Tag: demarco murray

WATCH: Oklahoma Sooners pledge trolls Longhorns during commitment ceremony

Oklahoma picked up another commitment on Friday and the Sooners latest pledge made it very entertaining.

The Oklahoma Sooners added their 10th player to the 2025 recruiting class with a pledge from four-star running back Tory Blaylock on Friday.

During a ceremony with family and friends at Atascocita High School in Texas, Blaylock had the hats for Alabama, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee, and Texas on the table.

After sharing some words, Blaylock perused the hats, first picking up a Buckeyes lid. He set down the scarlet, putting it down in favor of the burnt orange Longhorns, which he donned for a moment before switching to the crimson and cream interlocking OU, saying, “Oklahoma baby, Oklahoma.”

It was a moment reminiscent of [autotag]DeMarco Murray[/autotag]’s All-American Bowl commitment ceremony, where he first picked up the USC Trojans lid before swapping it out for Oklahoma. Like Murray, Blaylock also spurned a team that was closer to his hometown for the Oklahoma Sooners.

Blaylock’s hometown of Humble, Texas is just outside of Houston and just under three hours from Austin. Murray’s hometown of Las Vegas is just under four hours from Los Angeles.

In Blaylock, the Sooners get a running back with great speed and contact balance. He’s a big play waiting to happen and adds another dynamic athlete to the Oklahoma Sooners 2025 recruiting class.

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Jovantae Barnes back in the mix after injury riddled 2023

We now know what was holding Jovantae Barnes back last year after a promising freshman season.

Last year was supposed to be the season [autotag]Jovantae Barnes[/autotag] and [autotag]Gavin Sawchuk[/autotag] experienced breakout years. Instead, it was [autotag]Marcus Major[/autotag] and [autotag]Tawee Walker[/autotag] leading the way in the early part of 2023.

That was because Sawchuk was nursing an injury, but it was never clear why Barnes wasn’t playing much. He would suit up just about every game. He would even get in at some points but just never looked like himself.

Barnes met with the media after practice on Monday and shared what happened last season.

“It had a lot to do with my foot surgery and just the timing,” Barnes said. “Just me trying to rush it and make sure I can be back before the season and be out here for the coaches and make sure they can depend on me. I just wasn’t ready, and there would be times where I was like, ‘Okay, I feel good at practice, I feel good this week.’ Then I would go back out there, and I wouldn’t be able to burst.”

Barnes said he’s spent a lot of time in the training room this offseason and finally feels back to normal. A lack of playing time and Sawchuk’s breakout stretch to close the year brought a lot of speculation that he might hit the transfer portal after the year. Barnes said that wasn’t an option as he wanted to keep playing for running backs coach [autotag]DeMarco Murray[/autotag].

If the Sooners can get Barnes back to what he was as a freshman, they could have a legit one-two punch heading into the [autotag]SEC[/autotag]. But both guys have to get healthy and stay healthy this offseason.

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Top 20 Oklahoma Sooners of all-time in receiving yards

Top 20 Oklahoma Sooners in career receiving yards.

Since the turn of the century, the Oklahoma Sooners have recruited, developed, and produced some of the best wide receivers in college football. The air-raid revolution, combined with Oklahoma’s ability to recruit allowed wide receivers to put up monster numbers in Norman.

Of the top 20 players in receiving yards in Oklahoma history, 17 of them played for the Sooners during the [autotag]Bob Stoops[/autotag] or [autotag]Lincoln Riley[/autotag] eras. The four that didn’t were [autotag]Stephen Alexander[/autotag], [autotag]Corey Warren[/autotag], and [autotag]Eddie Hinton[/autotag].

Considering how little the teams threw the football when Hinton played, it’s pretty incredible they were able to put up the numbers they did. With Drake Stoops career year in 2023, legendary tight end Keith Jackson fell out of the top 20. Jackson played at a time when they didn’t throw the ball a ton, but his athleticism and speed allowed him to make the most of his opportunities.

Who knows what his numbers would look like in a modern offense. Imagine Brock Bowers but with even bigger numbers.

