Latest news with #OllieGordonII
USA Today
10-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Ollie Gordon II is using his Dolphins jersey number as a motivating reminder
Ollie Gordon II is using his Dolphins jersey number as a motivating reminder Ollie Gordon II isn't going to forget his slide in the 2025 NFL draft any time soon. The Miami Dolphins' sixth-round pick is going to wear a reminder of that weekend on his chest and back every time he suits up in the NFL with a No. 31 jersey. "The Dolphins went out and chose me," Gordon told reporters Friday. "It's 32 teams in the NFL and 31 teams passed on me so why not use it [as motivation]?" Gordon's slide to the second-to-last round in the draft wasn't a shock after he put up mediocre numbers in his final season at Oklahoma State. While he earned the 2023 Doak Walker Award, recognizing college football's best running back, he managed only 880 rushing yards in 2024 after recording 1,732 in the season prior. But the Dolphins are hopeful they can get the 2023 version of Gordon. "It's not the first time that we've come across an evaluation even at that particular school where you have someone have a really big year followed by maybe a year that they didn't anticipate or was underwhelming for them," Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said of Gordon shortly after the draft ended. "The biggest thing is you try to meet the player, engage with him and see what the experience, how it's affected him. You're hoping that it burns a fire inside and I think it was pretty evident when we visited with him that he was eager to prove himself. So I think the '23 tape was very impressive and based upon our interactions with him, we feel optimistic that is the version that we're going to improve upon moving forward." Step one for Gordon is learning how to be a member of the Dolphins offense. "Coach Mike (McDaniel) knows how to use his players, and I'm just ready to be a part of that, be able to help the team anyway I can," Gordon said. "Even if that's playing special teams, but just to be there and just to see what's going on – Jaylen Waddle, Tyreek Hill running all over the field. I feel like it will be huge to see.'
USA Today
29-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
5 things to know about new Dolphins RB Ollie Gordon II
5 things to know about new Dolphins RB Ollie Gordon II The Miami Dolphins' one-two punch at running back has been speed complementing speed in the last couple years. But in lieu of another athlete with 4.3 speed, the Dolphins went a different route in the 2025 NFL draft. With the No. 179 pick in Round 6, the team added Oklahoma State running back Ollie Gordon II. The 226-pound back is a bruising, powerful runner with a nose for the end zone and a thirst for contact. For the Dolphins, it could finally mean a higher success rate in third- and fourth-and-short situations. So who is Miami's new power back? Here are five things to know about Gordon: Gordon won the 2023 Doak Walker Award The Doak Walker Award honors the best running back in college football and Gordon was the easy choice in 2023. He led the nation in rushing with 1,732 yards and yards from scrimmage with 2,062. Getting a Doak Walker winner so late in the draft is pretty unprecedented. Gordon is the first recipient of the award to fall out of the first four rounds of the draft in over two decades. Of the last seven winners, Gordon is the only one who wasn't picked in the first two rounds. Gordon also finished seventh in the Heisman Trophy vote in 2023. Gordon once dreamed of being the next Cam Newton at quarterback Before Gordon was putting up huge numbers in Stillwater, Okla., he was a dominant player at Trinity High School in Euless, Texas. Coincidentally, that's the same school where Kader Kohou played his high school ball, although their time at Trinity didn't overlap. Gordon played running back at first, but finished his time at Trinity with a move to quarterback for his senior season. "I feel like I have more control of the team now,' Gordon told The Dallas Morning News back in 2021. 'I really always worked out with the quarterbacks. It wasn't a big change, but I was ready for it.' The goal for Gordon was to emulate his favorite player, Cam Newton. According to the Oklahoman, he grew up a Carolina Panthers fan because of his love of the quarterback. Gordon was arrested last summer for a DUI In July 2024, Gordon was arrested by Oklahoma Highway Patrol on suspicion of driving under the influence. Police told ESPN that the running back was driving 17 miles per hour over the speed limit and swerving between lanes before he was pulled over. After refusing a sobriety test, police say he registered a blood alcohol level of 0.10 and 0.11 -- above the Oklahoma legal limit of 0.08 percent. The situation generated even more attention when Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy brushed off the situation and said he wouldn't keep Gordon out of the lineup. The coach also said that drinking a few beers and getting behind the wheel is nothing he hasn't done. "I'm not justifying what Ollie did, I'm telling you what decision I made," Gundy said at Big 12 Media Day. "I thought, 'OK, I've probably done that 1,000 times in my life and it was just fine so I got lucky. People get lucky.'" Gordon takes pride in his pass blocking When Gordon is asked to help keep a pass rush at bay, his goal isn't just to keep his quarterback from being sacked. "When I'm in that pass pro mode, I'm trying to take you out," Gordon told reporters Saturday. "That's going to be your last play blitzing. If I've got to cut you, if I've got to run through your face -- that's going to be your last play blitzing, and I'm going to make you think about it. So that first time, if I don't get you, I promise later in the game, I'm going to get you. I promise you that one.' The Dolphins think Gordon can shake off a rough 2024 Following his Doak Walker winning campaign in 2023, Gordon had just 880 rushing yards in 2024. 'He had bad quarterback play, a subpar line and every defense was keyed on stopping him. Just watch his 2023 tape and skip 2024," a scout told Still, the significant drop off in statistics is the biggest reason Gordon was still on the board when the Dolphins were on the clock in Round 6. "It's not the first time that we've come across an evaluation even at that particular school where you have someone have a really big year followed by maybe a year that they didn't anticipate or was underwhelming for them," Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said. "The biggest thing is you try to meet the player, engage with him and see what the experience, how it's affected him. You're hoping that it burns a fire inside and I think it was pretty evident when we visited with him that he was eager to prove himself. So I think the '23 tape was very impressive and based upon our interactions with him, we feel optimistic that is the version that we're going to improve upon moving forward."
