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Reggie Grimes Embracing His Role as a Leader on Oklahoma's Defensive Line

The junior defensive end is not only taking on a bigger challenge on the field, but he is starting to help lead his unit in the locker room as well.

NORMAN — Reggie Grimes is ready to fill the leadership vacuum on Oklahoma’s defense.

Headed into 2022, many of last year’s top personalities are gone.

Isaiah Thomas, Perrion Winfrey and Nik Bonitto have all started the next stage of their careers, and are hoping to hear their names called in next month’s NFL Draft.

Those absences will not only leave a void for the Sooners on the field, but they’ll have to be replaced as locker room leaders as well.

Now a Junior, Grimes has effortlessly stepped up into a more vocal role with the defensive ends.

“Reggie Grimes – our guys have been trying to build leadership and getting guys to ask questions and challenge them and talk and lead,” OU defensive ends coach Miguel Chavis said during a press conference on Monday. “He was talking to the group at one particular time of the day and just reminding me to just have fun. This is stressful, demanding. This is high-level of accountability. But have fun, guys, that’s why we’re playing this game.”

Grimes hasn’t had to flip the switch to be more vocal overnight. He had a dress rehearsal at the end of last year.

Ahead of Oklahoma’s trip to the Alamo Bowl, Tomas, Winfrey and Bonitto made the decision to opt out of the contest to get a jumpstart on preparing for the draft.

As preparations for the game went on, Grimes started to grow into his leadership role.

Reggie Grimes, Alamo Bowl Practice

Reggie Grimes working at practice during Oklahoma's Alamo Bowl preparations 

On the field, Grimes finished with three tackles and 0.5 quarterback sacks, but the experience he gained as one of the more vocal players on the sidelines was invaluable.

“Really big, as far as that's concerned, Grimes said on Monday. “I’m not a sophomore anymore, I'm a junior. I'm an upper-classman now.

“… I've matured and we have guys around or I have guys around me who have taken that next step to be leaders, to come from a role where they weren't playing as much to now. Now they're the guys. Now we need them to be dudes. So it's definitely affected me in a positive way.”

Grimes’ role has been even more important as spring practice has rolled on.

The entire team is installing new offensive and defensive schemes, as well as getting acclimated to a new coaching staff.

Not only is there tons of stress mentally to learn a new playbook, the intensity in practice has kicked up another level.

As the defense gets coached on the field by the new staff for the first time, Grimes said it’s important for everyone to remember that the coaches are just trying to get the best out of each and every player.

“It's definitely different but it's good,” Grimes said. “It's fun again, you know what I mean. As far as everything is concerned and what Coach Chavis does a really great job of is in practice is in practice. If he yells at you, it's Coach Chavis yelling at No. 14 or No. 40. At the end of the day, it'll be coach and then Reggie.

“(Chavis) lets us know that he loves us and we love him. That love's always reciprocated. As far as that's concerned, we're building a culture of excellence, and at the same time, a family environment of love to.”

The hard work won’t end in the spring. The team will return for notoriously difficult summer workouts with strength and conditioning coach Jerry Schmidt in a few months before reporting for fall camp, but Grimes is focused on doing the best he can to help lead his position group through the coaching transition and onto the field this fall.

“This whole leadership thing, especially with the defense and with our group, it's newer,” Grimes said. “But at the same time, I'm welcoming the challenge.”


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