Half of the players in the top 20 in receiving yards averaged 15 or more yards per reception.

No player with at least 75 receptions in their Sooners career averaged more yards per reception than [autotag]Marvin Mims[/autotag] 19.5 per catch. His first 1,000-yard season in 2022 helped him reach eighth all-time in receiving yards at the University of Oklahoma.

[autotag]DeMarco Murray[/autotag]’s 1,571 receiving yards puts him 20th all-time.

Nic Anderson looks like the next player to enter the top 20, if he’s able to recreate his breakout 2023 season in 2024. By the end of his Sooners career, he could be flirting with the top 10 in career receiving yards at the University of Oklahoma.

Here’s an updated look at Oklahoma’s top 20 Sooners in receiving yards all time.

Oklahoma Sooners signee Andy Bass ranked as a top 10 athlete in the 2024 class by On3

Oklahoma Sooners 2024 signee Andy Bass gets a big time recognition in On3’s latest rankings.

The final On3 [autotag]2024 recruiting class[/autotag] rankings have dropped. Oklahoma Sooner fans have been upset with how On3 has ranked their signees for the most part.

But one signee that On3 actually has ranked higher than any other recruiting service is [autotag]Andy Bass[/autotag]. The Heritage Hall product comes in as a four-star prospect in On3’s latest ranking. They also rank him as the No. 10 ranked athlete in the country.

This comes after a massive senior season by the do-everything player from Oklahoma. Bass played quarterback for Heritage Hall. He finished with 3,144 passing yards and 34 touchdowns. He also ran for 1,480 yards and 31 touchdowns.

He’s someone with elite speed and really caught the eyes of a lot of people when he came to Oklahoma’s camp this past summer. During the camp, he ran a lot of routes at wide receiver. That showed his elite speed and that he could catch the ball.

From what it sounds like, he’ll be in the running back room and will be coached by [autotag]DeMarco Murray[/autotag], but he will be a gadget guy for the Sooners once he recovers from the injury he suffered in his final game. He’ll play some at wide receiver but also some at running back. I see him as the next [autotag]Gavin Freeman[/autotag] in the sense of just finding ways to get him the ball.

It remains to be seen how much of an impact he will have in his first year in the Crimson and Cream but if he can get back from his injury and learn the playbook, it’ll be hard to keep that speed off of the field.

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Where each of the Oklahoma Sooners signees finished in final 2024 recruiting rankings

A look at where each Oklahoma Sooners 2024 signee finished in the final rankings for the 2024 recruiting cycle.

The 2024 recruiting class finished in the top 10 for the Oklahoma Sooners. It was an important class, as it marked the first group of players that would play their entire career in the [autotag]SEC[/autotag].

Given the need to rebuild the offensive and defensive lines to be able to contend in the SEC, additional importance was placed on landing a strong offensive and defensive line class. And [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] and his staff did just that.

But that’s not where the impressive returns stopped. Oklahoma also came through with the top running back in the cycle and a blue-chip set of wide receivers. It was an impressive cycle for [autotag]Emmett Jones[/autotag] and [autotag]DeMarco Murray[/autotag].

[autotag]Davon Mitchell[/autotag] was considered the top tight end in the 2025 recruiting cycle before reclassifying to 2024, giving Joe Jon Finley a bonafide star to work with.

At defensive back, Jay Valai and Brandon Hall continued to pull in impressive talents, landing four-star prospects [autotag]Jaydan Hardy[/autotag], [autotag]Reggie Powers[/autotag], [autotag]Jeremiah Newcombe[/autotag], [autotag]Mykel Patterson-McDonald[/autotag], [autotag]Eli Bowen[/autotag], and [autotag]Devon Jordan[/autotag].

At quarterback, the Sooners landed highly productive passers from two big football states in [autotag]Michael Hawkins[/autotag] from Texas and [autotag]Brendan Zurbrugg[/autotag] from Ohio. Two years ago, the depth at the position was questionable. Now [autotag]Seth Littrell[/autotag] has an impressive group of passers to lead his offense into the future.

