Tag: De’Mond Parker

5 Oklahoma Sooners make ESPN’s list of the top 100 Running Backs of the last 60 years

5 Oklahoma Sooners running backs were featured inside ESPN’s top 100 running backs of the last 60 years with Adrian Peterson coming in at 46(?).

Lists are fun. They can be quite the undertaking, especially when you want to try and rank 100 of anything. Especially something as subjective as the top 100 running backs of all time or of a certain time period. But that’s what Bill Connelly of ESPN attempted.

Over at ESPN, Connelly selected the top 100 running backs of the last 60 years (ESPN+). It’s not a perfect list by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s a strong attempt.

In particular, Connelly has four Wisconsin Badgers in his top 20. Not providing much context that Wisconsin has generally had elite offensive line play and has been a run-first team for, basically forever.

No. 1 on the list was Oklahoma State’s Barry Sanders. The only running back to have played in the last 20 years to make the top 10 was USC’s Reggie Bush. Yes, Adrian Peterson was left out of the top 10. Worse yet, he was left out of the top 20. But more on that later.

Oklahoma had five Sooners featured on the list and there’s a decent argument that several more could have been included.

Oklahoma’s Kennedy Brooks named Earl Campbell Award semifinalist

Oklahoma redshirt junior running back Kennedy Brooks was named one of the semifinalists for the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award.

Oklahoma redshirt junior running back Kennedy Brooks was announced as one of the semifinalists for the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award.

Brooks has rushed 145 times for 857 rushing yards thus far this season with 10 rushing touchdowns. The Mansfield, Texas, native had a monster day in the Red River Showdown against the Texas.

Versus the Longhorns, Brooks rumbled for 217 yards on 25 carries with a pair of touchdowns. That included the 33-yard game-winning touchdown with three seconds remaining.

Brooks followed that performance up the following week with a 153 rushing yards performance against TCU.

Brooks already owns a pair of 1,000-yard rushing seasons in his Oklahoma career. In 2018, Brooks carried it 119 times for 1,056 yards with 12 rushing touchdowns. Then, in 2019, Brooks recorded 1,011 rushing yards on 155 totes.

Brooks needs 143 more rushing yards to become just the fourth Sooner in program history to ever record three 1,000-yard rushing seasons. He would join De’Mond Parker (1996-98), Adrian Peterson (2004-06) and Samaje Perine (2014-16) as the only Oklahoma running backs with that distinction.

The award is named after 1977 Heisman Trophy winner Earl Campbell and it recognizes the top offensive player in Division I football. In order to be eligible to receive the award, a player must have either been born in Texas, graduated from a Texas high school or have played at a Texas-based junior college or four-year college.

The fan vote for the semifinalists round is underway and fans can vote for Brooks once per day by visiting www.earlcampbellaward.com. Finalists are set to be announced on Dec. 14.

Oklahoma has been well represented for the award in recent memory. The Sooners have produced eight finalists since 2014: Samaje Perine in 2014, Dede Westbrook in 2016, Baker Mayfield each year from 2015-17, Kyler Murray in 2018 and Jalen Hurts and CeeDee Lamb in 2019.

Mayfield and Murray won the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award in back-to-back seasons in 2017 and 2018.

Brooks has his next chance to impress this Saturday as Oklahoma welcomes in Iowa State at 11 a.m. for a Big Noon Kickoff on FOX.

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