Transfer Tales: Why Oklahoma DL Jacob Lacey is Having Some of His 'Best Times in a While'

The defensive lineman had three solid seasons at Notre Dame before entering the transfer portal last October, and he's already become an integral part of OU's defensive refit.

EDITOR'S NOTE: This series explores each of Oklahoma's 2023 newcomers who arrived via the transfer portal.

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NORMAN — Jacob Lacey graduated from Notre Dame in just three years. He’s now enrolled in the MBA program at Oklahoma.

He knew what he wanted when he left South Bend for Norman.

“I think I was still looking very much for academics,” Lacey said last week. “ … School is still a very huge deal in what I'm doing. But it's also nice to have just as good of football, if not better.”

Lacey plays defensive tackle and is among a handful of arrivals via the transfer portal who will be tasked with casting immediate and marked improvement for the OU defense.

“You saw in the California game what Jacob can do when he’s healthy,” said Bryan Driskell, publisher of the SI/Fan Nation affiliate Irish Breakdown. “He was disruptive against the run and also had two crucial sacks in that game. That is the player Notre Dame fans remember landing out of high school, and that’s the playmaking he flashed as a freshman.

“Jacob is a quick, penetrating interior defender. He was used at nose tackle often during his Notre Dame career, but he’s better served as more of a penetrating 3-technique. He plays with good pad level, has good hands, and when healthy he can be a impactful player against the run and a solid pass rusher.”

Jacob Lacey :: BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN-USA TODAY NETWORK

Lacey played 633 snaps in his three-plus seasons with the Irish, but he also endured physical maladies that included a serious shoulder injury. His playing time dwindled as he went from 247 snaps as a true freshman to 164 snaps in 2020 and 149 snaps in 2021, according to Pro Football Focus.

In 2022, finally healthy, he played just four games (73 total snaps) before deciding to redshirt and enter the transfer portal.

“Two games before he decided to transfer, he played 24 snaps and made a lot of plays,” Driskell said. “He also played 29 snaps in the opener against Ohio State. There was a frustration about not playing more snaps against North Carolina (nine snaps). Had he stayed, I anticipate he would have only seen more and more playing time. So his decision to enter the portal was quite the head scratcher outside of simply wanting to save a season of eligibility.”

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For More Transfer Tales

• Switching Bedlam Allegiances Created Doubts for Oklahoma DL Trace Ford: 'It Was Tough'
• Why LB Dasan McCullough Says Oklahoma Walks Around 'Like a 13-0 Team'

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At OU, Lacey has two years of eligibility remaining — and in his first month as a Sooner, he’s put that time to good use as he finally gets to study under d-line coach Todd Bates.

“It's been some of the best times I've had in a while,” the 6-foot-2, 290-pound Lacey said. “I’m learning so many different things from him. He's been in the game for a while. He's produced great talent and has great knowledge. So just working with him, getting to talk to him a lot and understanding his mind allows me to grow mine, because I feel like I do have a good understanding of football — just learning everything that I can, not just the d-line, but more coverages and things like that. It's gonna lead me to play better. So it's been good.”

When he worked at Clemson with Brent Venables, Bates went hard after Lacey out of South Warren High School in Bowling Green, KY. But Lacey picked the Irish over Clemson, Michigan, Michigan State, Penn State, Tennessee and others. Now he’s glad to be reunited with Bates.

“We had a great relationship,” Lacey said. “I just chose a separate path for school and things like that. And I know everything works out in mysterious ways. God works in crazy ways. And we’ve come together here at a great place like Oklahoma.

Jacob Lacey (54) / Michael Caterina-USA TODAY NETWORK

“It's like we didn't even — we picked up where we left off in terms of our relationship, and now we're getting more into the football stuff. So it's been fun.”

Driskell said Lacey had a hard time staying above 290 at Notre Dame, and every time he got hurt, the struggle to keep the weight on got harder. That may have been one of the big factors in his decreased playing time.

“Those injuries have kept him from being anything more than a flash player,” Driskell said. “You’d see the big time ability at times … but he was never able to do it week after week.”

Lacey said he’s currently “the healthiest I've ever been” after he “came in and played through some things out of high school I probably shouldn't have. But you know, I'm a team guy, so I'm OK with what I did. I wouldn't change what I did. It's allowed me to be at a great place where I'm at now and just show what I can really do, building off the years I've had.”

Venables in December called Lacey “a leader. Incredibly tough and versatile.”

And now Lacey is putting that experience to work as an experienced member of an experienced transfer class. The final product will be determined in the fall, but by all accounts, the newcomers are already beginning to change Oklahoma’s defensive culture.

“First off, I think everybody has bought in to what we want to do,” Lacey said. “Obviously, the goal is to graduate. But we want to win. We want to win a championship — national championship. And I think we're working towards that in the best way we can: learn the playbook, learning the ropes.”