USA Today
28-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
RAS scores for Dolphins' 2025 rookie class
The Miami Dolphins emphasized size over speed in the 2025 NFL draft. Even when the team picked a running back in Round 6, it chose 226-pound bruiser Ollie Gordon II over speedier backs still on the board. While that was a departure from the Dolphins' recent m.o. of hunting for 4.3 speed, especially at the skill positions, it doesn't mean Miami ignored athleticism in its eight-player draft class. Football analyst Kent Lee Platte has created a formula to calculate prospects' Relative Athletic Score -- measuring their size, strength, speed, and agility against other players at their position in the last four decades. Here's what the RAS scores for the Dolphins' draft class look like: Round 1, No. 13: Kenneth Grant, DL, Michigan A footnote on Grant is that his testing scores are measured against all defensive tackles and not nose tackles, specifically. Platte believes if there was a delineation, it would've upped Grant's score. Round 2, No. 37: Jonah Savaiinaea, OL, Arizona Round 5, No. 143: Jordan Phillips, DL, Maryland Round 5, No. 150: Jason Marshall Jr, CB, Florida Round 5, No. 155: Dante Trader Jr, S, Maryland Round 6, No. 179: Ollie Gordon II, RB, Oklahoma State Round 7, No. 231: Quinn Ewers, QB, Texas Round 7, No. 253: Zeek Biggers, DT, Georgia Tech Noteworthy undrafted additions:
USA Today
26-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Instant analysis of Dolphins drafting RB Ollie Gordon II
Instant analysis of Dolphins drafting RB Ollie Gordon II The Miami Dolphins paired lightning with lightning last year when they took Jaylen Wright in the 2024 NFL draft. Despite already having a running back in De'Von Achane with track star speed, Wright's 4.38 speed made him the perfect player to eventually take Raheem Mostert's spot on the roster. But in Round 6 of the 2025 NFL draft, the Dolphins may finally have some thunder to complement that duo. Ollie Gordon II won't blow anyone away with his 4.6 speed, but the 226-pound bruiser is more than willing to dish out punishment to defenders. During his Doak Walker-winning 2023 campaign, Pro Football Focus credited Gordon with forcing 68 missed tackles and averaging 3.71 yards per carry after contact. And even in his much less productive 2024 season, Gordon still forced another 41 missed tackles. The battle for Gordon will be proving that he's more deserving of touches than veteran Alexander Mattison, a former Vikings and Raiders running back who was added for depth in free agency. The Dolphins carried four backs on the roster last season, but it could be a battle between the rookie and Mattison for one of the final spots on the 53-man roster.
Miami Herald
26-04-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
Dolphins select running back Ollie Gordon II with 179th pick. Reaction from analysts
The Dolphins snagged a highly productive running back with their one sixth-round pick on Saturday, drafting Oklahoma State running back Ollie Gordon II, who visited the Dolphins before the draft. Gordon ran for 880 yards last season (4.6 per carry) and scored 13 touchdowns this past season, one year after he led FBS with 21 rushing touchdowns and averaged 6.1 per carry. His workload and production dropped last season. After rushing for 1732 yards on 285 carries in 14 games in 2023, he ran for 880 yards on 190 carries in 12 games last season. The 1732 carries led the Big 12. He averaged a robust 5.4 yards per carry in three college seasons. His one blemish was an August 2024 arrest on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol. The 179th pick, used on Gordon was acquired from Houston, along with a 2026 third-round pick, in exchange for Miami's picks at 116 and Miami's first of three seventh rounders. Some reaction on the Gordon selection: ▪ ESPN's Matt Miller: 'He was a hard guy for me to evaluate because what am I getting? Am I getting 2023 when he was aggressive and violent and making plays downhill? He was a Heisman candidate in 2023. In 2024, he didn't look the same. I didn't see the same urgency from him. Didn't see the same ability to finish some of those inside runs or run away from tacklers. Can they get him locked in and get him back to 2023 because he can be a really physical, punishing, downhill back?' ▪ESPN's Mel Kiper attributed his drop in production last season to the Cowboys' poor offensive line: 'There was no running room at all. He was hitting a wall. You would have needed Barry Sanders back there. Ollie Gordon is not that elusive but the offensive line did nothing to help him.' ▪ ESPN's Louis Riddick: 'We did a game against Kansas State where he really started getting going early, and they went away from the run game. You could tell by his body language on the sideline, he was like 'what is going on here?' He's a rhythm runner, a high volume runner. Once he gets rolling, watch out.' ▪ Lance Zierlein calls him 'a big-workload back with a skill set that requires a physical, downhill run scheme. Gordon is tight-hipped and forced to run linear tracks. He plays with adequate decisiveness and interior vision but lacks the agility to cut sharply or slip tackles in tight quarters. 'When he gets going downhill he becomes a battering ram, slamming through tackles and adding tough yards after contact. He's good in the screen game and could improve his protection in time. His 2024 production fell off through no fault of his own. Gordon is big and physical and could attract Day 2 attention from teams looking to add a bruiser to a two-back system.' ▪ NFL Net's Brian Baldinger: 'They want to get physical. Downhill runner. He's huge. Two years ago, he won Doak Walker award' for the best running back.' ▪ ESPN's Field Yates, on the Dolphins' offseason: 'One of themes was let's self-scout this offseason. What do we know Miami was predicated upon on offense? [They had] a lot of speed. Now it's more toughness.' Gordon ran for 880 yards last season (4.6 per carry) and scored 13
