Downs and Chavis goes beyond football
It has been pretty easy to see how Oklahoma defensive end Ethan Downs and first-year defensive ends coach Miguel Chavis have been able to develop a quick bond.
Based on their personalities and their values, it’s not that big of a shock. You could tell Chavis’ arrival helped Downs throughout spring football, but since then? It has gone well beyond the gridiron.
Now we’re going to marriage advice.
“I recently proposed to my girlfriend, Caroline. I recently proposed to her, and I was talking to Coach Chavis about it,” Downs said. “I said, ‘Man, is it too early? Is it the wrong time? Should I do it?’ And he pretty much said, he's like, ‘Man, if you know she's the one, why wait? If you're both believers, if you both have faith that God is the center of your relationship, and you keep it that way, and you stay true to each other, then why wait?’
“So he's been able to give me advice and wisdom on so many aspects that I just look up to him, want to be more like him.”
It’s rare that a sophomore gets the call to come to media days, but it’s easy to see why with the way Downs handles himself.
As cool and calm and collected as he’s been, that proposal moment from a couple of weeks ago definitely was a moment he’ll never forget and a secret he almost can’t believe he was able to keep in the days leading up to it.
“A surprise to her. Got her parents’ permission beforehand,” Downs said. “And her mom went with me to buy the ring, to purchase the ring. And she got to see it. She knew the plan.
“We were on Lake Eufaula with her family, and we had some old high school friends come hang out with us. So had a lot of support. It was fun. I proposed on the third of July right before the fireworks and stuff. So a lot of celebration. It was really great.”
Woodi seeing eye-to-eye with Valai
Heading into the 2021 season, a lot was expected of cornerback Woodi Washington. An injury early in the season derailed that a bit.
He’s healthy, and those expectations are back for Washington this season. And it feels a little different with first-year cornerbacks coach Jay Valai.
“How he emphasizes things and tries to make me as great as I can be, on and off the field,” Washington said. “As far as when we’re on the field, on-the-field work, he’s going to make sure I stay after practice and some in a little early before, make sure I come up and get extra film so he just wants me to be as prepared as I can be.”
One thing that was said repeatedly throughout spring was the ability of Valai to connect with each cornerback and realize what type of techniques and strategies are going to work for them.
Instead of a one size fits all approach, Valai is being able to dig in and find out to bring out the best possible with his guys.
“As far as watching film, he’s going to make sure I'm locked in on my film, knowing my assignment and just knowing everything, every little detail,” Washington said. “And then as far as on the field, just all the different techniques that he has and different off-coverage techniques and press techniques. He brings a lot to the table.”
Don’t forget about Coldon
OU is trying to get all this competition going at every position, something head coach Brent Venables has been preaching.
You can see it happening at cornerback. You know about a lot of the familiar names, then guys like Josh Eaton and Kendall Dennis trying to break through and the freshmen coming in.
Oh yea, and C.J. Coldon. It’s very easy to have a blind spot for Coldon, the Wyoming transfer, because he elected to stay at Wyoming in the spring instead of going through spring in Norman.
His experience, his production, though, sounds like Coldon will make sure he’s going to be a factor as well.
“I’ve just seen confidence in him,” Washington said. “He has great, quick, lightning feet at the line, uses his hands well, has great eye discipline. He has all the tools to be an elite corner.”
Grimes making the leap
The defensive end group is pretty loaded for OU, between the experience of guys like Marcus Stripling and Jonah Laulu (Hawaii transfer) and the breakout potential of guys like Ethan Downs and Reggie Grimes.
That’s a quality two-deep right there, and it’ll be interesting to see how that rotation works itself out in preseason camp and the season.
We’ve seen glimpses from Grimes, and Downs said everyone is about to see a heck of a lot more than that in 2022.
“Reggie Grimes has taken on a leadership role as well,” Downs said. “He's in his third year. Very good athlete, very strong, very fast. He plays the run well, pass rushes really well. He can bend. He’s flexible. And I think he's gonna have a really successful year. And his relationship with Coach Chavis, I believe it's pretty good. Coach Chavis wants to connect to all defensive ends and to make their life better in any way that he can with support, with love, with caring for the guys. And I think Reggie is, he's ready to have a breakout year.”