Oklahoma spring preview: Defensive back
Slowly, deliberately — literally, inch by inch — Alex Grinch is getting there.
Oklahoma’s defensive backfield has gotten bigger every year since Grinch arrived as defensive coordinator: longer arms, taller frames, and now, heading into his third spring practice (second, really), Grinch has populated the Sooner secondary with the kind of bodies he thinks can elevate the OU defense to a championship level.
And he’s not been seeking just “big guys” to play defensive back. In major college football, especially in the Big 12 Conference, defensive backs had better be able to move whether they’re big or not.
It’s the very essence of Speed D.
“So much of it stems from trying so hard at a place like Oklahoma to not make compromises in terms of in the individual we bring in at any level of our defense,” Grinch said on National Signing Day. “We can get long. That’s not hard. You can get big. That’s not hard. It’s, ‘Can you do so with checking all the boxes? Can you add some length while not hurting yourself from an athletic standpoint?’
“It’s those two attributes as much as anything.”
Just in the past two recruiting cycles, OU has added 6-foot-2 Bryson Washington, 6-3 Justin Harrington, 6-2 Key Lawrence, 6-2 Joshua Eaton, 6-1 Latrell McCutchin and 6-4 Jordan Mukes. And 6-1 Damond Harmon is on his way in the summer. Both projected starting corners in 2021 are 5-11 (Woodi Washington and D.J. Graham) but seem to play bigger, high-pointing the football and fearless with the ball in the air. And all are explosive athletes.
Grinch said being both big and fast are not exclusive qualities in the defensive backfield. He’d like to have those two traits at every level of the defense.
“Can you get big and athletic?" Grinch said. "There’s less humans on the planet that can combine those things. That’s the challenge. As we put a class together, that’s something you’re looking to do every single year. That’s probably as critical as anything, to make sure you stack those classes one on top of another.”
But to the consternation of Sooner Nation, previous coaches loaded up the back end with small, quick defensive backs. That may have been the right trend a decade ago to slow down the likes of Texas Tech or West Virginia, but Big 12 offenses like Baylor, Oklahoma State, Texas, Iowa State and others have made their living with big wide receivers. In Norman, Grinch is just now catching up the OU depth chart.
“What I will say is we will not compromise athleticism,” he said. “That’s a mandate within our program. The wish list is big, fast and strong. We will not compromise the athletic part. I think I’ve got several guys that check those boxes for us.”
At safety, both Pat Fields and Delarrin Turner-Yell are back. They’re seniors and will be three-year starters in 2021. They may be under 6-foot, but their experience and knowledge of Big 12 defenses and the ability they’ve grown into keeps them on the field. They probably should have a stress-free spring.
But there are young lions lurking, players like Bryson Washington, who played in three games as a true freshman last year, Harrington, a junior college All-American who sat out last year with a knee injury, and Mukes, a true freshman in 2021.
Those names also highlight the Sooners’ versatility, giving Grinch seemingly limitless options. Those guys could all replace each other. Or senior Justin Broiles (32 career games, six stars) could fill in at either safety spot. Jeremiah Criddell backed up Fields at free safety last year but also made a start at nickel. And Tennessee transfer Key Lawrence was recruited as a corner but was a backup safety for the Vols as a true freshman last year. Lawrence and Harrington should be in for a busy spring because they’re so talented. They may have to play somewhere right away.
At corner, Woodi Washington took over the starting job opposite Tre Brown at midseason and played strong, confident and aggressive. Graham got into seven games as a backup to show what he can do and then started for Brown in the Cotton Bowl — and looked like a future star at the position. Junior Jaden Davis made six starts there last year, got tons of backup experience the year before and might be ready to return to a bigger role. And don’t count out Eaton, who played in four games as a true freshman in 2020, or McCutchin, a true freshman who will have a massive learning curve this spring but is brimming with ability.
And true freshman Billy Bowman could certainly figure into the picture. SI All-American ranked him as the No. 2 nickel back in the nation, but the sense here is that Bowman's first spring will be spent focused mostly on picking up the offense. Not to say he can't or won't play defense, but the guess is Lincoln Riley overrules Grinch for Bowman's services.
“I think we’ve got a pretty healthy representation of old and new,” Grinch told Sooner Sports TV’s Chris Plank recently. “Old and experienced, guys that have been in the fire, guys that have played in championship football games and have held up extremely well in those moments. And then you’ve got youth behind it. I think the youth is athletic. I think it’s eager. I think it’s kind of, in the realm of two recruiting classes since we’ve been here, guys that are gonna have to position themselves for playing time starting this spring.”