Oklahoma Sooners College Football Pregame Quote, 12/22/2020

You guys have had sort of a breakout season defensively, really sort of exerted yourself and restored the Oklahoma brand a little bit defensively. Considering all those things, are you glad you got matched up in a bowl game with such a high powered offense? We watched Florida score 46 on Alabama the other night, and playmakers all over the field. Are you glad you’ve got that kind of a challenge during the bowl game next week?

Yeah, we’re glad to take on any challenge with any team we face. But with a high powered offense like Florida, it will really give us that challenge to give us a real feel of what our defense is really made of and see what players are willing to step up in a big time game like this.

I’m excited for the challenge. Florida has a great offense, great quarterback, as we all know, great weapons along with him. So, yeah, we’re excited for this challenge. And our defensive culture that we’ve brought back is definitely exciting to see. So I’m ready for it.

I wanted to ask you about Perrion Winfrey. We saw some of the things that he could do the other day in the Big 12 title game. What kind of room for growth do you see in him, and just how big of an impact as what he’s been doing lately had on the success that y’all are able to have on the defensive line?

I see a lot of room for growth for Perrion. This is his first Division I collegiate year. So he’s getting a feel for things, and he’s doing pretty well at it. So I see a lot of room for growth for him. The impact he brings is tremendous to this defense. He’s a big force up the middle, and it allows him to take on two blockers where, luckily, I get to take on a one on one along with Perk [Ronnie Perkins] and Nik Bonitto. He takes a load off of us up front.

And if not, if he does have that one on one, we’ll see what he’s able to do with that. Last game, he was getting pressure up the middle.

So I see a lot of room for growth in him as well, but I see a big impact player that he is, too, along with that. And that’s scary to think of how good he is now, knowing how much better he can be.

I know last year, heading into the college football playoff, there was some other factors of guys missing the game and stuff like that. It didn’t go how you wanted. We’ve already kind of mentioned how Florida is such an explosive offense. Does the defense see this as an opportunity to maybe get some more validation on the national stage in year two?

Yeah, I think so. I think we’ve done a great job throughout this season, especially the second half of this season, on getting the recognition that we feel like we deserve on how well we’ve been playing.

But at this stage on this set against a team like Florida, I think we’re ready for it. We’re excited. I know the players are excited along with myself.

So, yeah, I can definitely speak for them when I say that they’re excited for this opportunity and for this challenge at this stage to play back at the AT&T Stadium on a college collegiate stance like this. So, yeah, I’d say they’re excited.

On Nik Bonitto, he’s had an amazing year. And I wonder if you could give us details about what you’ve seen him evolve at, his game, his pass rush, moves, the repertoire that he uses, whether it comes from Coach [Jamar] Cain or how you use your hands this way or, Hey, watch next time, I’m going to try this. That evolution, can you describe what he’s gone through?

I’d say the thing that stands out to me about Nik Bonitto the most is his dedication off the game field to his pass rushing and his game technique on the practice field. You can see throughout practice how he works on different moves during pass rushes or during, like, team settings on different scenarios we have.

His attention to detail when it comes to being an impact player on big plays, it definitely stands out to me. You can see it on game days. On third downs, he’s the lead off the edge with different types of repertoire moves.

And it’s inspiring to know that you have a couple other guys that’s willing to do whatever it takes to get to the quarterback. And we see it as a race to the quarterback. And Nik Bonitto definitely is second to none, in my opinion, in the Big 12 when it comes to getting to the quarterback with a different array of moves, whether that’s making an inside move and frame me up off the edge or if that’s having the middle be open and have him coming off the edge. I’d say his dedication to detail, to getting to the quarterback.

When you think about the way your first three years in Norman went, what did it mean when Alex Grinch said a few weeks ago that he thought you should be defensive player of the year within the Big 12?

It was overwhelming to hear. I didn’t expect that from Coach [Alex] Grinch to say that about me. I looked back on the year I had, and I see it lined up to what he was saying and I agreed with him.

But you’ve seen where the award landed. Credit to him. Mike Rose is a great player. But it meant a lot to me when Coach Grinch said I should be the defensive player of the year, knowing the year that I had. It means a lot to me knowing what I’ve came from, from the previous years to what I’ve become now.

It’s a credit to Coach Grinch, him and Coach [Jamar] Cain along with Coach Thibs (Calvin Thibodeaux) as well, the faith that they instilled in me and that they trusted me to go out there and play multiple positions in big games. It just meant a lot to me and instilled that confidence in myself to do the best of my abilities. And I play the best I can and bring along these teammates with me.

It meant a lot to me when he thought that I was the best defensive player in the Big 12 and probably still thinks that. And it means a lot to me.

I’m sure, not so much now, but I feel like last year’s loss to LSU has got to be something that sticks with the defense. If there are any, what lessons did this defense take away from that game, and how did you maybe see them play out this season as far as the performances you guys put forth?

