SAN ANTONIO — Oklahoma interim defensive coordinator Brian Odom, sophomore defensive end Reggie Grimes, senior linebacker DaShaun White, redshirt sophomore cornerback Woodi Washington and senior safety Pat Fields met with media members on Sunday to preview OU’s bout against Oregon in the Valero Alamo Bowl on Dec. 29.
The No. 16 Sooners (10-2, 8-2 Big 12) will face the No. 14 Ducks (10-3, 7-2 Pac-12) at 8:15 p.m. CT in San Antonio. Oklahoma’s regular season ended with a 37-33 loss to Oklahoma State on Nov. 27, while Oregon’s concluded with a 38-10 loss to Utah in the Pac-12 Championship Game on Dec. 3. With Bob Stoops returning to lead the Sooners and Bryan McClendon overseeing the Ducks, both programs will be led by interim head coaches in Wednesday’s game.
Here’s the best of what OU’s defensive representatives said:
Brian Odom
Opening statement
“You can tell that the people of San Antonio are happy to have us here. We feel very welcomed, and I knew that going in because I was part of this bowl game 11 years ago. I know the organization and the efficiency that it's ran, and it's a top-tier bowl game. We're excited to be here and very appreciative.
“Secondly, I want to actually give a public thank you to Alex Grinch and how he has ran the defensive side of the program over the last three years. The thing with that is I don't envision the last couple of weeks going as smooth on the football side of things if — that's a credit to Coach Grinch and the culture that he installed on the defensive side of the ball. It's made the last two weeks run pretty smooth. Very appreciative of him on that. I think the mark of a great leader is if you're not around, how does that organization run, and it's been pretty smooth on our end on the football side of things.
“I'd also like to thank Coach Bob Stoops, obviously somebody that I have a tremendous amount of respect for. Obviously I had the privilege of being a player for him some years ago. Obviously kept in touch throughout the years. I know he's had to make a lot of decisions over the past couple weeks, and with him entrusting me to be able to take on this role, I can't thank him enough just because it's great experience for me, and I'm excited to do this for this program.
“I also want to thank Coach Calvin Thibodeaux, Coach Jamar Cain, Coach Austin Woods, Coach Will Johnson and Coach Parker Henry. Those guys have helped me so much over the past couple weeks. I've leaned on them a lot, and none of us could do this alone, but they've done a great job with it.
“On to Oregon, I think that Oregon is going to be a tremendous challenge for us on the defensive side of the ball. I've always had a lot of great respect for the offense at Oregon and how they do things and how they've done it in the past. I faced them multiple years when I worked in the Pac-12 Conference. They have always done a lot of things with speed. They've always had a quarterback that's been able to run the ball.
“But this year in particular their offensive line is probably one of the best offensive lines we've played all year, if not the best. They do a great job up front. … Really like watching their running back play. He plays very, very hard. Anybody who's coached by his running back coach, Coach (Jim) Mastro, who I know personally, is going to be a tough kid and he's going to play hard.
“But their backs are really good players, and obviously their quarterback is a really, really great athlete. With that being said, he can beat you running the ball, he can beat you throwing the ball, he can beat you distributing the ball. We've got a challenge in front of us that's going to be huge. They're going to have some young receivers go out, and I know they're excited about getting those young receivers out there and doing some work in the passing game.
“Obviously a tremendous amount of respect for the University of Oregon football team, and I know a lot of those coaches personally, and they all do a great job. We've got our work cut out for us on game day.”
On decision to coach bowl game
“I don't think it was really ever a decision. Just as long as it was worked out between both universities, and as long as they allowed it, then I was all in. I never hesitated about doing this.
“You know what, I'm here to be able to go do a job and do it for the locker room and for these guys sitting right here. But there was never any kind of hesitation on my part, and with that being said, I'm excited about doing it.”
On coaching before joining USC’s staff
“As far as any other institution, I think just kind of in speaking on that, I think it takes away from this locker room. I think that every bit of information that's talked about today needs to be about these guys and this locker room and how they're going to play, and all the work that's been invested in order to have this bowl game.
“But for me individually, man, I'm thrilled and honored and excited to be able to be in this role, and my job is to put them in position to play well, give them the keys and let them go get after it.
“That's kind of what we've been talking about in terms of how things have been going over the past three years, the culture that's installed, and it really is very evident in times like this.”
