Why Oklahoma's Reggie Grimes Credits Confidence, Chemistry For Early Breakout

NORMAN — Reggie Grimes couldn’t have asked for a better start to the season. After two games in Norman, the junior defensive end ranks No. 3 in the country in quarterback sacks at four total.

He’s doubled his total from last year already, while also recording seven tackles and a forced fumble. He has arguably been Oklahoma’s best player on either side of the ball, something that not a lot of people saw coming. All Grimes needed was confidence in himself, though.

“It’s just a matter of being who you are and knowing what you bring to the table, as far as your abilities and what you can do," Grimes said. "For me, that’s leadership. I’ve been through a lot of tough things, not only in life, but here at Oklahoma. There’s not a whole lot that I haven’t done before. It’s really just speaking from a point of experience.”

Now that Grimes understands who he is as a player, his strengths are easier to identify and use. He’s clearly quick and powerful off the line and gets to the backfield in a hurry. Knowing his role on the defense has seemed to help him talk the next step.

He’s had to grow up fast, too, both on and off the field. Grimes is in his third season at OU, but played as a freshman and doesn’t have a ton of starting experience. Now, the defensive line unit looks quite a bit different and Grimes is suddenly the leader.

“Just to the point of being a big brother as opposed to being the little brother that I was for the past two years," Grimes said. "Now I’m one of the oldest in the room. If you're confident, you can play faster, and I think that’s what that has allowed me to do.”

Grimes had a front row seat to learn from current NFL players over the past few seasons. Now as a leader on this team, it’s part of his job to help defend the standard and raise the bar. Oklahoma's defense as a whole has been impressive during the first two games. The run defense has been stout and the sacks are piling up. OU leads the nation in tackles for loss. The early chemistry is surely a positive sign.

“As a team, we’re a lot closer," Grimes said. "We are a really, really tight knit group, and I don’t think we’ve had that the past two years. Now everybody loves everybody, we’re all good people. We hang out together a whole lot more than we have the previous years. It’s really just a matter of knowing who I’m with, knowing the guys that I’m around, knowing the coaches that I have.”