I’d say something that stuck to us and that we took with us from that LSU loss is don’t take the moment for granted. You don’t get too many opportunities to play in the playoffs. And, obviously, we didn’t make it this year. So we see how much work and how much effort is put into being in that moment. So we after that Iowa State loss early in the year, we took it amongst ourselves to make sure we never had that feeling again, and we’ve been doing pretty great since then.

I’d say it took us it was too late for us to realize that, but we definitely know that feeling that we didn’t want to take it for granted, not being being in the playoffs again. So I think that we’ll go into this game with that mindset, knowing what it took us to even get to this point.

So definitely that loss to LSU definitely stuck to us and knowing that we shouldn’t take that for granted. Going into next year, we can definitely start the season off stronger, just like how we finished this season.

You’ve talked a lot about the struggles of your first three years. Do you see yourself now as sort of an example for people I don’t know like Reggie Grimes, some of the young guys who may be experiencing some of the same feelings you had?

Oh, most definitely, 100%, because I know how it feels to be that freshman or sophomore and not getting the reps that you want or not being as productive as you want.

And I’m a walking testimony that you’ve got to be patient and dedicate yourself to the grind and trust yourself and trust what these coaches have planned for you and planned for this defense. And if you just do your job, and just your job, it will open up for you.

That’s what I’ve been doing this whole season, I’ve been doing just my job in the confines of this defense, and it opened up many opportunities for me. And I just said if I do my job to the best of my abilities that I could be in the backfield making plays, getting sacks and TFLs.

And it’s definitely worked out in my favor. I’m definitely a walking example of that guy who was down on himself the first couple of years but just stuck to the process, believed in himself, trusted the ones that are giving him good information, and just feedback and definitely prevailed through the adversity.

I know I’ve asked you about this before, but this sliding inside, sliding outside this entire season, you don’t really know what your job is going to be until you show up that Monday. What has that been like? I know Alex Grinch has talked about it ad nauseam, your ability to move inside, outside, and how much it helps this defense.

But just not knowing what’s going to happen each week, does that change anything for you? Does it make things difficult in terms of how you’re trying to develop as a player? What has it been like?

No, I’d say it makes things interesting for me. I think it opens up opportunities because I get to play different type of linemen, different positions each week. Because at some point during the game, I’m going to go against each and every one of the offensive linemen. Not every defensive lineman in the country can say that they go against every offensive lineman during a game.

And I see that as an opportunity to show that I can play interior and on the edge. I think it’s great for myself to develop as a player. I think it gives me the opportunity to show I can be strong inside, hold the gap, make plays inside like I did earlier in the Big 12 championship, and also rush along the edge and hold a point and bring pressure to the quarterback and make plays.

So I think it’s interesting. It’s exciting knowing what’s going to happen in that Monday meeting, knowing where I’m going to be, if it’s new or if it’s going to stay the same. I think it’s pretty exciting and pretty fun. I like how these coaches move me around, and it shows that they trust me and they’ve got faith in me and that they believe in what I can do.

Just along those same lines, just with the NFL and projecting towards whatever I understand you have decisions coming up and this and that. But the fact that you have been able to show that you can play inside and play outside, how much do you think that’s going to help you come whenever that process comes?

Tremendously. I think it shows value in what I can do, and I think that shows a lot of I think it opens up a lot of doors for me in that next level. And I think coaches and GMs can see that, and it gives me flexibility on where I could be picked up at.

So I think that opens up a lot of opportunities for me. And I’m grateful for them because there’s not many people that are able to play inside and outside, going into each week not knowing where they’re going to be at facing different types of people at different positions.

So I think it’s exciting to know that I can play these positions. And I think it opens up many doors and opportunities and seeing many different NFL players, such as Aaron Donald playing inside and outside. I’m not saying I compare myself to him, but that’s just an example that I could think of, of somebody that can do both. And I think that opens up many doors for me.

Can you just talk about how important it is to play in a game like the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic for yourself? When you came to Oklahoma to play in a game like this has to be something that you had as a as something that you were striving for.

Oh, yeah, it means the world to me, a kid from Oklahoma basically playing in our second home at the AT&T Stadium in the Cotton Bowl. It means a lot to me. Everything I dreamed of, if not more, growing up. I didn’t even think I would be able to get to this point in life. So just knowing that I get to have this opportunity to play on a stage like this, starting in a bowl game against a top team in the nation and in front of the fans and in front of my family, it means the world to me.

Especially with the year that I’ve had, I just want to add to that story, be productive, stand out amongst everybody, and be the best that I can be. And it means the world to me, knowing, like I said, where I’ve came from, to be in this position now, knowing that I’m a leader on this team and players look up to me. It means a lot that I’m in this position, playing in this game. And it’s everything I could have ever hoped for.