The time has arrived. Oklahoma kicks off preseason camp, and defensive coordinator Alex Grinch was back addressing the media. Here are the biggest takeaways from the 20-minute session.

Take No. 1: The No. 129 means something, but it’s time to move on

It has been harped on again and again about how poorly the Sooner defense performed during the 2018 season. Grinch didn’t let them forget it, but well, it’s a new day. It’s no longer about lamenting on 2018, but looking ahead to 2019.

Although some parting shots were still reminders during the summer.

“At this point, as you go into the fall, starting now, what’s done is done,” Grinch said. “We can’t have any impact on that. We did workouts. Coach Wylie in the weight room did workouts that from a rep-count standpoint added up to 129 as a reminder.

“Again, as we flip the page and calendar goes up to August, it’s 2019. That no longer will be the emphasis. But I think it serves as a reminder that it’s difficult to play defense in 2019. You’re one play away from being average.

“The nice thing about playing the type of offense we do on a daily basis is you really get a good evaluation in terms of where you’re at. But really as much as anything, how we used that in the spring was as a constant reminder of why that rep’s important, why that rep in individual’s important, why that rep in a one-on-one period is important. You’re not going to have success on every single rep, but the point being, are you getting the necessary feedback to be better the following one.”

Take No. 2: Iron needs to sharpen iron

It’s a two-part issue for Grinch when it comes to the safety position. One, he’s the defensive coordinator so it’s important. Two, he’s coaching the safeties so he has to figure out a way to find the best guys for the job.

But what’s necessary is that the best guys emerge and earn the job instead of simply having it fall into their lap because the competition is so below average.

“I think in a perfect world you say, 'These are our starters and the gap is so wide that we don't want to take them off the field. We are so comfortable with that individual.'” Grinch said. “Sometimes there's a little bit of fool's gold as a coach because once that guy tweaks an ankle in practice and all of a sudden that 2 comes in and you say, 'Well, that's not the guy that I thought we were going to have.'

“What you're trying to do is have 22 guys that can compete on your defense and obviously more, best-case scenario. I think in terms of how do you feel, no one cares how you care as a coach, but how you feel as a coach is you'd like to have established guys walking out there on the first rep of the series but take advantage of the fact that maybe you don't and the competition is such that multiple guys could fill that role.

“The other side of that is the benefit that you've got more guys having a viable role on your defense. We won't take the starter out to put someone in that's not competing at that same level, so that's ultimately what we're working towards, getting as many guys on the defense to be in that mix to quote-unquote be in the depth – guys not on the depth chart as a 1 or a 2 or a 3. I've got my two on the depth chart. If we're going to put you in the game, I wouldn't call yourself a 2. That's called being there by default. The more guys we have in the depth that we use on Saturdays, the better off we'll be.”

Take No. 3: Instilling confidence

The message in the spring was all about mentality and mindset. The scheme, Grinch said, can sometimes be the easiest part of this process. However, getting the confidence level back to a big place can be quite the chore.

And in OU’s case, it feels a little more difficult because of the fact there has been so much negativity surrounding the defense during the last few seasons.

Feeling good could take a while.

“It’s a great point. The negativity never goes away,” Grinch said. “The best headline you want to read is the negative one. We’re all drawn to that, and obviously, to think that our guys somehow … they don’t see it or feel it or read it would be naïve on our part. It’s kind of back to talking about dealing in realism.

“The outside world doesn’t see that summer workout on a Monday morning. They don’t see that progress. But we as coaches do. It’s important for us to highlight it. If we’re going to get a true evaluation of guys, we have to be ready to be honest when it is the way we want it. We’re going to be very honest when it’s not the way we want it.”