Oklahoma football: Which OU defenders could end up switching positions under Alex Grinch

Oklahoma football’s 2019 offseason could be the most important yet for head coach Lincoln Riley.

With back-to-back College Football Playoff appearances and four-straight Big 12 titles, Oklahoma football is knocking on the door of joining Clemson and Alabama as one of the sport’s truly elite programs, but to take that next step they will need to improve on defense.

Enter new defensive coordinator Alex Grinch, who joins the team after a turning a horrendous Washington State defense into one of the country’s best during his tenure in Pullman.

Grinch has already gone on record saying that he will enter spring football with an extremely fluid depth chart and that players may be changing positions to fit his scheme.

With 10 defensive starters returning and several 20 of the 22 from the two-deep roster, there are plenty of pieces for Grinch to move around the chess board. Let’s take a look at some of the guys who may leave spring football playing a new position on the OU defense.

Brendan Radley-Hiles

The Sooners scored a major recruiting coup in landing this five-star defensive back out of Florida last year and his talent, along with a thin safety group, allowed him to see the field immediately as a true freshman.

Yet Hiles never seemed quite comfortable at the nickel position, which split duties between corner, safety and linebacker in Mike Stoops’ hybrid 3-4 scheme and was benched after a particularly rough game against West Virginia.

Hiles earned his five-star recruiting status as a man-to-man, in-your-face cornerback. Though he is just 5-foot-9 he has a tenacity in coverage that can’t be matched. With a full offseason in Bennie Wylie’s weight program, he should be able to better match the physicality of college wide receivers. With a recruiting haul full of four-star defensive backs to help fill the safety ranks Hiles moving back to his natural position could be a real possibility.