with Tennessee on September 21. Their conference schedule also features road trips to Auburn, Ole Miss, and LSU, as well as a home date with Alabama.

It's a grind. But that's life in the SEC. As they and Texas enter the league, the Sooners are ready to embrace it.

"I think it's a partnership of elite with elite," Venables said. "Again, two programs that in the history of college football take a back seat to nobody. The SEC doesn't take a back seat to anybody. From our leadership to the quality of the teams -- and, really, it's every single athletic team on those campuses; it's unmatched. And so we both have programs that have had elite-level success with all of our athletic programs, certainly football included. And I just think it fortifies what was already the strongest conference in all of college football."