Looking back at the trenches. The Sooners landed two legit studs in [autotag]David Stone[/autotag] and [autotag]Jayden Jackson[/autotag] for the interior and three blue-chip prospects to work along the edge in [autotag]Nigel Smith[/autotag], [autotag]Danny Okoye[/autotag], and [autotag]Wyatt Gilmore[/autotag].

It was a necessity heading into the SEC, where the offensive line play and physicality in the trenches go to another level. And as much as we love the defensive line recruiting, the offensive line recruiting could end up being just as impactful.

Sure, aside from [autotag]Eugene Brooks[/autotag], Bill Bedenbaugh’s group didn’t receive a ton of recognition in recruiting circles. But it’s an athletically impressive group with a strong work ethic and a lot of upside.

So as we turn the page on Oklahoma’s 2024 recruiting class, let’s take a look at how each player finished in the final player rankings from ESPN, Rivals, 247Sports, and On3.

At the end, you can see which recruiting service liked each of Oklahoma’s signees the most.

Sooners offer 2025 4-star running back and Florida commit, Waltez Clark

Waltez Clark, a talented four-star prospect out of Tampa is the latest to receive an offer from Oklahoma.

The state of Florida has been a hotbed for elite running backs over the last 20 years. With the talent that routinely comes out of Florida, that won’t be slowing down anytime soon.

[autotag]DeMarco Murray[/autotag] in pursuit of running backs for Oklahoma’s [autotag]2025 recruiting class[/autotag]. His latest find has taken him to Tampa, Florida. At Plant High School, there is a young man named Waltez Clark, a consensus four-star running back prospect who just received an offer from the Sooners.

Clark is a 6-foot-1, 190-pound dynamo with the size, speed, toughness, and lateral quickness to be an every-down back for a major college program. He had 77 carries for 476 yards and 15 touchdowns, caught 22 passes for 358 yards and four touchdowns, and recorded 23 tackles, two for loss, and one sack for his Plant High school team.

Clark committed to Florida in September. Florida is in a tricky spot as another mediocre season could see their program go into another rebuild, which could help open the door for the Sooners to flip Clark.

Waltez Clark’s Recruiting Profile

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Gavin Sawchuk graded as a top 10 freshman running back by Pro Football Focus

Gavin Sawchuk had a really solid season for the Sooners which earned him a top 10 running back grade among freshman running backs per PFF.

The running back position for the Oklahoma Sooners in 2023 was an up-and-down roller coaster. What was thought to be a strength of the team early in the season ended up being one of their weaker positions for most of the year.

That was until [autotag]Gavin Sawchuk[/autotag] emerged about midway through the season. After that, he gave the Sooners a running game and running attack they didn’t have for much of the season. So much so the redshirt freshman running back was graded as the seventh-best freshman running back by Pro Football Focus.

Sawchuk finished the year with 744 yards on 6.2 yards per carry and led all freshmen running backs with nine touchdowns. He ended the season on a tear after being plagued by an injury early in the season. He had five straight 100-yard games and averaged more than seven yards per carry in those five.

If he kept that five-game average for all 13 games last season, he would have finished with more than 1,600 yards rushing. Finishing at No. 4 in the nation and second in the [autotag]Big 12[/autotag]. He also would have finished tied for No. 6 in touchdowns.

It was a great ending to the season for Sawchuk but in 2024 he’s going to have to find a way to stay healthy. Even in their bowl game what appeared to be an injury he suffered in the second half really hurt the way the team finished. If he can stay healthy though, he could prove to be one of the better backs in the [autotag]SEC[/autotag].

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Oklahoma trending for four-star RB Tory Blaylock after OU Junior Day visit

Oklahoma received three FutureCasts for four-star running back Tory Blaylock after his Junior Day visit.

Fresh off landing the number one running back in the nation for the 2024 cycle in [autotag]Taylor Tatum[/autotag], [autotag]DeMarco Murray[/autotag] is back on the grind for [autotag]2025 recruiting class[/autotag].

The Sooners’ running back coach has been rock solid on the recruiting trail since taking over the role. In fact, it’s possible to say he’s getting even better.

