Todd Grantham's football mind is ideal to rebuild Oklahoma State defense: 'No one better'
Scott WrightThe Oklahoman
STILLWATER — Though he spent three years coaching alongside new Oklahoma State defensive coordinator Todd Grantham, Terrell Buckley can’t provide an answer for one of the biggest questions on the minds of Cowboy fans.
What kind of defense will Grantham run at OSU?
“Whatever you want,” Buckley told The Oklahoman, laughing as he said it.
Buckley, the legendary Florida State cornerback who played more than a decade in the NFL before entering the coaching world, crossed over with Grantham at Louisville, then joined him at Mississippi State. At both stops, Buckley coached cornerbacks in a defense coordinated by Grantham.
“The football aspect, the understanding of what it takes to have a successful defense, there’s nobody better,” Buckley said. “His understanding of who you have to attack, why you have to attack them and how you want to attack them — I would say I’ve been around a lot of ball, and I would put him at the top in terms of understanding those concepts.”
Grantham, 58, comes to OSU with 34 years of coaching experience as he replaces the dismissed Bryan Nardo. Fifteen of his 34 years have been as a defensive coordinator, plus 13 years in the NFL, primarily as a defensive line coach.
As for Grantham’s defensive style, Buckley witnessed the coach’s knack for molding his scheme to his talent.
“He likes a multiple front, three down or four down, with a guy that can move around and blitz from anywhere,” Buckley said. “He’ll use five defensive backs if he has a guy who can be that hybrid DB and linebacker. If he doesn’t have that, he’ll go more conventional. It all depends on the type of players he has.”
In two of the three seasons Buckley worked under Grantham, their defenses ranked in the top 10 nationally in third-down percentage. And while Grantham has earned a reputation for his aggressiveness on third down, Buckley says there’s more to it than that.
“Obviously, everybody gets going on third down,” Buckley said. “But if the opportunity presents itself on first or second down, you’ll see him be aggressive there.
“We attacked, but we attacked with rules. It wasn’t just all-out, no discipline. We were very disciplined in what we were trying to do and we understood it. And when the opportunity presented itself to attack, that’s what we did.”
The 2017 Mississippi State defense might’ve been Grantham’s best of all.
That group ranked in the top 30 nationally in scoring defense and rushing defense, 12th in passing defense and top 10 in total defense, third-down conversions and completion percentage allowed.
And that schedule included Southeastern Conference games against Alabama, which was No. 1 at the time, along with top-15 opponents LSU, Georgia and Auburn, plus a No. 24 Texas A&M squad.
Also part of that Mississippi State coaching staff was Ryan Osborn, who, according to reports, is set to join Grantham as OSU’s defensive line coach. Osborn served as a graduate assistant under Grantham at Mississippi State and Florida before getting his first Division I coaching job at Tennessee-Martin in 2020.
From there, Osborn spent a year as an analyst at Michigan, then assisted with the defensive line and outside linebackers for the Baltimore Ravens. He spent the last two seasons as the defensive coordinator and outside linebackers coach for Charlotte.
OSU has not announced other departing assistant coaches, so it’s unclear how many spots Grantham will have to fill on the staff.
On top of that, the Cowboys are set to lose at least seven starters from the defense, and will be active in rebuilding that unit from the transfer portal.
Buckley says Grantham’s attacking style of defense should draw players in.
“He’ll be entertaining from Day 1,” Buckley said. “I’m shocked he hasn’t been a head coach. He coaches defense, but he understands football. He understands the whole principle of what football is about. He just does it from a defensive perspective.
“You look at the success we had at Louisville, helping turn that program around to where it should be. You look at Mississippi State and the improvement and the guys going on to the next level. Grantham is truly that guy.”