For the third time in four seasons, Oklahoma running back Rodney Anderson has suffered a season-ending injury.

Anderson will miss the rest of the 2018 season following a knee injury sustained in OU’s 49-21 victory against UCLA on Saturday, head coach Lincoln Riley announced on Sunday evening.

“We're heartbroken for him,” said Riley in the release. “He's overcome so much in his career, and if anybody can do it again, it's Rodney.

“He's played a lot of great football and has a lot more ahead of him. He's just a tremendous person and player and we'll miss him on the field. But we know he'll be with us every step of the way as a team captain, and that other players will step up in his place.”

Anderson was injured on the final play of the first quarter. It gained 10 yards, but Anderson immediately grabbed his right knee. He was helped off the field, and following being evaluated on the sidelines, headed to the locker room.

When he came back out in the third quarter, he was in street clothes and had a massive brace on his right knee.

Anderson was a Rivals 250 member (No. 171) from Katy (Texas) High for OU’s 2015 class. But it wasn’t until the 2017 season that everybody got to see Anderson’s talents.

He suffered a season-ending broken leg in Week 2 at Tennessee as a true freshman and then a fractured vertebra during the preseason camp that ended his 2016 season before it could begin.

It took Anderson a bit of time to find his rhythm, but once he did, he proved to be one of the most elite running backs in the country in the second half of the season and was poised to be one of the top backs in the nation in 2018.

Anderson rushed for 1,161 yards and 13 touchdowns in 2017 with 17 receptions for 281 yards and five more scores.

Even though Riley wouldn’t comment on Anderson’s situation following Saturday’s game, he did address whether OU would have to make dramatic changes if Anderson had indeed suffered a severe injury.

“We're lucky. Rodney's a great player and like I said, we're gonna certainly hope for the best,” Riley said. “But we've got other good players in there. And honestly, play calling wise, design, all that, it's not gonna change a whole lot. We've got confidence in the guys we have there.

“They all have dynamic skillsets. They can all run. They can all catch the ball. I've got no issue throwing the ball to any of them. They can all pass protect. That's part of the deal at that position. It's a physical position and you have to understand that's part of the game and we've worked hard to build depth.”

Anderson rushed for 100 yards on five carries with two touchdowns in OU’s season-opening win against Florida Atlantic and added 19 yards on six attempts with another touchdown in the first quarter vs. UCLA.

He graduated in May and is pursuing a master's degree in human relations.

Running back is one spot where OU has developed depth. Sophomore Trey Sermon, senior Marcelias Sutton and redshirt freshman Kennedy Brooks have all already scored a touchdown this season, while true freshman T.J. Pledger has seen action in both games and isn’t a candidate for the four-game redshirt rule.

“No. I mean, we planned on playing T.J. the entire time,” Riley said. “He's involved offensively. He's gonna be involved on special teams so he was a guy that, regardless of that, we were always planning on playing.”

But the loss of Anderson off the field, as a captain and leader, will be another obstacle for the Sooners to overcome.

“Man, that’s tough,” said senior linebacker Curtis Bolton after Saturday’s game. “Rodney’s my guy. I work out with him in the offseason, and I know how hard he works. He’s a guy that doesn’t skip reps. He gets in there and he busts his ass every day, because he knows how good he is.

“At the end of the day, his hard work is gonna pay off for him. I’m sending blessings his way, praying everything goes by smoothly for him.”