Most Popular Archives Shop
OKC, 88°F, Partly Cloudy, Radar Loop | More Weather




View more >
Mon January 1, 2007

Sacrifice repaid by team success
Smith's move from corner to safety key to strong defense

Related Articles
Related Information


OU Football Links
- Live College Football Scores
- Big 12 Football Scores
- OU Stats Page
- John Rohde's blog
- Jenni Carlson's blog
- Berry Tramel's blog
- Bedlam Nation




Edmond Santa Fe product Reggie Smith has helped the Sooners this season by changing to safety from cornerback. BY STEVE SISNEY, THE OKLAHOMAN
Related Searches

World Wide Web

 
 
Top Jobs
AddThis Social Bookmark Button
By Jenni Carlson
Staff Writer
GLENDALE, Ariz. — The team needed him to sacrifice.

Oklahoma was in a bad position with time short and obstacles tall. A move had to be made. A savior had to be found. The Sooners turned to a trusted hand, asking him to give up playing a position where he'd excelled and grown to love, and the rest is Fiesta Bowl history.


ADVERTISEMENT


Yes, these Sooners wouldn't be in the Valley of the Sun today without Reggie Smith.

Much has been made of Paul Thompson's switch from receiver to quarterback. In the Paycheckgate recovery, no one has been more important. Thompson ranks among the all-time Sooner saviors.

Thing is, Smith has been no less important to the transformation of the OU defense. A unit that coaches dubbed as dominating before the season struggled the first month or so of the season. Numerous shifts later, the defense has become one of the best in the country.

No shift — or sacrifice — was more important than the ones made by Smith. He went from his beloved cornerback to safety.

He pooh-poohs the move.

"It's a little sacrifice,” Smith said, "but look where we are right now. We're at one of the Bowl Championship Series games. Can't complain too much.”

He paused.

"Even though I do like corner a whole lot better.”

A safety throughout his high school days at Edmond Santa Fe and his freshman year at OU, Smith moved to cornerback last spring. Field corner, to be exact. He played that position all through spring drills, through summer workouts, even through two-a-days.

"That's what I thought I was going to be,” Smith said.

Even after being switched to the other cornerback position — the boundary corner — for the Oregon game, Smith still thought he would return to field corner. His move to the boundary a game-planning move, a temporary switch.

Then came the debacle in Eugene.

And we're not talking about the onside-kick, instant-replay controversy. We're talking about the defense. The Ducks rolled up more than 500 yards of offense. They scored 21 points in the fourth quarter, too. That kind of thing could not continue for the Sooners to be successful.

Something had to change.

Coaches had already switched and swapped several defensive players. Keenan Clayton out, Jason Carter in. D.J. Wolfe out, Lindy Holmes in. But after Oregon, the coaches realized that even more needed to be done in the secondary. They wanted to get the best players on the field. They needed to try out a few guys in new positions.

The key: moving Smith to safety.

"Reggie likes corner,” co-defensive coordinator Brent Venables said. "He's open with us, and that's fine with us that he feels that way.”

Still ...

"That was a concern of ours in our staff meeting — ‘How's Reggie going to feel?'”

They called Smith in to tell him about their plan. He'd replace Carter at safety, and Holmes and Marcus Walker would take over at cornerback.

"We need the help back there,” they told Smith.

"All right,” he said, "I guess I'll do it.”

And that was that.

"Obviously, he's very selfless,” Venables said. "The way this thing was going to work was, one, him saying, ‘Yeah, I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna be all in,' and, two, improvement at the corner position. I think as he saw continued improvement, that allowed him to get more comfortable and recognize the value of the move for our defense.”

After some initial struggles, Holmes and Walker have excelled. So has Smith. An Associated Press first-team all-conference player, he has three interceptions and eight break-ups, both marks ranking second on the team.

Still, Smith wouldn't mind another go at corner.

"At some point,” he said. "But if it doesn't happen, no big deal.”

It might not be to him, but it sure has been for the Sooners.

Multi Page