Oklahoma DL Jalen Redmond 'Felt Great' After Battling Through 'Tough' Concussion

The star defensive lineman battled through injuries in fall camp to get back on the field for OU's season opening victory over the UTEP Miners on Saturday.

NORMAN — Saturday’s season opener was far from straight forward for defensive lineman Jalen Redmond.

The 6-foot-3 playmaker from Midwest City had to overcome a concussion early in fall camp to get back on the field, slowing his progress under defensive tackles coach Todd Bates.

Though it was labeled as a “slight concussion” by OU head coach Brent Venables early in August, Redmond said the injury disrupted his flow in camp.

“You know how concussions are, you never know how long you’re going to be out with it,” Redmond said after practice on Monday. “Mine has kind of stuck around for a while. It was just a freak accident, a little injury. I’m back. I feel good.”

Not only did the injury cost Redmond valued time on the practice field, but he wasn’t able to sit in with Bates to watch film.

“It was tough because I really couldn’t even be in meetings because of headaches and things like that,” Redmond said. “I missed a few meetings. I came back a week after and started to fight through it. It was really big and hard for me.

“We have a lot of plays and not being in meetings or not even running through it makes it tough on you to remember them.”

The setback came at a bad time for Redmond, as Venables said he was putting together a really nice fall camp.

“He's had an excellent summer,” Venables said. “His best summer, according to people that know. He's at the best version of himself right now. And he got banged up a little.

“… He's progressed, he's improved. His mindset is where it needs to be, is much improved. He’d be the first one to tell you that, you know, (he) just had a lot of growing up to do, and maturing and love for the game and love for the grind. Can't just play the game. You got to do the grinding, too. That's required. That's part of that formula. And so he's really bought into it again, had a monster summer.”

Despite the setback, Redmond was able to make it back onto the field for the opener against UTEP.

The redshirt junior registered one tackle and one quarterback hurry while also tipping a pass at the line of scrimmage, but he wasn’t satisfied with the effort.

“I feel like I didn’t do the best I could have done Saturday,” he said. “Missed a lot of plays. Kinda beating myself up over that. Working this week to get back and do better on Saturday.”

Venables wasn't as concerned with Redmond's play, as he was just happy with how the veteran approached the situation. 

"I didn’t see a guy that was feeling bad for himself because he wasn’t running out there with the ones," Venables said on Tuesday. "I was glad to see that he wasn’t pouty-faced. He came in and worked and tried to get himself in the shape he needed to be so he could compete to his ability.

"... We know what he’s capable of if he’s healthy and he’s had a good amount of time to work. But he got in and did some really good things. He’s disruptive and can rush the passer. He’s learning how to play better against the run. He’s done a nice job."

While Redmond was critical of his own play, he was pleased with the overall production of the defensive line.

The Sooners held UTEP to just 28 yards rushing while also racking up six sacks and nine tackles for loss.

“I felt like we did good,” he said. “Felt good, all the guys did their part and got pressure on the quarterback. We stopped the run. Been here a few years, we haven’t really done that too much. It felt good that we did.”

Defensive coordinator Ted Roof and Bates were able to platoon plenty of different bodies as well, as the defensive line almost went three guys deep in the depth chart last Saturday.

Building that kind of quality depth early on will be key for the OU defense this season, Redmond said, as that hasn’t always been the case since Redmond has arrived in Norman.

“It feels good,” he said. “I don’t want to talk about that and jinx ourselves.

“It felt good even when we didn’t have depth like this, and it was hard. But it was good getting guys in and out and rotating and staying fresh.”

Redmond will have a chance for an improved performance by his standards on Saturday when the Sooners welcome in Kent State.

Kickoff between OU and the Golden Flashes is schedule for 6 p.m., and the contest will be broadcast on ESPN+. 

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