Much has been made of the improvement of the Oklahoma Sooners’ defense. One of the unsung heroes has been defensive tackle [autotag]Jacob Lacey[/autotag].
Lacey only has 10 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, and one sack but he’s been one of the best run defenders for the Sooners this season. That sack came at a pivotal moment in the [autotag]Red River Rivalry[/autotag]. It ultimately led to the Texas Longhorns kicking a field goal, giving the Sooners enough time to mount their incredible last-minute comeback.
But all of that success almost didn’t happen for Lacey. He told reporters about the battle he faced this offseason.
“I got out of spring ball, and I was working out on my own, and my leg started hurting,” Lacey said. “Being a football player, I just thought it was a knot or something like that. Just go to the training room. I had done an internship with Chick-fil-A at the time, and we had flown around, but everything was fine. Just had a little pain in my leg.”
Ultimately everything wasn’t fine. After being checked out, it was determined Lacey had multiple pulmonary embolisms due to a blood clot in his leg.
“I flew back to Notre Dame to see one of my friends graduate, and on that plane ride, I started losing my breath and coughing up blood,” Lacey said. “That day, when I landed, I went to the hospital at 3:00 a.m. by myself. My friends were graduating, so they dropped me off. The doctor said I shouldn’t be alive. He said straight up, I don’t know how you are breathing. He said I’ll probably never play football again.”
Lacey admits during the summer and fall, it was tough watching his teammates practice while he was sidelined. Then came the news on Aug. 29, 2023, that he long awaited.
“I was cleared,” Lacey said. “Something that allowed me to play so fast was staying locked in, staying engaged, taking notes, doing everything I would do like I was practicing.”
Lacey said he had to do blood thinners for three months, but now he’s back to normal. His presence was felt in the biggest game of the year (to this point) with one of the biggest plays of the game.
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