The Oklahoma Sooners have hired a new head trainer after injuries piled up for the program in 2024.
George Stoia, who covers OU for On3 Sports and SoonerScoop, reported Monday morning that Oklahoma hired Jonathan Gress to the role. The program later confirmed those reports in a press release. Stoia also reported that the Sooners plan to hire a “return-to-play” trainer later this summer.
Gress has spent the last seven seasons with the NFL’s New Orleans Saints. For the last six years, he’s been their director of rehabilitation after starting out as an assistant athletic trainer in 2018. He’s a Norman native who graduated from OU in 2008 and Texas Tech in 2010.
According to Oklahoma’s press release, Gress’ primary responsibilities at his most recent stop “included creating and implementing comprehensive treatment plans for all athletes, development and administration of risk assessments and subsequent injury reduction programs, and evaluation of athletic injuries and illnesses.”
Gress also spent time with the Arizona Cardinals and the Miami Dolphins, and this move is his first role at the collegiate level. It’s another hire that reflects a more aggressive direction being taken this year by new general manager Jim Nagy and fourth-year head coach Brent Venables to improve in all facets after a dismal first season in the SEC.
One of the big reasons that 2024 was so bad for the Sooners was a rash of injuries. The wide receiver and offensive line positions were hit the hardest, as all five of OU’s best wideouts missed nearly the entire year due to injury and Oklahoma rotated through a historic number of starting o-line combinations.
Gress has been hired to make sure that the Sooners, who work so hard to acquire talent, have their best players available to them in the fall. It’s yet another signal that Oklahoma is trying to right the many wrongs of last season.
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