On first time calling plays
“Well, to be honest with you I've talked to anyone I have on my phone that's ever called defensive plays, so I've talked to a lot of different people. But on top of that, with Coach Cain and Coach Thibodeaux and the rest of the guys in that room, it's been a collective group effort. We're going to lean on each other and we'll have obviously constant communication.
“The other people that I've talked to around this are the safeties and the backers, what do they like, what do they not like, what do they feel comfortable with, what's the best way to fit this. Part of that is I want them to take ownership of it, too, so we're all doing this together and trying to go get a win.”
On final game as OU coach
T”he easy answer is it's the next game and it's a game just like any other on the schedule, and that's really -- I'd be lying to you if I said that. It's going to be a special game.For me I think it should be a special game for these guys here, but again, at the end of the day
“I'm from Oklahoma, played at Oklahoma, I've been an Oklahoma guy for a long time, and I want to finish it the right way, and I want to do it for the kids in the locker room and these guys sitting up here. To me it's very selfish for a 40-year-old dude to talk about how special it is for me. It's about these guys.”
On COVID-19 precautions
“Well, you know, being a part of the COVID era at the University of Oklahoma was one the university did an outstanding job being able to get us through the 2020 season. The majority of our staff and players are vaccinated. We are masking within meetings. Other than that, we're following our typical protocols, which I would envision would be as strenuous as anybody in the country. The whole point of that would be so we can play the game.
“Furthermore to that, you can't control what goes on 24 hours a day, especially whenever you live in a hotel for a week, and they're going to have free time. There's certain things you can't control, but on our end of the university, speaking for the university, we're doing our fair share of our protocols to ensure that this will go on.”
On Caleb Williams’ maturity
“You know, being able to go against Caleb Williams, I'll just go back to spring ball, and one of our linebackers named Shane Whitter. Shane is one of the fastest guys on the whole team. Shane was playing a position where he would be responsible for the quarterback in a quarter one zone read. Caleb outran him to the sideline, and I was really confused about -- I thought Shane wasn't giving great effort because Caleb beat him to the sideline.
“Come to find out, Caleb Williams runs about 21 miles an hour, so he's obviously a threat when he carries the ball. He's got a tremendous release.
“The thing I do like about Caleb, though, is his energy and his leadership ability from the quarterback position and just being able to be a likable guy, and a lot of times you can kind of measure that when my own son goes up there and he goes to practice and he goes and -- handshake or dap up my 12-year-old son. He doesn't necessarily know that that's my son, but that's kind of who he is. I think he's a special one.”
On elevated defensive assistant Will Johnson
“Will is one of those guys that you knew he always had it in him, but his growth from year one to year two has been -- I mean, it's been pretty substantial.
“The places that Will does a really, really great job is the one-on-one — if he's sitting there talking to a kid, talking about technique, or if he's talking to a kid watching film with him. He's really, really good as far as technique and his knowledge of the scheme is outstanding from the back end's perspective.
“But his growth, being able to take ownership of that and his growth as a coach I think has been very valuable for us as a staff, but also it's going to prove he will benefit from that in the future for sure.”
On relationship with former defensive coordinator Alex Grinch
“We're going to see a completely different defense. We're going to run cover zero the whole game. They said put your personality on it, so that's what — no, I'm joking.
“My job is to reduce any kind of stress or any kind of things that would weigh our guys down. Go out and play fast, play the defense that we know, that we've ran for the last three years.
“In terms of play calling and things that -- in talks with Alex over the years, what's your next call, and who is now put in stress by that formation or that play call. So what person on the defense am I trying to protect, what person on defense am I tried to hide, what person on defense in a certain situation do we want to take out of the game.
“There's some things that go into it. Obviously I'm not going to sit here and act like I know what I'm doing because I haven't done it yet, so we'll see how it all goes on game day.”
Pat Fields
On final game at OU
“It's big time. I just appreciate the university so much for just helping me grow and develop as a man, and I think the biggest thing I can't emphasize enough is like the family feel that we have here, and I think Coach Odom hit on it earlier whenever he spoke, but Coach Grinch, Coach Cain, Coach Thibs, Coach Odom, Coach Manning, all those guys I consider them family, and I think everybody who's been through the speed D era with them considers them family because every single day they've challenged us, they've pushed us, they've made us uncomfortable, but because of that, all the older guys can appreciate how much we've grown and we've developed as men.
