As Baylor marched downfield with less than a minute remaining at McLane Stadium on Nov. 16, 2019, DaShaun White turned to the Bears’ sideline with a warning.
“Don’t throw the out,” the then-sophomore linebacker yelled. White and the Sooners were one stop away from overcoming a 25-point deficit to keep their College Football Playoff hopes alive. White was confident his team could get the job done.
Facing a second-and-10 at Oklahoma’s 40-yard line, Baylor quarterback Charlie Brewer ignored White’s warning and fired a pass toward a receiver on an out route. As the ball left his hands, outside linebacker Nik Bonitto, then a redshirt freshman, jumped in front of Brewer’s target.
“They threw it and (Bonitto) picked it,” White said. “That’ll always be a big football memory to me. That game, that was a fun one, man. Definitely up there, like top five (games) for me.”
In turn, quarterback Jalen Hurts took a knee, sealing OU’s largest comeback win in school history. Two years later, the No. 8 Sooners (9-0, 6-0 Big 12) will visit Waco for the first time since Bonitto’s game-winning interception to face the No. 13 Bears (7-2, 4-2) at 11 a.m. Saturday. Bonitto has emerged as a star on OU’s defense in those two years, and the Sooners are hoping for the same results as their last Waco trip to make yet another CFP push.
The Fort Lauderdale, Florida, native has 15 tackles, a team-high 8.5 tackles for loss, a pass deflection, five sacks, seven quarterback hurries and two fumble recoveries on the year. Bonitto ended the 2020 season with 29 tackles, 10.5 TFLs and 7.5 sacks, earning a first-team All-American selection by Pro Football Focus and a second-team All-American nomination by the Associated Press.
Bonitto, who ended the game with five tackles, said his self confidence grew after OU’s defeat after Baylor in 2019, allowing for his improved play. His teammates agree.
“It was kind of a snowball effect, in terms of his career, after that play (with) the success that he’s had,” said senior defensive lineman Isaiah Thomas of Bonitto’s interception against Baylor. “Once you get confident, and once you start playing to make plays instead of playing not to make mistakes, it's a literal snowball effect. … It's a contagious thing for an individual player and for a team. And it's just impressive to see him grow from that moment to where he is now.”
Bonitto was named one of 18 semifinalists for the Bednarik Award on Nov. 1, which is annually presented to college football’s top defensive player. His best game this season came in OU’s 23-16 win over Nebraska on Sept. 18, where he had five tackles, three TFLs and 1.5 sacks.
For some, like senior H-back Jeremiah Hall, Bonitto’s pick — which remains the only one of his career — stands out most when recalling OU’s game against Baylor in 2019. Hall helped the Sooners’ offense total 525 yards on the night.
“The only thing I remember is Nik’s interception,” Hall said. “(And) Jalen Hurts standing, looking back toward the crowd and just smiling. I thought that was pretty funny. But, besides that, everything else (I remember) is go out there and win. Some way, somehow.”
To that point, Bonitto had yet to prove himself on the Sooners’ defense. After redshirting in 2018, he entered 2019 determined to insert himself into OU’s defensive rotation. Chances to do so came in the eight games before Oklahoma’s game against the Bears, but they passed by.
Bonitto even had an opportunity to end the game on the play prior to his interception when Brewer rifled a pass directly his way. The ball hit both of Bonitto’s hands before falling to the ground. However, just as he did with every missed opportunity before that, Bonitto got back up and readied himself for the next snap.
“You never know when it’s your time to make a play,” Bonitto said of his forced turnover. “Looking back … (that play) probably does give a lot of hope to a lot of young players on the team.”
Defensive coordinator Alex Grinch, who was in his first year with the Sooners in 2019, believes OU’s younger defensive players can learn from Bonitto’s work ethic.
“(Bonitto) was really positioning himself to, in some ways, be an every down guy,” Grinch said in a Tuesday press conference. “(He was) someone that continued to build trust with his teammates, one, and two, the coaching staff. … (He had) an opportunity at the end of the game to make a play. (It wasn’t) a career-defining play because he’s made so many since then, but in that moment, that's exactly what it was.
“I tell the guys in two minute scenarios that someone has to make a play. And so often, the offense has the advantage because they know they have to make a play. … And obviously, he did. And he’s taken off from then, and he’s a guy that we’re gonna need a big weekend out of this week as well.”
