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Sooners Ready for Big Fish

It’s very easy to look at Oklahoma and not think for one minute the running back room had been a point of concern.

Look at the numbers. Look at the ridiculous yards per carry numbers for guys like Kennedy Brooks and Trey Sermon during the last couple of seasons.

Even last season, behind an inexperienced offensive line, the Sooners rushed for six yards per carry and 240 yards per contest. There was nothing, on the surface, to suggest that the rushing attack wasn’t clicking.

However, if you dig a little deeper, you started to get that ‘yea, but’ feeling. As good as OU had been faring on the ground, yea, but, there’s more that can be done.

As well as OU has recruited the position, yea, but, the Sooners haven’t had a five-star running back sign since Joe Mixon was No. 8 overall in the Rivals 100 for the 2014 class.

Can the Sooners land their first five-star since Mixon?
Can the Sooners land their first five-star since Mixon? (USA TODAY Sports Images)
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OU’s running back tradition lets you know the Sooners are never going to be hurting. You’re looking at nothing but four-star high school backs since 2014 and most have played their role just fine.

Nobody is mad about Rodney Anderson (2015, No. 171) or the cast brought in by former coach Jay Boulware from 2015-2019. Four-star Abdul Adams (2016) was in a crowded backfield and headed to Syracuse.

Trey Sermon (2017, No. 171) and Kennedy Brooks (2017, No. 183) have been carrying the load, while T.J. Pledger (No. 70, 2018) and four-star Marcus Major (2019) wait for their time.

The production is there, but as offensive recruiting under Lincoln Riley has shown, there is no ceiling. If you can get guys like Spencer Rattler at quarterback or convince three five-star receivers like Trejan Bridges, Jadon Haselwood and Theo Wease to all be in the same class, you can find an elite back.

Not good, not even borderline great, but the elite of the elite. That is going to be the job for newly appointed running backs coach DeMarco Murray.

Murray is going to know better than anybody, being ranked a top 50 overall player and the second-ranked back for the 2006 class.

Good will simply not be good enough.

“Football has always been a passion of mine,” said Murray in OU’s press release. “I've been fortunate to have had a lot of coaches and friends work with me throughout my career and give me great tools, and I feel like it's only right to give back to young student-athletes.

“And I love competing at a high level, so the opportunity to come back to coach was important to me. I think I bring the experience of playing at a high level and being in these kids' shoes not 20 or 30 years ago, but just 10 years ago. I think I bring the ability to know offense, know ball and know what it takes from a mental, physical and emotional standpoint to get to the next level.”

One year learning the ropes as the Arizona running backs coach in 2019, and now he’s in the deep waters in Norman.

Maybe it’s not fair to say, but the kid gloves cannot be on for this hire. The 2021 class is too important for OU in that department.

The Sooners are guaranteed to lose Sermon and fellow senior Rhamondre Stevenson. There were strong rumors of Brooks leaving after the 2019, so it’s hard to see how he would stick it out for a redshirt senior season in 2021.

What is always considered an incredibly talented stable of backs could get cut in half just like that. The cupboard won’t be bare by any means with Pledger, Major and 2020 mid-year enrollee Seth McGowan all feeling like they can contribute.

But Murray is gonna have to hit a home run, or at least a strong double or triple off the wall, to get things rolling.

OU was close to landing J.K. Dobbins for 2017 before things went awry. The Sooners had the commitment of Jase McClellan for nearly 30 months before he switched to Alabama last month on signing day.

Close won’t cut it. You won’t win them all, but like they say about good defensive backs, you have to win your share of the 50/50 battles.

2021 Major Offers

It starts now. Right there are four Rivals 100 prospects, and OU fans are salivating at the idea of Wheaton being Murray’s first big recruit and bringing the five-star talent back to Norman.

Won’t be easy with Murray not having established relationships with these guys. Heck, he just followed Pryor on social media Monday morning to get an idea of how fresh this can really be.

But that’s what Murray was hired to do. That’s what he has been brought in at just 31 years old to figure out.

He’ll hit the ground running, beginning with trips to see Wheaton and Henderson. It’s going to be a whirlwind, for sure, but Murray can get in the race by name and school affiliation alone. After that, it’s gonna be up to him to seal the deal, something that hasn’t always been a guarantee for OU here lately.

To get guys to remind fans of the days of Adrian Peterson, of Joe Mixon, and maybe coincidentally enough, of DeMarco Murray.

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