Grateful to be playing again, Jalen Redmond is making an impression
NORMAN — The highlight of Jalen Redmond's Sunday came well before any of his three tackles in Oklahoma's 49-31 win over Houston.
“Going through the warmups, it was, `Wow,'” Redmond said. “Walking out there — I can play this time. I'm not walking out there in just a jersey standing on the sidelines. That was a big moment.”
Two instances of blood clots cut short Redmond's
f r eshman season, l eaving him questioning whether or not his college football career was finished.
The initial diagnosis was devastating, with Redmon thinking his playing career was done, before being energized when he found out he could return.
A surprising midseason return had Redmond looking like a big part of Oklahoma's defense before a recurrence of the clots once again had Redmond reeling.
“It opens your eyes ,” Redmond said. “It makes you not take things for granted. Especially playing this game, a lot of people take it for granted but you never know, it could be taken from you in the blink of an eye.”
During that brief threegame showing a season ago, with 2.5 of his six tack les going for loss, Redmond made an immediate impression. But then fatigue set in and a check showed that the blood clots had returned, ending his season.
Redmond said his perform an ce in those games helped boost his confidence but also made it tougher to go through the clots the second time around.
“That definitely made it worse ,” Redmond said. “Playing those games. OK, I'm back. I can play at this level. Seeing that then having it taken away from you again is out of my control.”
Redmond didn' t start Sunday but saw significant action, with a first-quarter
tackle joining his two tackles to end the game.
But it was another play in that first quarter that shows just how disruptive Redmond can be.
He fought through a double team to give Cougars quarterback D'Eriq King nowhere to go, then teamed with Ronnie Perkins to help pop the ball out of King's grasp.
“Pretty disruptive,” Sooners coach Lincoln Riley said of Redmond' s debut on the interior of the defensive line. “I saw a couple in particular where he got great penetration and you saw the combination of size and strength.”
Redmond and Perkins had played the same position until this year, when Oklahoma's coaches asked Redmond to consider a move inside.
He wasn't sure at first. “But as I talked to the coaches and I just thought, `OK, I can see myself (there), especially in this defense,'” Redmond said.
Acceptance di dn't come quickly, though. Redmond said it's just been in the last week or so before the game that he became fully comfortable that the move was the right one.
“I just had to give myself the courage,” Redmond said. “I'm used to being on the edge but playing in the middle with this defense, I'm like, `OK, you can just use your athletic ability and get around this guy.' I can do it.”