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NORMAN — Ryan Reynolds can't recall much about two days he'd just as well prefer to forget.

Mostly, hearing that snap in his knee.

And then hearing that dreadful sound again one year later.

Reynolds tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee while chasing down a receiver in 7-on-7 drills following 2006 spring practice.

After redshirting as a sophomore, Reynolds rehabbed and recovered, and found himself battling for a starting linebacker position in the spring.

But then his right knee popped in a pile of helmets and shoulder pads; this time, he severed the lateral collateral ligament.

"The year before, I didn't really feel like the part of the team,” said Reynolds, who watched from the sideline as the Sooners won the Big 12 championship. "After I messed up my knee the second time, I got mad about it.”

His anger and dedication in the training room have brought Reynolds back to where he should've been all along — in the Oklahoma starting lineup.

"Very few have dealt with what he had to the way he did,” defensive coordinator Brent Venables said