NORMAN — Key Lawrence is enjoying his move to safety.
For the first time in three years, Pat Fields and Delarrin Turner-Yell won’t trot out on the back end of Oklahoma’s defense.
Before spring practice even got rolling in Norman, Lawrence was seen as an obvious answer to fill the void by many outside the program due in large part to his playmaking prowess in 2021.
Saturday was the first opportunity to see how the Nashville product fits in Brent Venables’ defense, and the junior looked right at home.
Though he didn’t finish with any tackles, Lawrence was credited with one pass breakup for the Red Team in the spring game, and he didn’t look lost or out of position as he led the secondary for his team.
And while Lawrence said he’s happy with the position change, he still thinks there’s plenty of room for him to grow based off his performance on Saturday.
"I can get better,” he said after the game. “… I like (playing safety) because I know exactly what everybody else is doing. I know what the d-line is doing, the outside linebackers, the will, the corners. Just by being at that position, I know all of it."
With so much turnover at safety, Lawrence has also taken on a leadership role this spring. Taking that step off the field was an adjustment for Lawrence, who spent last year just trying to get acclimated to the program after transferring in from Tennessee.
“It was a challenge for me, just for me to be more vocal and have my communication skills up to par,” Lawrence said. “I just tried to get my guys who didn't know what to do yet or hadn't experienced the game to stay cool, calm and collected. I just tried to keep them up to par with everything else."
Even if Lawrence missed a thing or two on the field on Saturday when trying to help his teammates, he had backup in the form of Venables himself.
Oklahoma’s new head coach presided over the scrimmage in the middle of the action, standing just behind the offense. Venables coached throughout, ensuring his defense lined up properly and routinely pulling defenders aside to pass along coaching points after the play.
This came as no shock to Lawrence, who said Venables is the same guy whether he’s coaching up guys in one-on-one drills at practice or in front of over 75,000 people in the middle of a scrimmage.
“He's never changed, and we love it,” Lawrence said. “… (Venables) is probably one of the most football geniuses I've ever been around. He knows exactly what each player is supposed to do every second.
“He's just trying to critique us so we can keep getting better and keep moving forward."
Overall, the atmosphere brought by the fans paired with the performance on the field meant Lawrence saw Saturday as a successful spring finale for the Sooners.
"I think it was pretty fun just seeing the fans being enthusiastic with it and seeing (Brent Venables) being all-in,” Lawrence said. “He really got the fans riled up. It was fun. It was a blast."
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