When he saw the Orange Bowl game pop up on the video board in Death Valley – No. 1 Clemson vs. No. 4 Oklahoma on Dec. 31 – Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables sighed and thought, “Are you serious!”

But then that was it. Unlike last year when his defense humiliated his mentor, Bob Stoops, in the Russell Athletic Bowl, Venables was not going to get worked up. He admitted after last year’s game that it was one of the more trying times of his professional career.

Stoops recruited Venables to Kansas State. He was his position coach and defensive coordinator. When Stoops got the job as Oklahoma’s head coach in 1999, he called Venables up and asked him to join his staff as his linebackers coach.

So you can imagine how awkward it was for Venables before the game to talk to Stoops and other the guys he coached with for 13 years at Oklahoma. Then imagine how awkward it was after Clemson beat the Sooners 40-6.

“It is part of the profession and sometimes you have to do that,” he said. “Those guys meant a lot to me and my family through the years, but you know what is at stake and you have a great stage to play on against a great program like Oklahoma’s.”

The stage is even bigger than last year’s. This is a national semifinal game in the College Football Playoffs. The winner moves on to play either No. 2 Alabama or No. 3 Michigan State in the National Championship Game on Jan. 11 in Glendale, Ariz.

Venables, who said he has no interest of being a head coach at the moment, has used his Clemson experience to evolve as a coach, as a defensive coordinator and as a person.

When Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney first offered him the job back 2012, he wasn’t sure if should take it. He nearly didn’t. Oklahoma was his home. Coach Stoops was like a second father figure to him. His family was tied into the community. His life was there.

“Sometimes you have too much testosterone to admit it, but I was scared for my family. I was scared for myself professionally,” Venables said. “I was in a comfort zone and security of relationships, loyalty and the success we had – and it is Oklahoma. It’s not like a stepping-stone job.

“To walk away from that, the only home my children have ever known. That was really hard.”

But Venables took a leap of faith. He believed in Swinney and his family, the direction of the program and its leadership. He also went with his gut instincts.

“It’s not like that was the first time I had looked at Clemson and saw what it was doing,” he said. “I saw it from afar and what I hoped it would be it has been even better.”

And Venables has grown and gotten better because of it. Last year, his defense led the nation in total yards allowed and in 10 other major categories. This year, despite losing nine starters off of the 2014 team, Clemson still leads the nation in several categories and ranks seventh nationally in total defense.

“You are always trying to be better and improve everything. I think if you are not evolving, then I think you are dying. I really believe that,” he said. “Yeah, it has helped me in a lot of ways as much personally as it has professionally.

“This has been an incredible environment for my family and me to be under a new leader. It has been incredibly beneficial. I have learned a ton from Coach Swinney, and I love the environment our team is in and the one I’m able to come to work in every day.”

Venables number one goal is the same at Clemson as it was at Oklahoma. It’s about the players and their wellbeing and continuing to pursue what is right by them.

“The winning and the success is a byproduct of having a healthy environment and a healthy locker room,” Venables said. “When you believe in it and that is your passion … starting with Coach Swinney and the people he has surrounded himself with.

“That has been a lot of fun and it has really helped me grow and learn professionally. Coach Swinney is a great example for all of us players and coaches alike. I have benefited in a lot of ways.”

Venables says he has been lucky to have coached at only three places—Kansas State, Oklahoma and Clemson—where it has helped “mold me into a husband, coach, man and a father. I have been around a lot of great mentors and leaders.”