There were a lot of Oklahoma defensive players who had the option to return for the 2022 season but chose to enter the NFL Draft.

Nobody is begrudging them, but the Sooners were able to get one guy back when inside linebacker DaShaun White announced in January he was returning for a fifth season, the COVID eligibility year.

White has been a mainstay with the OU defense the last few years, and the chance to work with first-year head coach Brent Venables was just one of a couple of reasons why he couldn’t pass up the chance to return.

“It was different. Especially because I’m not somebody to trust anybody,” White said on Tuesday after the first day of practice. “It was one of those things that I knew I had to make the right decisions for myself. I had just left so much on the table here.

“If I had went on and went to the League, it would have been one of those things that would have ate at me for quite some time knowing that I didn’t leave the legacy that I wanted to here and didn’t do the things I wanted to here. That’s essentially what it came down to. I know there is another level I can get to. That’s the only plan for this next year.”

Maybe nobody was happier than defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Ted Roof, getting that anchor of the group to lead the way.

“It takes time to develop trust,” Roof said. “That’s not something where you just walk in with decisions like that and have a total stranger walk into your life and tell you what to do. Honest conversations, open conversations with his family as well. I, 100 percent, believe he did the right thing for himself, for his family and for our football team.”

Flexibility a necessity

People like position labels, just gives everybody a better idea of what a player can do well and where they need to be.

Recent years have shown, though, versatility is good. Maybe even preferred. New staff but same mindset in that regard.

“I think there’s a lot of flexibility because as we learn, you really learn about your players when you watch them play football,” defensive coordinator Ted Roof said. “You can learn about their characteristics, learn about their grit, their internal motivation, their toughness and all that, you can learn in the Fourth Quarter program.

“But you learn how your players play when you watch them play. You watch them compete. You watch them grind. That’s always a process, an evolutionary process because in this game, you have injuries and this happen and this happen, you’re trying to develop competitive depth so that when that does happen, you’re not falling off the edge of a cliff. Cross-training is a big part of what we do.”

The position label for someone today might not be the same at the end of spring or going into the season, and that’s OK, said Roof.

Here we go again for Lawrence

You can ask about coaching transitions for safety Key Lawrence, but it’s absolutely nothing new for the junior.

Freshman, he’s at Tennessee. Then last year was the old staff. Now it’s Brent Venables, Ted Roof and the rest of the defensive coaches.

And it extends beyond college. Just another year.

“So what’s crazy is every year I’ve played football, I had a new coach,” Lawrence said. “Even in high school. So it’s nothing really new to me. I mean, at the start was in my freshman in high school. So that’s fine.”

Lawrence had some real good moments in 2021, playing a variety of positions. He made a huge impact as a cornerback toward the latter part of the season, but he’s back listed at safety.

Again, it’s just a title. Lawrence is ready for whatever.

“It’s been the same, honestly,” Lawrence said. “Because the only thing with me personally, I’m just trying to apply myself more. Because I feel like this is a big year for me and this team, especially because there are high expectations.”

Graham more than that one catch

Junior cornerback D.J. Graham couldn’t even go on spring break without people coming up to talk to him about that play.

What play? That play, the one-handed interception he made in OU’s win against Nebraska. Graham has been adamant about not wanting to be known for only that play, and 2022 will give him another opportunity to show what he can do.

But he does appreciate the notoriety even as he strives for more.

“That one play changed my life,” Graham said. “Like I said, I said last year I don’t want to be a one-trick pony, which I ended up being a one-trick pony. I made a couple plays on the ball, but that play has cemented me in college football history. But like I said, it’s a new season. The past is the past. That’s always going to be brought up with my name.

“It’s a new year. I’ve got to make more plays on the ball. This is 2022. This ain’t 2021, it’s 2022. It’s a new season.”

Redmond healthy, ready to lead

If it hasn’t been one thing, it’s been another when it comes to redshirt junior defensive lineman Jalen Redmond.

Not just injuries, but just freak injuries have kept popping up during his time at OU. He’s healthy, and after a winter season with strength and conditioning coach Jerry Schmidt, Redmond is ready to show what he can do.

“I feel like I’m very confident in myself. But injuries happen and I’ve had a lot of freak injuries that happened and you can’t control it,” Redmond said. “It’s the sport we play. I feel good and ready to go. You just never know with this sport. Anything can happen tomorrow or whenever. It’s just crazy.”

A lot of people are excited to see what first-year defensive tackles coach Todd Bates is going to bring out in Redmond, both on the field and anything he might need off the field.

“He’s been nothing but honest and straight up with us since he’s been here. I know if I need anything – he told me himself, give me a call,” Redmond said. “He’s called me multiple times about things I didn’t know he knew about. It’s just about him being there for us. He’s there for any of us on the d-line or anyone on his team.”