Brent Venables Pushing Reggie Grimes and Ethan Downs to Another Level at Oklahoma

“They've got tremendous ceilings,” Venables said last week. “They're guys who care a great deal. They're well-respected by their teammates. They show up every day with a workmanlike attitude.

“We're trying to take them to another place right now, and they'll be the first ones to tell you we've gone out of our way. We've got very high expectations not just for them but for everybody.”

Part of that process is showing everyone on the defense how to bring the right attitude to every practice.

Venables and his coaching staff have preached physicality and aggression since the former Clemson defensive coordinator returned to Norman, and fall camp has been no different.

“We're just teaching guys how to practice the right way,” Venables said. “When you go against a scout (team), you should dominate people. It's not just another walk-through or just going against the scouts. You should punish people.

“And on the flip side, the scouts should play so well that you make the defense or the offense go, 'We have to do the play again.' We call that a reload. If you're a varsity player, you don't ever want to hear 'Reload.' That means one of the varsity guys screwed up. The scout guy, he relishes that. He's like 'Yeah, reload.' You want to create a lot of competition on the field, even if it's against the scout.”

Both Grimes and Downs have made physical transformations this summer to help them push bodies around along the line of scrimmage, a different task than what Alex Grinch asked of his defensive lines the past three seasons.

Grimes is now playing at 273 pounds, and Downs is heavier as well at 263 pounds.

Working under strength coach Jerry Schmidt, the goal will have been to add mass without sacrificing the speed both guys relied on to make an impact last year.

But the final piece was always going to come between the ears.

Venables and defensive ends coach Miguel Chavis are working just as hard to make sure the entire defensive end room brings the right mental focus to the table every single time they hit the football field.

“Getting those guys to buy in really deeply and to understand what that mindset needs to look like,” said Venables, “because it's very easy — coaches support staff the players themselves — to just kind of go through the motions and have just a walkthrough mentality.

“And it's got to be a whole heck of a lot more than that. If you want to play it at a championship level. It takes that championship mindset. And really, that's what we're trying to get these guys to grow to. To really understand deeply what that looks like.”

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