2025 brings new prospects, new relationships, and new challenges for Murray. With the depth Oklahoma has at running back, likely, Oklahoma won’t take three backs like they did in 2024, but that doesn’t mean they’ll dip in quality.

[autotag]Tory Blaylock[/autotag], one of Texas’ best running backs, is on Oklahoma’s radar. Apparently, junior day went well for the Sooners. Three Rivals FutureCasts have been logged in favor of the Sooners landing Blaylock.

OUInsider’s Parker Thune and Brandon Drumm each logged predictions in favor of Oklahoma. As did Landyn Rosow, who covers the Texas A&M Aggies for Rivals.

Blaylock’s social media presence was active during the visit, and by and large, he seemed to enjoy Norman with his family as well.

Blaylock is a five-foot-eleven every-down back with a track background. As a freshman, he posted several sub-11.00 100-meter times, including 10.70 and 10.83. He also shows explosion, power, and the ability to be a pass catcher out of the backfield. In short, he’s a complete back.

Oklahoma’s efforts at Junior Day have seemed to resonate with Blaylock and his family. The Sooners have put themselves in an excellent position to land their first running back commit of 2025.

He’s got an NFL lineage. His father, Derrick Blaylock, played five seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs and the New York Jets after his collegiate career at Stephen F. Austin.

The Oklahoma Sooners don’t currently have a running back committed for the 2025 cycle, but if the FutureCasts hold, they could be closing in on their first runner in the class.

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Nation’s No. 1 running back in the class of 2024 officially signs with the Oklahoma Sooners

The Oklahoma Sooners add Taylor Tatum to the team after he officially signs his National Letter of Intent.

The [autotag]2024 early signing period[/autotag] is here, and the Oklahoma Sooners have received the signature from one of their most sought prospects. [autotag]Taylor Tatum[/autotag] is a five-star prospect and the nation’s top running back in the class of 2024.

Tatum could come in and immediately contribute to a running back room for Oklahoma that was up and down in 2023. He has a very similar playing style to former Sooners running back [autotag]Joe Mixon[/autotag].

He’s not as big as Mixon, though, listed at 5 feet, 11 inches and 205 pounds. He can help in the passing game as well as the running game. He’s also a dual sport athlete who is expected to play both football and baseball at Oklahoma.

Here is what Gabe Brooks, a national scouting analyst for 247Sports, had to say about Tatum:

Instinctive lane-finder. Plays with patience. Presses blocks to allow for holes to materialize. Also knows how to buy a couple more strides of time on perimeter runs to help blockers re-route defenders. Quick-footed in the hole. Regularly makes something out of nothing when penetration disrupts play in the backfield. – Brooks

More from the [autotag]2024 Early Signing Period[/autotag]

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State of Oklahoma’s top running back officially signs with the Sooners

The state’s top running back is officially apart of the Oklahoma Sooners football team.

Running back was an up-and-down group in 2023 for the Oklahoma Sooners. But [autotag]DeMarco Murray[/autotag] proved how good he was as a recruiter with the class of 2024.

One of those guys who committed and now has signed is the state of Oklahoma’s top-ranked running back, [autotag]Xavier Robinson[/autotag]. The Carl Albert Titan is built like a titan, standing 6 feet, 2 inches and weighing 220 pounds.

He burst on the scene after an incredible junior season in which he rushed for 2,594 yards and 39 TDs on 9.4 yards per carry. He had another fantastic season in 2023, securing Max Preps Oklahoma Prep Player of the Year. After receiving substantial interest nationally, he committed to the Sooners.

As far as his role for 2024, that is unclear. The Sooners return a great deal in the running back room. It’s unclear if new offensive coordinators [autotag]Seth Littrell[/autotag] and [autotag]Joe Jon Finley[/autotag] will use an H-back or fullback in their offense.

If they do, I can see a world where Robinson makes an immediate impact playing that [autotag]Trey Millard[/autotag], [autotag]Dimitri Flowers[/autotag] or [autotag]Jeremiah Hall[/autotag] type of role.

More from the [autotag]2024 Early Signing Period[/autotag]

 

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