6 days ago
Oklahoma Sooners running back room among the best in the nation
There's a lot to like about the Oklahoma Sooners' offense heading into 2025; at least on paper. They have one of the more exciting backfields in the nation after adding John Mateer and Jaydn Ott through the transfer portal. But it goes beyond Ott, who was voted to the All-SEC second team; the Oklahoma running back room is deep.
Pro Football Focus college football analyst Max Chadwick believes the Sooners have one of the top 10 running back rooms in the nation going into 2025.
It starts with Ott. He had a 1,300-yard season back in 2023 and has the game-breaking ability to create big plays for the Sooners' offense. The running back workload won't be completely on Ott as Oklahoma brings back Jovantae Barnes, Xavier Robinson, and Taylor Tatum as well.
Barnes had 700 total yards and six touchdowns for the Sooners last season. His effort and energy gave Oklahoma a boost in the second half of the season, leading the way for an offense that was mostly stagnant last year. The Sooners have high expectations for their second-year running backs Xavier Robinson and Taylor Tatum. Both showed flashes of being big-time producers at the collegiate level despite an offensive line that struggled for much of the 2024 season.
Then there's true freshman Tory Blaylock, who was a four-star prospect in the 2025 recruiting class. He's just a true freshman, but his speed, agility, and balance could force the Sooners to put him on the field.
Fall camp is going to provide some interesting competition for the running back hierarchy, but it looks like DeMarco Murray and the Oklahoma Sooners have a lot of talent to work with.
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