Alex Grinch: 2019 Turnovers Were 'Gross;' Says Playmakers Must Step Up

It’s no secret that Oklahoma’s defense was markedly better in the Sooners’ first year under Alex Grinch than it had been in recent years.

In all but one area.

Turnovers.

The Sooners finished 121st in the country with just 11 takeaways last season.

“That’s an alarming stat. And that’s gross,” Grinch said last week after the Sooners’ first spring practice. “And it’s on me.”

Yet, believe it or not, that’s the exact same number of takeaways (11) OU had in 2018, and their ranking last year actually dropped one spot from 120th.

For all his harping on turnovers in the media, for all his emphasis on takeaways, for all the effort he described the team was putting in, for all the importance of a defense getting the football back, Grinch laments 2019 deeply.

“You lose a lot of credibility as a coach if you come up here and stand in front of you guys, stand in front of the team, stand in front of the unit and say ‘We’re gonna get takeaways,’ make a major emphasis of it and then you don’t get ‘em,” he said.

“We take it very serious as a coaching staff. We failed. And I’m in charge of it.”

Grinch said players are still “surprised when the ball’s thrown our way” and expressed that bad luck had nothing to do with the Sooners’ impoverished takeaway totals.

“We weren’t unlucky last year. No, that’s not it,” he said. “We didn’t take advantage of our opportunities.”

The mindset, Grinch said, must continue to shift. Players need to think about takeaways from a different perspective.

“Takeaways aren’t bonus. That’s not extra credit,” he said. “I still think we feel that way a little bit, and again, if we feel that way, then I’ve engrained that. So that’s on me.

“We’re doing some things, emphasis-wise, that way. But you’ve got to create the mindset. That’s something that’s got to increase. It’s got to be a want-to.”

Ultimately, Grinch said, Sooner defenders were still on their heels in 2019, trying to dig in and hold their ground rather than taking on the role as the aggressor.

“It speaks much more to a bigger issue,” Grinch said. “We’ve got to establish more playmakers on this defense.”

To get the latest OU posts as they happen, join the SI Sooners Community by clicking “Follow” at the top right corner of the page (mobile users can click the notifications bell icon), and follow SI Sooners on Twitter @All_Sooners.