“So you know, just going out in this game last with all my guys, with my coaches who — I consider Coach Odom, that's my guy, that's my coach. Same thing with everybody else; I wouldn't want to go out any other way. I think we're going to make it one heck of a game and one heck of an experience.”
On Bob Stoops as interim head coach
“It's crazy because I've kind of known Coach Stoops from I guess more of a unique position than other guys because me and Drake and Isaac (Stoops’ sons), we played against each other back since high school, so I know them both as like a coach who recruited me and also kind of like as a person.
“But just having him here, I think like Woodi said, his resume speaks for itself and he's like a legend, and I think the way he's came into things and embraced things kind of like solidifies him that much more as being a legend and speaks to the type of program that we have that we can call a Hall-of-Fame coach literally off the golf course to come in and coach.
“I think that speaks to what the University of Oklahoma is, and then also as well as seeing all the players that reached out on Twitter in support, I think that speaks to the university, but just having Coach Stoops as a coach, I think it raises the intensity, the competition of practice, and I think all of us want to play up to the standard that he he set. It's like we're playing for a legend, so everybody has to take and elevate their game to the next level.
“I think he's been pretty cool with us. We got to negotiate our curfew and all that, so he's been very cool with us. But I think the biggest thing, he doesn't really have to take it out us of us. I think we want to elevate our game because we're playing for him, if that makes sense, so he doesn't even have to come crazy, it's just everybody wants to like live up to the legend status of him so everybody is kind of taking their games to the next level.”
On importance of performance after Lincoln Riley’s departure
“I think it's just living up to what the standard of what the University of Oklahoma is, not particular to a coach or a situation or whatever. I think the university demands a high level of football play because that's what we've done historically, even before Coach Stoops, before Coach V, talking Barry Switzer and all the legends that have came through here, like the standard has always been to play excellent football. For us we're just the 2021 team and we're doing our part in ensuring that the standard is upheld.
“But I think Coach V, he demands a very high standard, and I think -- I'd be naive to say this game doesn't mean a little bit more because obviously this is my last game here, this is my last game with Coach O, my boys and all my other coaches, so I'm willing and ready to give whatever it is that I have for this game and to come out with a W, and I think there is a little bit of emotions that are going into it, so I'm not going to negate that, but I think we've just done an incredible job of keeping the main thing the main thing, and we have our duty and responsibility whenever we signed to come to OU to live up to the standard that OU has created, not a particular coach or player or situation or anything like that.”
DaShaun White
On previous few weeks leading up to bowl game
“I don't know if any of the last few months having normal, but I would say for me it's really just been about enjoying the moment, embracing all the opportunities I have with my teammates, the coaches. Just spending a lot of time with them on and off the field. It's as simple as that to me.
“Just trying to make the best of every situation with this team, and we've got one last one to go after, and that's the one we're focused on, and honestly just can't wait to be able to go out there and hit the field with these guys.”
On losing Odom
“It's a little confusing to be honest with you. I love Coach Odom to death. I'd do anything for him. I've tried to do my best for him, and I think that we've complemented each other very well over the years.
“I'm really looking forward to this last one. That's kind of what everything boils down to with me. I'm really just trying to enjoy this last experience with everyone that was a part of this team that has been so close to my heart for honestly so long. Yeah, that's what I'm really looking forward to.”
Reggie Grimes
On leadership capabilities
“It's been great. This whole transition has been kind of smooth. I think guys have taken to me well, and this is -- we all have one common goal, and that's to win, wanting to make plays, to be the guys that we came here to be. You don't come to Oklahoma to not be a dude; you know what I mean? I think it's been great. It's been an easy transition. We're having fun.”
On if there’s stress with coach departures
“Not necessarily. I think it's more of focus on the main thing, and that's this next game. It is a little bittersweet just realizing that they won't be our coaches next year, but they'll still always be our family. As far as that's concerned, we're just going to go out and play balls to the wall for them.”
Woodi Washington
On first impressions of Brent Venables or focused on Alamo Bowl
“I've just been focused on this next game, kind of like Reggie said. We all have one common goal and that's to win, but as far as Coach Venables it's kind of like Coach Stoops, his resume speaks for itself. He did a great job at Clemson, a great job when he was here at OU the previous time. Right now I'm just trying to focus on this next one.”
On future
“I'm definitely coming back next year.”
