Through Three Games, Nik Bonitto Has Been Oklahoma's Best Player
Nik Bonitto’s close to the 2020 season catapulted him to the front of NFL Draft discussions.
Posting 6.5 sacks over his last five games, the rush linebacker from Fort Lauderdale, FL, had a decision to make — test the NFL waters or return with a chance to build on his body of work.
Bonitto opted for the latter, and he’s picked up right where he left off in 2021.
He already has 2.5 sacks in 2021, capped off by a two-sack performance this past Saturday in No. 4-ranked Oklahoma’s 23-16 victory over the Nebraska Cornhuskers.
Per Pro Football Focus, Bonitto posted a quarterback pressure percentage of 42 percent against the Cornhuskers, falling just behind teammate Jalen Redmond (45 percent), all while playing primarily as the spy on the mobile ‘Husker quarterback Adrian Martinez.
Though he didn’t get to pin his ears back and rush the passer on every snap, Bonitto said he had full faith in the game plan, and he was able to execute it at a high level.
“Coach came into the week, we knew he was a guy that could make plays through the air and also on the ground,” Bonitto said in a Zoom press conference after the game. “But you know, the best part of his game is with his legs. So we knew the spy role was going to be a really good plan this week, especially with a guy that’s dynamic like him. He can make a lot of plays on the run. We won’t face too many guys like him. So I feel like it worked really well and hats off to the coaching staff.”
Bonitto’s success held Martinez to just 34 yards on 17 carries after the dual-threat quarterback entered Norman averaging 85.6 yards per game across Nebraska’s first three contests.
The OU linebacker’s success has come as no shock to his teammates, however, as they see his skill set every day in practice.
“Nik Bonitto is one of the best football players on the entire team,” said cornerback D.J. Graham. “Matter of fact, the entire country. He’s top two in the country, and that’s for a reason. He pretty much shut Adrian Martinez down.
“We knew coming in that he wanted to run the ball. That’s what he is successful at. You put a player like Nik spying Adrian Martinez, and it’s a different story, and he’s not going to be able to run around like that.”
Nik Bonitto brings Nebraska quarterback Adrian Martinez down for one of his five tackles on Saturday
BRYAN TERRY / THE OKLAHOMAN-Imagn Content Services, LLC
After being named First-Team All-America at the end of last season by PFF, Bonitto has stepped his game up yet again.
Last year, Bonitto finished with an overall grade of 88.4 per PFF.
This year? He’s notched a grade of 90.8 through three games, including posting the top pass rushing grade in the country amongst edge defenders (93.2).
His head coach acknowledges how good he is as a pass rusher, but Lincoln Riley said that Bonitto has taken other steps forward this year as well.
“He’s an active guy,” Riley said after the game on Saturday. “He’s really improved so much against the run, which has made him a very, very difficult player to play against.”
Bonitto’s leadership has the Sooners ranked as the top pass rushing unit in the entire country entering conference play, an asset OU will not only need going forward, but something that Oklahoma has needed twice already this season to close out one-possession games in the fourth quarter.
With guys like Isaiah Thomas, Perrion Winfrey and Redmond rolling out alongside Bonitto, and Reggie Grimes, Josh Ellison and Isaiah Coe coming on in relief, the deepest unit on the entire OU roster might be found on the defensive side of the ball for the first time in over a decade.
“(The defensive) front’s played pretty well the last two weeks,” Riley said. “We need them to play well. They’re probably the most talented group on the whole football team. They’re probably the deepest group on the whole football team.
“I think the production of our defense overall is going to continue to grow and grow. So I’m excited about the way we’re playing and the good things is, we can play a whole lot better, and that’s what we’re going to be striving for.”
Riley’s teams have become known for their explosive offenses and elite quarterback play, but the best player on the OU roster this year might just come from Alex Grinch’s side of the football.
“He’s the best d-line, d-end in the country, in my opinion,” OU quarterback Spencer Rattler said after the game on Saturday. “I get to go against him every day in practice and he’s in the backfield all the time.
“That guy kind of plays … he was a basketball guy in high school. He kind of plays basketball out there, crossing a guy up, crossing a tackle up and getting into the backfield. He has great instincts, great speed and a nose for the ball.”
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