Ethan Downs likens the chemistry of Oklahoma’s defensive ends to one of his favorite movies, “300,” where the Spartans go to war together.
He and Reggie Grimes, OU’s leading defensive ends, or “Spartans,” were named starters for the Sooners’ season opener against Texas El Paso on Saturday. Soon after, they were making battle plans — to start up late night Zoom calls where the position group will study plays together.
The cohesiveness fostered in those meetings will be imperative to the OU edge rushers’ success this season, starting with UTEP, as head coach Brent Venables and defensive ends coach Miguel Chavis’ Sooner Spartans fight off the Miners.
“In the movie 300, those guys will go to war together, they'll die together, bleed with each other,” Downs said. “I feel like we're becoming those kind of Spartans. Just buying in together and trusting each other, and if we screw up, we're able to correct each other and hold each other accountable. It's really healthy. It's really good.”
Sophomore DL Ethan Downs duirng Big 12 Media Day on July 14, 2022.
Downs, a sophomore from Weatherford, Oklahoma, has emerged as one of the Sooners’ most bought-in players since Venables arrived on campus. Downs was invited to Big 12 Media Days in July despite his youth and has become one of the outspoken faces of OU’s defense.
He was also picked by ESPN’s Desmond Howard as a potential breakout player on College GameDay last weekend. After playing a reserve role last season, Downs said he was honored to be trusted by Venables and Chavis to receive the start against UTEP.
“We’ve still got a lot of depth in the room,” said Downs, who recorded three tackles for loss and half a sack in 2021. “It's an honor, but I'm not satisfied. I want to be the best out here, best in the league. I just want to be great.”
Meanwhile, Downs’ “brother,” Grimes has risen from being one of OU’s youngest contributors last season to a defensive elder. He understands the leadership that comes with now being a junior, and it has only helped his confidence.
Grimes said he appreciates the idea that he could be OU’s next successful defensive end, but he doesn’t feel any pressure to live up to the play of recent second-round draft pick Nik Bonitto. He’s just focused on using his strengths, and relishing playing in Venables’ defense.
He had always wanted to play for Venables, but during his recruitment, Clemson filled up on scholarship players before he made his decision. Grimes initially chose OU for its winning history, but now he has the coaching he coveted, too, and is motivated to set the tone in Venables’ first game as head coach.
“It’s a privilege to play for someone who has been held in such high regard defensively and just coach wise in football for as long as he has,” said Grimes, who made 2.5 TFLs and two sacks last season. “But at the same time, it comes with the expectation that you gotta do your job in his defense. Because if everyone does their job except for you, well more times than not, a big play’s gonna happen because of you. We’ve just gotta go out there and make him proud.”
Junior defensive end Reggie Grimes during post practice OU football press confrence on March 28.
Grimes and Downs’ passion for winning is also held by other players in their room, like senior backups Jonah La’ulu and Marcus Stripling, who often speak up in meetings and organize off-field group activities like dinners and trips to TopGolf.
Stripling, an experienced pass rusher, primarily backed up Bonitto last season and made 2.5 tackles for loss and one sack. La’ulu, an offseason transfer, was a two-year starter at Hawaii and compiled eight tackles for loss and four sacks in 2021.
“They're really like the bread and butter right now,” Downs said of Stripling and La’ulu. “For me and Reggie to be called up, to be ‘OK, you're starting,’ that doesn't mean we're gonna play more than them. They're gonna be right behind us. They got our backs just like we got their backs, and it’s all about teamwork.”
Freshman R Mason Thomas is the other defensive end listed on OU’s depth chart. After a late flip from Iowa State, he only arrived on campus this semester, but he hasn’t needed much time to impress.
Starting left tackle Anton Harrison said Thomas surprised the offensive line with his speed and football savvy. Grimes is excited for Thomas’ present, but especially his future, while Downs said he might even be in the NFL within three years.
Collectively, OU's defensive ends will have to replace the 26.5 TFLs and 15 sacks Bonitto and Isaiah Thomas amassed last season before departing for the NFL. The group is excited to show its skills Saturday, and do it together like the Spartans.
“Coach Venables always says ‘dirty hard work in the dark,’ and that’s what we’ve done,” Grimes said. “What you do when the stands are full, that all starts when the stands are empty. We had a great spring, we had a great summer with (Jerry Schmidt), we had a great fall camp, and now it’s really just time to go out there and prove it.”
