At the midway point of the season for the Oklahoma Sooners, we’ve seen enough that we should have a good feel for who some of the best players are on this squad.
Dillon Gabriel may be the most valuable player on this team. We witnessed the difference in the offense when he wasn’t available. His and the Sooners’ performance against the Kansas Jayhawks a week ago put his value to this team on full display, throwing for 403 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
But there’s another player that should be in the discussion of best player on the squad and that’s Eric Gray. He’s been invaluable this season, rushing for 695 yards and averaging 7.2 yards per carry. Even after the bye week, he’s still inside the top 10 in runs of 10 yards or more.
Gray’s elusiveness has led to a breakaway percentage of 43.7%, which is top 20 in the nation among running backs with at least 96 carries on the season. Breakaway percentage reflects the percentage of carries that have gone for more than 15 yards. Eric Gray’s 12 runs of 15 yards or more is tied for 15th in the nation.
And it’s that ability to break big plays that has the Eric Gray as the highest-graded Sooner through the first half of the season.
Here’s how the Oklahoma Sooners rank and were graded by Pro Football Focus among players with at least 100 snaps.