“Coach” Jacob Lacey, who retired owing to blood clots, is accepting a new job for the Sooners.
Even though blood clots caused Jacob Lacey to retire medically in February, the seasoned defender is still contributing significantly this spring as a student-coach for Oklahoma’s defensive tackles.
Though Jacob Lacey didn’t want to accept his Norman Regional doctor’s diagnosis, reality quickly crept in.
A brutal and untimely end to Lacey’s playing career came in February when he had another blood clot in his lungs, just weeks before Oklahoma was scheduled to start spring practice. Prior to what would have been his sixth and final season of collegiate football, Lacey was forced to retire due to illness. Although he was reluctant to come to this decision, he also accepted it.
Speaking with the media on Friday for the first time since announcing his retirement last month, Lacey admitted, “At first, I didn’t want to believe it, honestly.” “I said, ‘No way. I am currently 23 years old. There’s no way that this could occur twice. Heard the news stung, that much was clear. Accepted it with a smile.”
It had not been more than a year since Lacey had gone through something similar. After feeling leg discomfort and shortness of breath during his offseason training and coughing up blood on a journey back to South Bend, Indiana, for a friend’s graduation from Notre Dame, he was diagnosed with pulmonary embolisms last summer. When he finally arrived at the hospital at two in the morning, the physician told him he was lucky to be alive.
After transferring to Oklahoma following the 2022 season, Lacey had intended to be an anchor along the defensive line for the Sooners last autumn. However, his future was cast question after that episode of blood clots. After taking blood thinners for three months, Lacey was finally allowed to play again one week prior to the season opening against Arkansas State. He went on to start all twelve of the OU defensive line games that season.
Lacey said in December that he would be returning to Oklahoma for a sixth season; but, in February, his intentions fell through. During a Tuesday exercise, Lacey spotted blood in his spit. At first, he didn’t give it much mind because his oxygen and heart rates were within normal ranges.
Three days later, Lacey experienced pain in his left shoulder and lung area. The following morning, Lacey woke up with shortness of breath and struggled to stand up. That’s when he realized something was undoubtedly wrong.
None of Lacey’s roommates were home at the time, so he mustered the strength and had the wherewithal to drive himself just up the road to the new Norman Regional facility just off Tecumseh Road. Fortunately for Lacey, he was able to be seen quickly by a doctor. He held out hope that it was just a shoulder issue and nothing more.
That hope quickly faded. So, too, did his dream of pursuing a career in football.
“At first the doctor kind of told me, and I was like, ‘Nah, you’re lying,'” Lacey said. “Then it kind of was an obvious hit when I got the message. Mentally, I was like, ‘You’re done.’ I was holding onto it a bit. The doc said I have to stay on the (blood thinner) medicine the rest of my life, and if that’s the case, I can’t play. Once he told me that news, I kind of knew.”
It was a decision that was difficult to square initially, but Lacey accepted it for what it was, fortunate to still otherwise have his health. His sudden retirement was described as a “devastating blow” by Brent Venables, while his fellow defensive tackles also struggled with the news initially; Lacey was not only the most experienced player at the position for the Sooners, but he was a vocal presence and leader in that room.
“It was tough because Lacey is like my brother man, for real,” defensive tackle Da’Jon Terry said. “Ever since I came in, he was the one that kind of took me in, you know what I’m saying? Like, really just talked to me, helped me with the plays, things like that. It was hard because even in the workout room with Coach Schmitty (Jerry Schmidt) …he was my rack partner and everything like that. So, it was just crazy to really see him have to retire.
“And that really hurt. I’m going to be for real, it hurt me. I know it hurt him also. So, it was tough to see that. It was honestly tough.”
Though Lacey’s career on the field was cut short ahead of what would have been his final season, he hasn’t strayed far since being forced to medically retire. He’s still on scholarship and still around the team this spring, spending his time as something of a player-coach under defensive tackles coach Todd Bates and lending his wealth of experience and knowledge to the Sooners’ remaining defensive tackles.
“That’s the coach right there,” defensive tackle Gracen Halton said. “Everything that we mess up on, just outside of football, he’s just trying to coach us up. Something we don’t know? We go to him for it.”
Lacey wanted to remain around the team despite his circumstances because he felt he still had value to the defense, even if it was off the field.
He wanted to do what he could to help, especially at a defensive tackle spot that is relatively thin this spring following the offseason departures of Isaiah Coe, Jonah Laulu and Jordan Kelley, all of whom exhausted their eligibility and were three of the top-five most utilized tackles on the roster last season. The room returns veterans like Terry and Halton, as well as sixth-year senior Davon Sears, but it also has newcomers in freshmen David Stone and Jayden Jackson, as well as less-experienced pieces like Ashton Sanders and Markus Strong.
“I know being down and sulky and sad — that doesn’t really help out anybody,” Lacey said. “I had my moment there in the hospital. I can make an impact on these young guys. Even the guys around me like DT (Terry), we have a great relationship. I didn’t want to lose that. Coach Bates, Coach V(enables), they’ve been nothing but great. The place around you, you always want to make it better, and that’s what I want to do.”
Lacey’s presence at practice has been a welcome sight to his teammates and a valuable tool for the rest of the Sooners’ defensive tackles this spring. Coaching isn’t something he envisioned being part of his journey, and he’s unsure if it’s something he wants to pursue beyond this season. He is finishing up his MBA program this semester, and he already has a degree in industrial design with a minor in business economics from Notre Dame.
Lacey is exploring various career opportunities off the field, but he isn’t ruling out the possibility of continuing his football journey on the sidelines, either.
“I focused on waking up, knowing I can make those guys better,” Lacey said. “Unfortunately, there’s nothing I can change in my role. It’s been going well. Coaching is different, for sure, but it’s the next-best thing besides being out there.”
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