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The Cowboys return the guy at running back in the 2024 college football season, and Oklahoma State has put a handful of interesting pieces around him.
This offseason I’m pondering on three questions for each of OSU’s position groups. Wednesday we looked at the Cowboys’ QB room. Now we’ll take a look at Ollie Gordon’s running back room.
1. Can Ollie Do It Again?
OSU fans were already intrigued with Gordon when he was a jumbo, four-star running back in the DFW area who turned down a late Texas offer to stick with his Oklahoma State commitment. That intrigue only grew when Gordon ran for 136 yards and a touchdown on just 17 carries against West Virginia as a true freshman. But after his 2023 season, Stillwater’s secret is out. The nation knows of Gordon’s prowess.
Gordon ran for 1,732 yards and 21 touchdowns as a sophomore on his way to winning the Doak Walker. And that came after he had just 19 total carries in the Cowboys’ three nonconference games. He’ll have a chance at an encore in 2024.
There are similarities in Gordon returning after a big season to Chuba Hubbard doing the same in 2020, but there are also differences.
Hubbard rushed for 2,094 yards and 21 touchdowns in a breakout 2019 season before a return in 2020 didn’t go exactly according to plan. Hubbard was hobbled with injuries that season and so was his offensive line. Oh, and it was in the middle of a pandemic.
Hubbard, more known for his speed, was also less physically imposing than Gordon is, so perhaps Gordon will be better suited to handle the load for a second straight season.
2. What Will the Carry Distribution Be Like?
With that being said, Mike Gundy this spring talked about the importance of getting Gordon some rest in 2024.
“We have a lot of carries for another back,” Gundy said. “The 30 carry a game for Ollie is somewhat concerning. Perfect world would be 20 to keep him healthy throughout for us and his career. He had to carry the load last year, moreso than what we’d like. There’s enough carries to go around.”
Initially, it looked as if Arkansas transfer AJ Green would be the guy to relieve Gordon before Green posted on Instagram that he had suffered some sort of leg injury. That happened just about the time that OSU added Indiana transfer Trent Howland. The room also features Sesi Vailahi, who turned some heads in limited work as a true freshman last season, and the Cowboys added Rodney Fields and Jaden Allen-Hendrix from the 2024 recruiting class.
Howland, at this point, seems the most likely to be Gordon’s RB2 as the season gets going. He rushed for 354 yards and a pair of scores for the Hoosiers this past season. At 6-foot-3, 240 pounds, he adds a bigger crack of thunder to Gordon’s already booming thunder. Should Green get back healthy, he would add the lightning.
It’s a shame Elijah Collins had to battle through injuries last season because that might’ve provided a clearer picture of what we could expect this season. But instead we’ll have to wait and see how the Cowboys plan on feeding their superstar while also keeping him as rested as possible.
Lightening Gordon’s load leads to my final question.
3. What Does the Future of the Room Look Like?
If 2024 Ollie Gordon shares much of a semblance of 2023 Ollie Gordon, it wouldn’t be crazy to think he heads for the NFL after this season. Fox Sports, for example, has him as the No. 10 pick in a way-too-early mock draft.
Projecting the future of any position group on any team could be a pointless exercise in the transfer portal era, but I’ll try my best.
Green should have just one season of eligibility remaining, but he also has a redshirt. Should his injury keep him out for an extended period of time, there is a chance he could be in Stillwater in 2025.
Howland should have two seasons of eligibility remaining — meaning he could play this season and return for 2025.
Vailahi has four years left after playing in three games and redshirting last season, and Fields and Allen-Hendrix obviously also have four seasons (and redshirts) to play.
Gordon would leave some big shoes to fill, but right now the Cowboys are in a good spot to potentially have five scholarship backs return in 2025 even if Gordon leaves for the NFL. But with that said, it’s tough to say who would slot in where because the only one to take a carry in an OSU uniform to this point is Vailahi, who had just six carries as a true freshman.
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Read this original article at Pistols Firing Blog.